Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups

Honestly, I wasn't planning on posting this recipe when I decided to make it the other night. It's one of my go-to dinners in this house since it's low-carb and pretty simple to make, especially if you marinade the chicken the night before.

Then I posted on Facebook that I was about to make it and I immediately received comments asking for the recipe. Ummmm....guys, thanks for the flattery but I was SO not prepared to document this. Although, since you twisted my arm, here it is!

My little disclaimer - don't judge the pictures! They do NOT do this meal justice. I wasn't planning on a photo shoot based around this dish, and my house doesn't have the best natural light after 3pm to make the pictures look decent. So just take my word for it - this meal is melt-in-your-mouth, savory, warm and melty goodness. It's even worthy to make for the in-laws!

What you'll need:

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts {or 4 thin sliced chicken breasts}
3/4 cup Italian Marinade {salad dressing works fine too!}
6 oz. of cream cheese, softened {I make my own, find the recipe HERE}
4 tblsp. pesto {again, I make my own from THIS recipe, but store-bought is fine}
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of an orange or red pepper, chopped
4 slices of bacon

If starting off with regular chicken breasts, and not thin sliced, you will need to trim the fat and then butterfly each piece. Then slice in half, leaving you with 4 thin slices of chicken.

Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and with a kitchen mallet pound down the chicken so it is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick - you shouldn't have to do too much work.

Place in a dish and pour the marinade/dressing over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl mix together cream cheese, pesto and peppers. My pesto tends to be a little less oily, if you are using store-bought be sure to drain out some oil so that your cheese mixture isn't "soupy".

Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture onto each piece of chicken, spreading it evenly as you go. Then sprinkle the parmesan on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Roll up each chicken breast then secure by wrapping a slice of bacon around each roll-up.
Place seam side down in a casserole dish.
**Note, I had run out of bacon so I omitted this part and used the only 2 slices I had left on the top of the chicken.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until the juices run clear. {Above picture was taken 15 minutes into cooking, so it should be more done than this!}

Broil for an additional 5 minutes to crisp up the bacon if desired.

Before serving scoop up some of the sauce that melted out of the chicken and drizzle on top. That's the BEST part!

This is delicious paired with Quinoa and a salad for side dishes.

Enjoy!