Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts over Sweet Potato Hash

Main Dishes

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts over Sweet Potato Hash

I’m always on the hunt for new chicken recipes and often times will just write “chicken” on my blog recipe idea list as motivation to dream up something new! Stuffed chicken is one of our favorites, and I especially love using a little mascarpone cheese in the filling because it makes a little built in sauce with each bite. This time I used bacon and mushrooms in the filling and in the sweet potato and Brussels sprouts hash underneath the chicken, which really tied the dish together – yum!

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts over Sweet Potato Hash
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-sized cubes (about 4 cups or 20 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed of the brown bottom and cut in half
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
4 strips applewood smoked bacon, chopped
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Place potato cubes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoons olive oil. Stir well so all potatoes are coated evenly with the oil and spread on the baking sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and drizzle with one more tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well and roast at 400˚F for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are browned and tender.

Meanwhile, place chopped bacon in a large nonstick skillet and sauté for 6 to 8 minutes or until crispy; drain on paper towels. Place mushrooms and onions in the pan with the bacon grease and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and place in a medium bowl with the drained bacon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Mix half the mushroom mixture with the sweet potato hash. Stir mascarpone cheese in with the remaining mushroom mixture.

Reduce oven heat to 350˚F. Cut a lengthwise slit in the fattest side of the chicken breast and form a pocket in the center of each chicken breast. Stuff the chicken breasts evenly with the mascarpone mushroom mixture and secure closed with toothpicks. Place flour and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish and mix well. Cut ends of toothpicks as needed and dredge the stuffed chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium high heat in a large nonstick pan and place two chicken breasts in the pan. Use large tongs to rotate the chicken and sear it on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes on each sides. Place seared chicken breasts in a large baking pan and repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Bake at 350˚F for 13 to 17 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then remove toothpicks. Serve chicken over sweet potato hash. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 556 calories, 25.6g fat, 4.3g fiber, 60.8g protein per serving
Cost: $4.38 per serving

Toasted Almond and Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Please don’t judge this recipe by the picture. It’s not the best looking pasta dish to begin with and my hopeless photography skills definitely don’t help do it any justice, but I can guarantee you that it’s worth making! I was recently asked whether I usually end up...

Spinach, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Stuffed Pecan Crusted Chicken Breasts

I’m often asked how I manage to post original recipes so often while working long hours and hitting the gym the majority of the days of the week. Well, what I usually do is work in bursts. I may perfect three or four recipes in one weekend and then take a break. I...

Southwestern Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese

Can you believe I never had mac & cheese growing up? I was actually first introduced to the blue box in college by my good friend Susie. We lived together the summer in between our sophomore and junior years and used to come home from our respective labs during...

Peanut Sauce Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

My hubby found the lid of our food processer in the recycling today. How in the world did it get in there?!? Luckily he noticed it before emptying our bin on the curb and disaster was avoided. I haven’t gotten enough sleep this week, and apparently it caught up with...

Basil Quinoa with Chicken, Eggplant, Zucchini, and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Apolinaras has quite the green thumb. Our apartment has a Juliet balcony, which is basically a huge sliding glass door that opens to umm, the bars of the balcony like this one. So as you can imagine, there's really not much room for plants, but Apolinaras is quite the...

Salmon over Coconut Broth with Baby Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Mushrooms

I have to admit that even though I consider myself a “foodie,” sometimes hearing about the local/organic food debate tires me out. Ideally, we’d all get all our food from farmers in our state who use no pesticides, right? But it’s not really economical for most people...

Sesame Chicken with Soba Noodles

I spent the last week at a science conference in Colorado – check out the gorgeous views! While most people ski during the afternoon breaks at Keystone meetings, I decided against pushing my luck with my poor knee that has been acting up again when I jog. I did get to...

Gruyere Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms

I apologize if you had trouble with my blog earlier this week. I tried to upgrade my WordPress account and the theme completely crashed – ugh. Luckily, my better half is a computer whiz and very supportive of my blogging. He stayed up until 5am – yes, 5am – to fix it...