BBQ Jalapeno Popper Chicken

I based this off of the Pioneer Womans Jalapeno Poppers...however, just basically stuffed it all inside of chicken!

You will need these things:

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

Shredded cheddar (about 1 cup)

cream cheese 6 oz (softened)

flame roasted and chopped jalapeno, or some chopped green chilis, or adobo chilis, whatever floats your boat (use the amount you and your family will enjoy)

bbq sauce

bacon slices cut in half crosswise

1/4 minced onion

Heat a cast iron skillet over med-high heat and cook bacon until just barely crispy, still slighty pliable though. Remove from pan and set aside.

While bacon cooks, mix softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and chopped jalapeno in a medium bowl until well combined.

Saute chopped onion for a few minutes in that luscious bacon grease. ;) Scoop out of pan leaving drippings behind and stir onions into cheese mixture. Set aside.

You can see the little extra pieces of "rib meat" trimmed away, you will use that as a topper in a minute so hang on to that... pay no attention to the "pile" at the top right corner of the cutting board..that's for Stormie (our Boxer). ;)

Preheat your oven to 375.

Cut a slit in top of chicken breast and open out into a "cave" to stuff from the top. Stuff about 1/8 of the cheese mixture into each chicken breast cave, then add a 1/2 slice of bacon. Lay a piece of "rib meat" over the bacon and bring up edges.... secure with a toothpick if you need to, but you shouldn't have to.

At this point, I went ahead and popped these in the bacon grease laced cast iron pan and topped with the remaining cheese mixture

Pour some of your favorite BBQ sauce over the top, cover the skillet with a lid and bake for 35 minutes. Remove lid and bake 5 more minutes or until chicken test done. I was so excited to eat this that I forgot to photograph it... here is a picture of my leftovers for my husbands lunch. ;)