Bleu cheese stuffed chicken

Lately, I haven't had good luck making chicken breasts. I worry about undercooking them and it ends up dry. My sister Paula told me that this recipe from Cooking Light had turned out well for her so I gave it a try this week and it was great! I love bleu cheese and the filling is so good.

I was a little torn about making the sauce that went with it but I liked it in the end. It's not buffalo sauce like you'd get on wings but it has a similar flavor and gives the chicken a little kick.

I'm sure I'll be making this when we have people over and it'll go on regular rotation around here!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce (serves 4)
Cooking Light March 2010

For the chicken:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or other unseasoned bread crumbs)
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into pockets.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, flour, egg mixture, and panko.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; place skillet in oven. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.

For the sauce:
1/2 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons finely chopped drained bottled roasted red bell peppers
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Combine everything but the hot sauce in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in the hot sauce. I used a hand blender to make it smooth - I didn't like it chunky - but you can leave it like it is if you want.