Chicken Chesapeake

Ron and I have a serious love for crab cakes and almost always order them when we are out for dinner. We also love making them at home with and always use this recipe.  I came across Tide and Thyme's recipe for Chicken Chesapeake on my cooking board and it sounded fantastic!  Chicken, crab, cheese and bacon- sign me up!

This recipe was adapted from Tide and Thyme's recipe for Chicken Chesapeake. I changed the crab mixture and cooking method on my version of the dish. I bulked up the amount of crab and added a few other ingredients. Also, the crab cake is more like a crab cake stuffed into the chicken and sits on top versus stuffed into the chicken breast.  However, the cheese and bacon recommended in the original recipe were naturally a must in my house!  This was a great weeknight meal and was a great combination of a delicious crab cake and juicy baked chicken.

Last night a few friends and I went to a restaurant called 335 and it was so delicious! They are only open on Wednesday nights following the market so it was great to finally have a chance to go. I have had  the catered food and my baby shower was help there, but it was fun to go for dinner! I think that the simple goat cheese with honey comb and beet and orange salad stole the show for me! Sometimes it is the little things that are the most delicious. We also tried roasted bone marrow which was something I have wanted to order for awhile and finally got the chance to share with my foodie friend Tracy. We also shared a few delicious desserts: churros with blood orange sauce, affogato and pomegranate soft serve. Yum.

Isn't the beet salad pretty?!


Tonight I am headed to the gym after work and then home to make dinner and watch SVU with my friend Emily. I am making lasagna soup and Ron’s eye lit up this morning when I told him what was on the meal plan for the evening- it is one of his favorites.  This weekend we are going to have a few fun things on the agenda- Ron has a cribbage tournament on Saturday and we are going out for Thai after. Thai curry = love in my book and I am really excited!

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 strips thick-cut bacon, sliced

1 Tbsp Old Bay

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

For the filling:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 Tbl sour cream

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp dijon mustard

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 egg, beaten

6.5 oz lump crab meat

1/2 cup crushed saltines

1 Tbl finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.

Prepare the crab filling by combining cream cheese, sour cream, mustard, Worcestershire, lemon juice, egg, crushed saltines and parsley. Carefully fold in crab meat until combined. Let the crab mixture rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Season chicken breasts with Old Bay. Using a small knife, cut a pocket into the center of each chicken breast – about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide. Place 1/4 of the crab filling into the pocket of each chicken breast. The chicken breast does not need to be closed or sealed. 

Place filled chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish and bake in the oven 30-40 minutes (this may depend on the size of the chicken breasts).