BBQ Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken....Oh Yeah!

I work as a Supervisor/Dispatcher in a 911 Center. I love my job....and I mean I LOOOOVE my job! I also love the three girls and one guy I work with. When you're in a room with a bunch of people for two 12 hour days and two 12 hour nights to make up one 48 hour shift you either hate them or become very close. Thankfully I've been blessed with a great bunch of people and they happen to like the way I cook. So we usually cook on our first night shift. On Halloween I made an appetizer of bacon wrapped chicken bites in BBQ sauce. They loved them so tonight I decided to make them as an entree. I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breast because it's cheaper and the thighs stay nice and moist. The rub I make to marinate them in gives them lots of flavor. Since they are an entree I decided to make them even tastier by stuffing them with cream cheese....who doesn't like that? And when you wrap it all in bacon and add BBQ sauce.....whoa!

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

Spice Rub

1/4 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 T Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. This is a great spice mix anytime you make poultry, especially if you grill it.

2-3 Lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
2 lbs Bacon
2 8 oz packets of Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
3 Green Onions, finely sliced
1 4.5 oz can Green Chilies
Salt and Pepper to taste
BBQ Sauce (My favorite bottled sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's)
toothpicks

Place the chicken in a large bowl and add olive oil and the spice mixture. With clean hands massage spice rub all over the chicken and allow it to sit for about 20 minutes while you make the cheese mixture.

In a separate bowl add the cream cheese, cheddar, green onions, green chilies, salt and pepper. Stir together until well combined. Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature or it won't blend well. Lay the chicken thighs out flat one at a time. Place a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture in the middle and roll up. Take two slices of bacon and wrap one around the chicken horizontally overlapping the ends. Take the other slice and wrap it around the chicken vertically overlapping the ends with the other slice and place a toothpick to hold snug.

Put all the chicken on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for approximately 30 mins, checking periodically. When the chicken is done the bacon may still need crisping. Turn the oven to broil and broil for a few minutes until the bacon is crisp. DO NOT WALK AWAY. Any time you broil something you run the risk of walking away and forgetting it. Keep an eye on it and when it's just about done pull it out of the oven and brush on the BBQ sauce.

Put it back in the oven for a minute until the sauce is warmed through. Serve with your favorite rice or potatoes.