Description
These are pretty much all of my favorite things layered into one extremely satisfying dish. You may have a lot of leftover bechamel sauce; bout a half of a box of cooked pasta will take care of this for you.
Ingredients
- 12 spears asparagus
- 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 4 extra-thick bacon slices
- kitchen string
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 jalapeno peppers – stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups warm milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Trim asparagus spears to extend 1 inch past each side of thighs.
- Place 1 cup mozzarella cheese into a bowl.
- Lay chicken thighs flat on a work surface. Place 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese on each thigh
- followed by 3 asparagus spears. Roll thigh around stuffing; wrap 1 bacon slice around each thigh. Tie a 12-inch length of string around bacon
- ensuring bacon ends are secured. Place stuffed thighs in the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear
- 30 to 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of a thigh should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; add jalapeños. Cook and stir until juices have evaporated
- 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining butter
- melt completely
- about 1 minute. Stir in flour until it starts to brown
- 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in warm milk
- 1/3 cup at a time
- mixing thoroughly after each addition.
- Bring milk mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer
- stirring occasionally
- until sauce thickens
- about 7 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Add remaining mozzarella cheese; gently stir until incorporated.
- Cut strings from thighs and smother with sauce.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 46 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 6 mins
Servings: 4