Cheese Stuffed Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe (Sponsored by We Love Fire)

This cheese stuffed grilled chicken breast recipe post was sponsored by We Love Fire, but all thoughts, opinions, and weakness for cute blue things are my own!

Now that we have chickens I find myself conflicted about this, but I have to admit that Hubby and I are HUGE fans of cooking chicken for dinner.  Or lunch.  Once a week I boil some chicken breasts, shred them, and keep them in Pyrex in the fridge so we can easily toss some chicken onto salads for lunch.  For dinner, I have a large rotation of easy 5-minute chicken dinners that we love for the simplicity and ease.  But grilled chicken is a particular favorite.  We even have a grill pan we can use in the oven all winter long!

Our New Portable BBQ

Because we have a sailboat and plan to go on some longer sailing adventures next summer, I wanted a portable grill so we can grill-on-the-go.  I just think it will be so fun to go on a sailing weekend with friends (our boat sleeps six!), stay anchored near a quiet Lake Superior island or beach, and have a great meal on the beach!  Doesn’t that sound so dreamy?  This portable Napolean TravelQ™ PRO285 Portable Gas Grill is key to that dream – plus it’s cute and blue and matches the boat decor! (Napolean is a brand that We Love Fire retailers carry!)

Even though it’s compact, this portable grill is nice and roomy.  We fit two chicken breasts and a foil packet of veggies with ease.  We could easily feed six people from this grill!  It’s seriously impressive – and great for small spaces, like condo or apartment balconies, where people might not be allowed (or have room for) a full size BBQ.  Plus this runs on propane – those little green cylinders – but there’s also an attachment so you can use a full size, refillable propane cylinder.  I love that option.

I also picked up a set of perfectly scaled BBQ tools (the flipper was perfect for this recipe going off without a hitch):

I took it for a spin on dry land this week to test it out, and it works so beautifully (and it was a snap to clean because the grills are removable, along with a small drip tray beneath that also comes out).  Here’s what I made!

Cheese Stuffed Grilled Chicken Recipe

For this cheese stuffed grilled chicken recipe, I started by making a spice rub.  I like to make my own (although you can find great spice mixes) and I mix up something different each time, but this time I did 2 tbsp oregano, 2 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp sea salt, a dash of cayenne and cracked pepper (I usually also add cumin, which is delicious).  I mixed it all up on a shallow bowl (or pie plate) and set aside.  

Next I sliced the chicken breast length-wise, but not all the way through.  I wanted kind of a pita pocket shape.  I added some thinly sliced cheese (mozzarella) and thinly sliced tomatoes, and seasoned with a dash of pepper, oregano, and salt.  Then I carefully closed up the chicken breasts and moved them to the spice rub bowl, working the spice rub onto both the top and bottom of the chicken breast.  Super easy.

Then we cooked the chicken breasts on our new portable grill for 30 minutes (flipping them over halfway in between).  For grilling on this portable BBQ, it’s just like a full size version: pre-heat (to 400°F) and then turn down the heat to 350 when it’s fully pre-heated.  I also chopped up some veggies, tossed them in grapeseed oil, and lightly salted with a dash of pepper too.  I wrapped them in a tinfoil packet and placed it on the other burner, which we kept on high heat (and rotated the veggies halfway through too).

Although we do use the gauge for cooking temperatures, we also use a Napolean ACCU-PROBE™ Bluetooth® Thermometer to check internal temperature.  Hubby is obsessed with this because you can track the progress of cooked meats on an app.  

And voila!  Grilled chicken with a cheesy surprise and extra juiciness, thanks to the sliced tomatoes inside.  And this took two seconds to prepare, only 30 minutes to grill, and two seconds to eat. 

The most important food critic agrees: it smelled and tasted delicious!

I hate when recipes “fake” things, with special photography tricks (like using fake food or sprays) and crazy food styling, because then it’s always a let down when what I make is mush comparatively, haha.  So this is my totally, 100% authentic recipe with photos fresh off the grill, snapped quick before we ate our delicious dinner on the deck.  It’s super simple, really easy, and un-fussy (like most of our meals).     

We Love Fire is a united buying group of local and reputable, independent dealers throughout North America who specialize in heating systems (fireplaces and stoves) and grills. They are a great resource for families who are looking for trustworthy information and advice, offering down-to-earth, knowledgeable service and good prices.  As a group of retailers, they have more buying power and can offer really competitive prices too!  So if you’ve been in the market for a grill, and don’t know where to start, definitely check out the website and visit a We Love Fire retailer who can help!