Southwestern Chicken Roll-Ups

Chicken was bland. Needs to be seasoned with salt and pepper. 20 minutes not enough cooking time-took 45 minutes.

This is definitely a one star as written, way too bland and dry. After tweaking it to our tastes it was great. To the bread crumbs I added a blend of Mexican seasonings I make myself but you can use taco seasoning mix to taste if you like and brushed the chicken with melted butter before rolling the it in the bread crumbs. Also used grated whole milk pepper jack cheese, instead of low fat cream cheese, mixed in the Mexican seasoning blend to taste, 2 cloves fresh garlic, grated. Instead of a sprig of cilantro I used 1 Tb of finely snipped cilantro, packed. This was for 4 large breast halves, but you can adjust the amount of cheese stuffing mix to however much you like so long as you can roll it up. I served them with extra cheesy refried beans and Mexican rice made from scratch.

LOL...I know what you mean by not using colored toothpicks. My dishes come out very colorful, 'cause I keep forgetting to buy regular toothpicks when I go shopping. Try using Kraft's "Garden Vegetable" cream cheese for a more intense flavor, and more cilantro, of course... Cooking Light is my favorite mag. I look forward to getting it every month. Love the recipes.....

Surprisingly good! Great flavor but I added 1/4 C.+ of chopped cilantro and two minced garlic cloves to the cream cheese mix. Was a complete mess when rolling, and as previously stated, presentation is really lacking. Added remaining sauce on top while cooking, it looked curdled, so may try adding as it comes out of the oven next time. Great, quick meal for my immediate family, but won't be serving for guests.

1. Yummy. Hubby who is somewhat picky liked it. Says we should have it again. 2. FOOD SAFETY CONCERN: When I baked for 20 minutes at the recommended temp, I was unable to obtain an internal roll temperature of 160F, which is necessary to kill any Campylobacter and Salmonella which may be hitching a ride on the chicken (OR CILANTRO). I had to bake for 40 MINUTES to obtain 160F, which I checked with a thermometer. You may argue that the internal parts of the roll are salsa, cream cheese, and cilantro, which are either processed ahead of time or typically eaten raw, but all of these products have become contaminated by being in contact with the chicken, so their temp must reach 160F to be safe. Additionally, as of 7/19/09 cilantro is being recalled for Salmonella contamination (you can go to the FDA website to see what current recalls are). My advice is to USE A THERMOMETER TO CHECK INTERNAL TEMPERATURE before serving. Bon appetit! 3. I will definitely serve again, using a meat thermometer to check internal temperature. 4. I would have given 4 stars if not for food safety concern.