Chicken Breasts With Creamy Vegetable Topping

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 scallions including green tops, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 4 bone-in chicken breasts (about 2 1/4 pounds in all), skin removed

1. Heat the oven to 425u0b0. In a medium frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the scallions and carrot and cook 2 minutes longer. Mix the vegetables with the cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
2. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the remaining 1/4 teaspoons of salt and pepper. Put the breasts in a roasting pan and spread them with the vegetable cream cheese. Bake the chicken until just done, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Menu Suggestions: The rich topping on the chicken leaves one wanting a simply prepared vegetable, such as steamed broccoli, asparagus, or green beans.
4. Variation: Chicken Breasts with Boursin-Cheese Sauce: Substitute a 5 1/2-ounce package of plain or garlic-and-herb-flavored Boursin cheese for the cream cheese.
5. Wine Recommendation: A crisp and fruity white will cut through the rich cheese and pair well with the acidity of the bell pepper and scallion. A kabinett riesling from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany or, if you can find it, a riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York is a good possibility.

cooking oil, red bell pepper, scallions including green tops, carrot, cream cheese, salt, freshground black pepper, chicken

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-breasts-with-creamy-vegetable-topping (may not work)