Cheesy Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

I was thinking about making bacon wrapped chicken and even looked at this recipe, but I realized I didn't have any bacon...well, I have tons of real bacon bits...but I didn't have strips of bacon to wrap around chicken. But her recipe sounded yummy. So I thought...maybe I could modify it by just using bacon bits and tossing the other ingredients on top. But then I decided to make a couple of changes.

First, I threw the cream cheese into the microwave to soften it... and I cut my chicken into small pieces because it was frozen and I wanted it to cook as quickly as possible. Then I stirred in 1 package of Italian dressing mix into the softened cream cheese and added about 1/2 cup of real bacon bits. I put the chicken into a 9x 13 pan and smeared the cream cheese mixture on top. Then, because I was lazy, I sliced cheddar cheese and laid it on top of the chicken. You could totally grate the cheddar cheese, but I just sliced it because it was faster. Then I baked this for about an hour. (Until the chicken is cooked thoroughly). Optional topping: bread crumbs or Ritz crackers crumbled
Yum!

Recipe:

5-6 chicken thighs (or chicken breasts, but I used thighs)
1 package Italian dressing mix
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup real bacon bits... or about 5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese
bread crumbs or crumbled Ritz crackers crumbled (optional)

*You could also add a little bit of jalapenos to make it spicy or a small can of green chiles. You could also substitute pepper jack cheese (too spicy for all of us except Alfredo!) or monterey jack or whatever your favorite cheese is. This was so yummy! It would also be great like artsy fartsy mama suggested with the bacon strips wrapped around the chicken and then baked. So many options!
Sorry...no pictures...didn't occur to me until I was eating the yummy food and thought...I want to remember this!