I need to tell you something… I really haven’t been in the mood to cook very much lately.
I know I shouldn’t let myself get lazy since I love cooking & baking and I have a food blog and I’m trying to come up with new recipes for the blog & for my clients and cooking your own food is healthier and the list goes on…
I don’t know if it’s Pinterest overload of delicious looking ideas, the hot weather, the fact that I don’t like cleaning up the huge mess I make every.single.time I cook or what. Either way, I just haven’t been cooking very much lately.
Luckily, I saved a lot of my leftovers to keep in my freezer for times like this. But I’m running low {read: no more pre-made frozen meals remaining}
I decided {more like my freezer is empty, so I have to get back in the kitchen} that it’s time to get back in the kitchen, but I need something really delicious and great to make me excited about it, preferably using ingredients already in my refrigerator/freezer
Enter Bacon Wrapped Chicken. Perfect choice.
It’s one of those meals that half-way through it you get sad because you know you will be finished soon and you really don’t want to stop eating it.
You have two choices for cooking methods for this amazing meal…
A. Cook the chicken on the stove top
B. Roast the chicken in the oven
If you’re in a time crunch, A is the way to go. If you want crispy bacon, B is the better choice.
Whatever method you decide on for cooking your chicken, it will be delicious. Here is the recipe for both methods:
Bacon Wrapped Herb Chicken
Keywords: bake entree egg-free gluten-free low-carb no-sugar-added nut-free soy-free
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 4 skinless chicken breasts {about 4-6 oz each}
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 2 TBSP fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, optional
- 4-8 thin slices center-cut bacon {preferably uncured and lower-sodium}
Instructions
Put all the ingredients, except bacon & optional rosemary, in a zip top bag or shallow dish. Make sure the chicken is coated in the marinade.
Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 8 hours.
For each chicken breast, take a sprig of rosemary if using and wrap a piece of bacon tightly around the chicken, making sure it holds the rosemary in place. If the whole chicken breast isn’t covered with bacon, wrap another piece of bacon around the chicken.
Pan-fry the chicken {faster}
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken breast to the skillet; be sure not to overcrowd the pan – you may have to do this in two batches.
Cook the chicken about 7-10 minutes per side until chicken is done and bacon is cooked.
Roast the chicken {crispier}
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sit a cooling rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the cooling rack with non-stick spray. (Using a cooling rack helps the chicken cook evenly & make the bacon crispy)
After wrapping the chicken with bacon, place the chicken breast on the prepared cooling rack. Put in the preheated oven and bake 45-50 minutes or until chicken is done and bacon is crispy. Be sure to check the chicken periodically to make sure the bacon isn’t burning.
Note: If you have really thick chicken breast, be sure to pound them with a meat mallet or heavy pan to make them have even thickness. Otherwise, the chicken will not cook evenly & might make your chicken dry & gross or not done in the middle.
Also, if you opt to roast the chicken & want to make an easy side dish, you can just add some chopped vegetables + olive oil + seasoning to a pan and roast them along with the chicken.
Enjoy!
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P.S. If you’re looking for other exciting chicken ideas look here and here
Love this post! I too haven’t been in the mood to cook – here it’s just too hot. Funny that it’s never too hot to bake a treat though lol. I love this recipe. Super yummy and simple. Perfect for the summer we’re now starting to have. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. Have a great weekend.
Michelle
Thanks! You’re right – it’s never too hot to bake! Hope you try this recipe; it’s pretty tasty.