Welcome back to another episode of Foodie Tuesday! :)
Today I'm sharing a SUPER DELISH recipe with you that I tried this week.
**NOTE** it's NOT the healthiest recipe in the world, but we had eaten pretty healthy the rest of the week so I thought it was time to indulge a little.You could certainly make this healthier by using turkey bacon, adding more veggies, using fat-free mayo or omitting the mayo, etc...but like I said, a little indulgence once in a while never hurt anyone. ;)
I found the original recipe here and made my own changes to it. Now presenting...
Cheesy Bacon Chicken with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
You need:
Chicken breasts (I used two large ones...we only ate 1/2 each and ate the other 1/2 the next day!)
Worcestershire sauce
Bacon
Mushrooms
Onion
Cheese (I did mozzarella, you could really use any type you like)
Honey mustard
Mayo
Here's how I did it:
- Thaw your chicken
- (I put my frozen chicken in a glass dish of hot water and let them sit...they thaw out super quick that way!).
- Poke them with a fork a few times, then place in a ziploc with Worcestershire sauce.
- I eyeballed it, just kept shaking until I felt the chicken had been coated well and there was still some left in the bag for marinating.
- Refridgerate overnight, or at least 1 hour.
- Fry up your bacon on medium heat.
- I planned for about 2 pieces of bacon per chicken, but it was a lot and we didn't use it all. I would plan one slice per chicken breast next time.
- For a healthier option you can microwave your bacon on a paper towel, or you can bake it in the oven. It tastes so different because all the extra grease drips off!! It's amazing!
- Meanwhile, slice your onion and cut up your mushrooms.
- For mushrooms I use these dried mushrooms from Costco. I leave them in my pantry, and they are always ready for me when I need them!
- You just soak them in a bowl of water for 5 minutes to reconstitute them...
- then squeeze out all the extra water when you're done. Warning...they stink. Bad.
- As for the onion, I only used a few slices. You don't need a ton, they are just going on top of the chicken breasts.
- When your bacon is done cooking, remove from the pan and drain on a towel.
- You can then wipe out your bacon grease and cook your veggies in olive or vegetable oil...but I left some bacon grease in my pan and cooked them in it. It tastes waaaaay better.
- Saute your vegetables on medium high heat until they are cooked and soft.
- The recipe originally called for broiling your chicken, but I find broiling to dry it out. I opted to saute my chicken in the same pan as the vegetables and bacon. Keep the bacon flavor going :)
- I added a little extra Worcestershire sauce,
- ...and I put a lid on my pan to keep my chicken juicy as it cooks. I'm OCD about my chicken being too dry!
- As you can tell I don't have a lid that fits my pan so I simply use another pan as the lid! It works great, actually.
- Cook the chicken on Medium until no longer pink in the middle.
- For our side dish I heated up some frozen corn.
- I stock up on it when it's on sale, steam it, cut it off the cob, and freeze it in baggies. It tastes soooo much better than canned!
- You simply add a tablespoon or two of water to the bottom of your bowl, add your corn, cover it (I use a plastic plate) and microwave on high for 3 minutes. It's perfection.
- Add a little salt, pepper, and parsley and you have the best "fresh" corn ever.
When your chicken is golden delicious...
- ...start layering!
- I put my chicken on top of foil because I figured some of the toppings might come off when broiling and I didn't want to lose any of the yumminess. Turned out to be a good idea.
- I layered the bacon first (breaking it into smaller pieces),
- then I added the veggies,
- and the cheese on top. I used shredded mozzarella and had one lonely slice of provolone in my fridge that I used up also. Any type of cheese would be good, really.
- Place it in the oven on low broil and watch it closely. Everything is cooked, so you just want to let the cheese melt, bubble, and brown slightly.
- For the sauce you could use plain honey mustard dressing, or you could do what I did...
...and mix a little honey dijon mustard with a little light mayo. Mix it together and it's really delish. Totally makes the meal!
- When your chicken is done, remove from the oven, serve with your sauce, and enjoy!!!
- Side note: my chicken was really thick. Next time I will pound it out with a mallet a little so it's flatter; it would make the toppings stay on easier and the chicken would cook faster that way.
Delicioso!
