BBQ Chicken under a Bacon Mat

Getting my husband to eat chicken is like getting a picky two year old to eat broccoli.  I have to "invent" ways to get him to give it a go.  This is one of ways I like to hide chicken, under a Mat O' Bacon.  He will never know, right?  I learned about the Mat O' Bacon from this blog  Bacon Mats .  BTW, these make the most delicious BLT sandwiches because there is bacon in EVERY BITE!  For those of you who are not pork lovers, I guess you could try turkey bacon.  If you do, let me know how it goes.  

The BBQ sauce is a quick and easy sauce that is based off of bottled sauce.  Feel free to whip up your own! 

Prep time:  30 min.  Cook time:  35 min. 

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 

(mine were 6 oz each, but I recommend doing 4 oz and that is what the calorie count is based on.)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 

1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce 

1 tbsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning 

1tsp. dried chile flakes 

small dash of cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

1.  Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.  Set aside. 

I do not eat applesauce regularly, so I guy the little kid cups and
 keep them in my pantry.
I used the same cup to measure my BBQ sauce.  

Finished sauce 

2.  Cut the 12 strips of bacon in half, so that you have 24 half strips.  You will use 6 half strips per breast. 

3.  Make the bacon mats by laying out 3 strips across and weaving 3 down.  Sprinkle with the Montreal Steak Seasoning. 

Hmmm.. it's bacon and I know it!

4.  Place one chicken breast down on the Mat O' Bacon.  Sprinkle the other side of the chicken breast with the seasoning.  Tuck the bacon around the chicken breast (you can use toothpicks to secure, but I was out). Do the same thing with the rest of the breasts. 

Don't tell him there is chicken under there.  

5.  In an oven proof skillet lay the breasts bacon side down and cook over medium high heat until the bacon is light brown and starting to crisp (5-7 min.)  

6.  Using tongs or a spatula, flip the breasts over to brown on the other side.  

7.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Top the breasts with the BBQ sauce mixture. If the bottom of the pan seems dry then you can splash some water or a white wine to loosen it up.

8.   Place the pan in the preheated oven, bake for 25 min.  or until the breasts are cooked through (if you use larger breasts, then you will need to cook them longer). 

Serve with a veggie and/or brown rice.  We did garlic broccoli with red peppers and brown rice. 

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 71 Calories 234
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 7.94g		12%
	Saturated Fat 2.167g	11%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0.98g
	Monounsaturated Fat 3.037g
Cholesterol 72mg		24%
Sodium 1112mg		46%
Potassium 192mg
Total Carbohydrate 9.57g		3%
	Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
	Sugars 3.72g
Protein 28.2g
Vitamin A 6% Vitamin C 8%
Calcium 3% Iron 8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrition Values are based on USDA Nutrient Database SR18

 **Remember this is for a 4 oz chicken breast.  The sodium count is high because of the Montreal Steak Seasoning.  Omit this from the recipe to reduce the amount of sodium.