Take the Bad With the Good

We have all done it, ladies.



You sit down in a restaurant, and your internal monologue goes to work: "saladorburgersaladorfriedchickensaladorgrilledcheesesaladorpizza?"

"What can I get for you?", asks the server. It is time to make a decision.

YOU: "I will go with the salad today. Light dressing on the side. 86 the cheese."

SERVER: "Is there anything else I get you?"

YOU: "Well since you asked, let's add an order of fries...you know for everyone. Oh, I will also have a diet coke."

And so it goes. We make ourselves feel better about the bad by simply tacking it onto the good.

Ordering pizza? Add a salad.

Juicy burger? Leave off the Mayo.

Ordering fried chicken? Slap it on top of a salad.



Well, it is that mentality I worked off of here. It is not that this chicken is so so bad for you, but it was certainly made worse by the fact that I was adding a huge chunk of No Fail Bread slathered with my new original recipe for Bacon Rum Butter (recipe soon to come) on the side. This recipe is very easy. The inspiration came from a Paula Dean recipe for scallops which I will likely try one day as well, but since I have a 10 lb bag of frozen chicken in the freezer I decided to go with that. Bacon. Mustard. Chicken.

Bustard Chicken

(makes 2 chicken breasts)

4 strips smoked bacon
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Peanut oil (you can also use vegetable or canola if that is all you have)

Ahead of time:
Cook the bacon (not too crisp) by microwave or on a skillet.
Drop the bacon and the mustard into a food processor (from the hole in the top while it is already running).
Keep the food processor on until the mustard and bacon is thoroughly mixed or even pureed.
Coat the chicken breasts with the bacon/mustard mixture and place them in a ziploc bag. Place the bag in the refrigerator and let sit for at least 5-6 hours.

To cook:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (should be about 1/4 inch thick).
Take the chicken out of the plastic bags, making sure to use every last bit of the bacon mixture to coat the breasts.
Once the oil is hot, Use tongs to place the coated chicken breasts into the hot oil. Cook for about 1 minute on each side.
Transfer the chicken breasts to a small baking pan, making sure to scrape up all the bits of bacon/mustard from the skillet and putting it on top of the chicken on the baking pan. Place the pan with the chicken in the oven.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the chicken in cooked all the way through.



I served the hot, crispy chicken over a nice fresh salad which included tomatoes, light ranch dressing, sharp cheddar cheese and chunks of toasted no fail bread.