Today's Word: Bacon-Chicken-Veggies

In our house we believe that the only thing better than bacon is more bacon.  It really is amazing how much flavor a few slices of bacon can add to a meal.  This recipe was born of a measly two slices of bacon left in the package, getting home from work after 7 p.m. and not much in the fridge or freezer but chicken breasts and frozen vegetables.  It is absolutely great!

Bacon-Chicken-Veggies has become one word, and that word means easy and tasty.  We use our electric skillet to cook it, but you can just as easily do it in a skillet on the stovetop.  It works with thawed or frozen chicken breasts, you can cook one serving or a ton, you can change up the vegetables—we’re partial to broccoli, but use cauliflower, or a great little sugar-snap stir-fry mix.

In a low carb lifestyle, frozen vegetables can be a lifesaver for those tired nights after work.  Some research shows they may even be more nutritious than produce at the local grocery store.  Of course, if you can get really fresh—from your own garden or the farmer’s market, that’s really the best way to go.  Frozen vegetables are also cheap and one of the main things that make me rant against the “it’s cheaper to eat junk food” excuse for our nation being so fat.  With a recipe like this, you’ll see that easy, cheap, convenient and good can go hand-in-hand.  (You did catch that part about just being able to throw the chicken in frozen, right?)

To learn more on the veggie debate, here’s an interesting article about Fresh vs. Frozen veggies.

Here’s how Bacon-Chicken-Veggies generally works for me:

• Get home from work, pat the dogs, drop the bags and purse on the desk.
• Grab the electric skillet out of the cabinet.
• Cut up bacon with kitchen shears and throw in the pan.
• Go get out of work clothes.
• Stir bacon.
• Go feed chickens.
• Throw chicken in while talking with Sweetie and the dogs.
• Turn chicken, add a bit of water and cover.
• Put away dishes washed before leaving for work.
• Talk to Sweetie and the dogs some more.
• Throw vegetables in the middle.
• Decide what’s worth watching on TV.
• Dinner!

That’s really the recipe.  You can do it with any kind of frozen vegetables, and it’s also good with sausages or pork chops.  In fact, most work nights, some version of this is what we have.  The bacon usually doesn't make it in the pan if we're having sausages. In short, this isn't really a recipe, it’s just good dinner, and it’s in one pan!

Bacon-Chicken-Veggies

3 thin slices bacon

4 large chicken breasts

3 cups frozen veggies

Cut up bacon into small pieces and sauté in pan until soft but done. Place chicken breasts in pan, season to your lliking, allow to sizzle for a few minutes.

Turn over, re-season if desired, add a little bit of water, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until done.

Move chicken breasts to the edges of the pan and toss frozen veggies in the center, season veggies as desired.  Cover and steam until done.

Before serving, toss veggies in pan juices.

This can be easily done with less or more chicken, and of course, you can do it with fresh veggies.

*The nutrition information here is for this cooked with frozen broccoli.  It should only vary a little bit with other frozen vegetables as long as you make sure that there aren't any high sugar veggies in the mix, and there's nothing else added to the veggies.  Read those ingredient and nutrition labels!