Twenty Minute Chicken

I love Fauxbulous Friday! This is where I share recipes that break from my traditional way of cooking. Here you will find dishes that include: ready rice, dinner rolls or pizza crust from a tube, and ready to eat cake frosting.  Pretty much any ingredient that makes dinnertime easier. We all use them! Why not share some ideas!

Twenty Minute Chicken is one of those dishes I throw together when I am at a loss for dinner ideas. And I've got about half hour before my husband walks in the door. My three base ingredients are chicken, bacon, and rice. After that, it's anyone's guess what I'll throw in the mix! Broccoli florets and chopped asparagus are excellent in this dish. It's a home run every time! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4-8 strips of bacon (depends on how many breasts you use)

1 package freshly sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

sliced green onion

1-2 packages ready rice (prepared as directed on box)

wax paper

Directions:

Fry bacon in a large non-stick skillet to desired crispness. Set aside to cool on paper towel. Reserve bacon drippings in heat safe bowl, leaving about about 2-4 Tbsp of bacon drippings in skillet. Pound chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper until they're about 1 inch thick. Season each side with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to the skillet and cook in the bacon drippings, about 3-4 minutes each side. You don't want the chicken to be completely cooked through, just lightly browned. Remove chicken to a separate plate and keep warm. Crumble up all the bacon and add back to the skillet with your mushrooms (or what ever other veggie you are using.) I like to add in an extra Tbsp of the bacon drippings at this point. Lightly saute just until the mushrooms soften and brown a bit. Switch to a lower heat and stir in the rice. Mix it well with the bacon and mushrooms. Slice chicken on the diagonal in to 1 inch strips, and lay across the rice medley. Cover skillet and let cook through another 5 minutes, just until chicken is no longer pink. Garnish with freshly sliced scallions, flat leaf parsley, or even cilantro. Easy peasy dinner!

*Leslie's Note: You can use all kinds of instant rice or noodle packages for this dish. The noodles make it nice and saucy. The various Rice A Roni mixes add a lot of flavor as well. I have even used the seasoned rice packs that you pop in the microwave. Definitely cheating in my book! But a HUGE time saver! And absolutely delicious!