Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon aka Chicken Balls

*All opinions about Benton's Bacon are my own. I was not paid by Benton's to write this post. 

Here's another recipe from my Dad.  Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon or as it's known by our friends as Chicken Balls. This is one of those amazing grilling recipes you'll use all summer long. 

Here's what you need from the store. 

boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 pound of your favorite bacon (I used Benton's Bacon)

mozzarella 

your favorite BBQ sauce

toothpicks

So first things first. The bacon. THE BACON! If you like bacon...(lets be real you love it)...you have to try Benton's Bacon! 

When you make this bacon your house smells like bacon heaven for days. If you open your windows the neighbors come over asking what you're making and if they can have some. (I am not joking we've really had some neighbors come over.) 

And the good news is that you can order it online just click on the link above!

This stuff is used by some pretty big restaurants all over the US. Not to mention Allen the owner is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. If you don't believe me that this stuff is amazing just Google Benton's Bacon and read about it....back to the recipe.

See how thick this bacon is! 

Cut a large pocket through the biggest part of your chicken.

Make sure you don't cut all the way through.

I like to go ahead and place my cheese in a bowl so there's no chicken germs in the remaining cheese as well as preheating the grill so it's ready to go.

Stuff as much cheese and other fillings you like into the chicken.

Now comes the fun part. Wrap the bacon around the chicken trying to close the pocket you made.  (Since I'm using Benton's Bacon I'm only going to wrap half my chicken because this is some powerful bacon flavors. With regular bacon I get from the grocery store I wrap these suckers up so you can't even see the chicken.)

Once you're happy with how things look use some toothpicks to secure the bacon into place.

And now we're ready to grill.

I used a towel to wipe oil on the grill grates and then placed my chicken in the center of the grill.

After about 5 minutes I flip the chicken over.

Then slather some BBQ sauce over the top of the chicken.

I continue to flip and sauce the chicken till it's thoroughly cooked. I prefer to use a meat thermometer to make sure it's 165 degrees.

The kids decided to eat an early dinner so the hubs and I got to eat on our own while they played with all the tupperware they could find in the kitchen.

Don't forget to take the toothpicks out before you dig in!

Who's ready for dinner!

What's your favorite grilling recipe?



*All opinions about Benton's Bacon are my own. I was not paid by Benton's to write this post. 

Chicken Parmesan

There are a few meals out there that no matter what I can out eat just about any grown man...Chicken Parmesan is one of them. I absolutely love this recipe. (Thanks Dad for teaching me how to make this!)

What you need:

package of chicken breasts 

1 egg

Italian bread crumbs

your favorite spaghetti sauce

spaghetti

mozzarella

To start pour some bread crumbs on a plate and whisk your egg in a bowl. 

Then preheat a pan with olive oil, preheat the over to 375 degrees, and put a layer of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.

Place your first piece of chicken into the whisked egg and turn it so it's coated. Then place the chicken in your breadcrumbs coating it the best you can.

Once your pan is nice and hot place the chicken on the pan and cook till the breadcrumbs form a nice golden crust.

It already looks delicious...but hold on there's more to do.

Once both sides are nice and golden lay all the chicken in the baking dish.

I tend to be overly generous on the cheese. I go ahead and place a layer on top of the chicken while they're still hot from the skillet. (My dad doesn't do this.)

Go ahead and pour your spaghetti sauce over the chicken and cheese. I like to be very generous with the sauce because all of the extra cheese makes the sauce extra yummy on the spaghetti.

Add another heaping helping of cheese on top of the sauce.

Cover with foil.

Make sure the foil is nice and snug so your sauce doesn't spill all over your oven. (I like to keep the bottom of mine foiled so cut down on cleaning.)

While your chicken is in the oven get your spaghetti ready with a boiling pot of water with about 10 minutes of cook time left

I also like to make extra spaghetti for leftovers with the sauce from the chicken Parmesan.

After 35-45 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken is) you can pull your baking dish out of the oven and remove the foil and see a beautiful saucy cheesy dinner staring at you.

Time to load up your plate. You can eat a salad or a vegetable with this...but in my opinion that takes up space from getting seconds and I'm totally going back for seconds. Make sure so scoop some of that cheesy sauce onto your spaghetti.

You really can't go wrong with layers of cheese on top of chicken.

I like to have a nice piece of crusty bread to soak up all the last bits of sauce and cheese on my plate. 

A nice glass of red wine and a filling dinner and I'm ready to relax...the dishes can wait till tomorrow right?

What's your favorite Italian inspired meal?

BBQ Chicken and Ranch Salad

Have you eaten at the Cheesecake Factory? If you haven't you should! I love their whole menu. Their BBQ Chicken Ranch salad is my favorite from the salad section of the menu. The portion sizes are ginormous too! (even the lunch size)

However, we always have to wait to get a table unless we get there at a random hour. With two little kids in tow waiting more than 15 min just doesn't always work. So I decided I'm going to start making this salad at home. 

Homemade BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad:

1boneless skinless chicken breast

3 handfuls Frozen corn (this is a unit of measure)

1 can of Black Beans

1/2 Avocado

Bag of your favorite lettuce. (We use a 50/50 mix)

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Ranch

Favorite BBQ sauce

All purpose seasoning

At the Cheesecake Factory you also get:

Cucumber

Fried Onion Rings

Tomatoes

Start with a good size chicken breast and sprinkle your favorite all purpose seasoning on both sides. I'm currently loving Rudy's Turkey Rub that hubs brought home from Austin, TX. (I like to foil the pan so I have less to clean up.)

Pour your favorite BBQ sauce on top of the chick and bake it at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes depending on how thick your chicken is. About halfway through I always add extra sauce.

Much easier clean up with the foil.

After it's cooled dice up the chicken into chunks. I will sometimes cook the chicken much earlier in the day if we have a lot going on to make it easier.

Cook three handfuls of corn with a little butter and warm some black beans on both on the stove top. Then slice your avocado.

Now all the toppings are ready I go ahead and take my washed and dried lettuce in a bowl and pre-toss it with my favorite ranch dressing.

Then assemble your salad! Hubs doesn't like avocado so I get to eat it all. 

Don't forget to grate the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese on top!

Doesn't that just look delicious!

One of the perks of this meal is the leftovers (if there are any). I like to stretch foods into other meals. Sometimes I'll make the chicken for dinner the day before and use the extra chicken for the salad or the day after use the black beans, corn and avocado in burritos. 

Hope you enjoy!

Bon Appétit!