I’m always on the lookout for new and different ways to make chicken, whether it’s baked, grilled or pan fried. I was searching through my various pins on Pinterest and came across this pan chicken recipe from Julia’s Album, a site that has a load of terrific recipes. My sons are game to try new recipes, and since this one calls for bacon, I knew it would be a hit with them, and it was. They loved it. The recipe starts by cooking the bacon and the onion and then lightly searing the chicken. The chicken then poaches in the mustardy-bacon-onion-flavored chicken broth – absolutely delicious and simple to do!

I paired the chicken with some roasted asparagus. I’ve had spring fever really bad with all the nice weather we’ve had here lately in Iowa, and nothing says spring to me like fresh asparagus. Well, maybe rhubarb says “spring” a little bit more, but it’s still too early to harvest any of that! Anyway, dinner was a success, and I’ll be sure to try out more of Julia’s recipes in the near future – they all sound so good 🙂

Chicken with Bacon Mustard Sauce

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

8 strips of bacon, uncooked, chopped (I used a double-smoked bacon for extra flavor)

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Combine Dijon mustard, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make a paste. Spread the paste evenly on both sides of the chicken breasts. Set aside.

In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon on medium-high heat just until it starts to brown. Remove back to a pate, leaving bacon fat in the skillet. To the same skillet, add the chopped onion, and cook in the bacon fat until softened but not browned. Remove onion to the same plate as the bacon.

Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the hot skillet. Cook mustard-covered chicken breasts on medium heat just long enough to lightly brown the chicken, about 4 minutes per side. The chicken will not be done yet, but you’ll continue cooking it in the next step. Remove chicken to a plate.

To the same skillet, add the chicken broth, and bring it to a boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet. Add back the bacon and onion, and mix well. Add back the chicken breasts to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning chicken once, until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.

Serve with sauce over top.

Roasted Asparagus

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed of any woody stems

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place washed and trimmed asparagus spears on a jelly roll pan. Drizzle olive oil over all spears, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Toss the spears to evenly coat. Roast asparagus for approximately 30 minutes, or until the spears are slightly toasted.

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