The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Our household seems to be in balance, as I do the desserts and breads and Joe does most of the dinners, if I come up with suggestions. I can spend a few hours making desserts and breads, (instead of dusting), but when it comes to dinner, I just want it done and ready to eat, which is probably why fast food vendors came to be. We often start with what we have in the refrigerator and go from there. We had Brussels sprouts that needed to be used up. For this recipe, I think green beans would make a nice substitute.

I'll write the recipe as is, but Joe made this in a skillet only, not putting it in the oven, and shortened it a bit. It was delicious, but anything with bacon is goodJ

Most have heard of Penzy's spices; they are online. We were gifted with a box of a variety of spices, which we have been having fun trying. Joe used Galena Street Rib Rub for seasoning.*

Need more dinner ideas? Try realsimplegood.com.

INGREDIENTS:

6 pieces of bacon, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

5 cups brussels sprouts, ends cut off and cut into slices

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Salt and pepper

2 lemons, cut into slices

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat a cast iron skillet or other oven-safe pan over medium heat

Cook the diced bacon until it starts to brown, and is just beginning to get crispy on the sides. Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate.

While the bacon is cooking, chop your brusssels sprouts into slices or thin rounds, slice your lemon into rounds. Chop up your garlic and rosemary also.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees**

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on either side.* When the bacon is done, add garlic to cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Place chicken directly on top of garlic to brown it on each side. It should take about 5 minutes each side depending on the thickness.

Once the chicken is browned, add your brussels sprouts and rosemary into the skillet. Sprinkle the bacon on top.

Season the pan with salt and pepper (if you are putting it in the oven)

Layer your slices of lemon on top of each chicken

Bake 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts, until chicken is cooked thru.

MY NOTES:

We did not use four chicken breasts, but two large ones, and sliced them horizontally so they were not so thick and cooked quicker. We didn't use the garlic and rosemary, as we did not have them, but I think they would make a nice addition. As I mentioned, since it was so warm, we didn't heat the oven, but cooked it longer on the stovetop, until done.

Serve with a nice salad, if desired. It's very flavorful.

ENJOY-I'm making the Snickerdoodle bars to share with "the kids."