Bacon and Roasted Vegetable Ragu Over Chicken and Rice

This recipe came about as many of my recipes do, figuring out how to make a delicious and satisfying dinner from what I have on hand. I knew Chris was joining me for dinner yesterday, so I checked out my refrigerator in the morning. Leftover roasted vegetables and diced fire roasted tomatoes in the fridge, two lonely chicken breasts in the freezer. I moved the chicken into the fridge to defrost, and then set out on my way to work pondering what to make. When I suggested making a "sauce" out of the roasted vegetables and tomatoes, Chris was intrigued, but not sold. Then I mentioned that I could put this sauce over chicken that had been cooked in bacon fat. Needless to say dinner was decided.

For just going with the flow, this recipe pleasantly surprised Chris and I. It was fast and simple, in addition to being delicious, and made completely from items I had in the pantry and refrigerator!

Start out by frying up some bacon on medium-medium high. I used turkey bacon, because that's what I tend to buy - a mild attempt at watching my figure.

While the bacon was cooking I also put some rice on to serve the chicken and ragu over. You can use any type of rice you want, I used a whole grain chicken flavored blend. Prepare the rice according to the package directions.

After your bacon is nice and crispy remove it from the pan to paper towels, and let it cool before cutting it into pieces. Next, turn down your burner to medium and season your chicken breasts. I seasoned my chicken breasts with dried thyme, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper prior to cooking. Be sure to season both sides! After seasoning, add the chicken to the pan, do not pour out that bacon fat!

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

I made this the other night for the boyfriend and I, and man was it good! I saw this recipe on Pinterest and immediately knew it was a meal Chris and I would both love. Not only was it incredibly delicious, but also so easy! I was a little worried when I was making it because I didn't read the comments on  Christina's post until after I had already bought my pork loin. She used pork tenderloin in her recipe, and some readers who used regular pork loin said theirs' had come out too dry, or had to be sliced instead of falling apart. I also knew I was going to be cooking my meat for much longer than the recommended 6-8 hours because I was meeting Chris downtown at Bayou for an appetizer before coming home and having dinner, which did not help my "dried out pork" concerns. However, this recipe could not have been more wonderful. The meat was falling apart just how I wanted and was incredibly moist. I think the pork loin was perfect for the amount of time mine needed to cook. If you want to make this meal in a shorter amount of time, then I would recommend going with the pork tenderloin instead, and only using half of amount of water indicated below.