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!

Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan

I have a tendency to walk into the kitchen with an idea for a meal, look in my refrigerator and pantry and then just go with the flow. That's exactly what happened with this Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan recipe. I originally thought I'd just grill the chicken, but then I saw that I had some bread which was nearing the end of its life, so I decided to try my hand at homemade Italian bread crumbs. I was also planning on serving this with a very small portion of pasta, only one cup for two servings, but my lovely (hungry) boyfriend quickly informed me that was definitely not enough pasta. So instead of a side salad we tripled the amount of pasta. Healthy.

The best part about this meal is that you can prepare the chicken and sauce all in the same skillet, making for an easier clean-up. This is a very simple week night meal and is ready in 30-45 minutes!