Sticking with my bacon theme for Light Bites, I chose Chicken with Cider & Bacon Sauce. With us entering October and cooler temps (hopefully) right around the corner, cider sounded good. I mean, cider just screams fall, right?
This recipe was very simple and very quick. You saute bacon, pan-fry the chicken, then make a quick sauce by reducing some cider. The whole thing took me less than 20 minutes and most of that was trying to get turkey bacon to crisp up.
Some of the reviews (and Pam) warned that it was a little bland so rather than use cider, I took regular apple juice and spiced it up myself. I used about ½ cup of juice, about ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of both nutmeg and cloves. I halved the recipe so if you plan on making all 4 breasts, use a full cup of juice and double the spices. I also let the juice reduce until it was almost syrupy so the sweetness was really intensified.
We really loved this one! I expected to like it but we loved it. I served it over my favorite risotto (minus wine, plus thyme) and the sauce was awesome on it. I worried that my husband would call it “women food†but he told me that he’d happily eat it once or twice a month.
Chicken with Cider & Bacon Sauce
from Cooking Light
- 4 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bacon slices (chopped)
- ¼ cup minced fresh onion
- ¾ cup unsweetened apple cider
- ½ cup fat-free (less-sodium chicken broth)
- Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to ½-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.
- Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
- Add onion to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add cider and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to ½ cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in cooked bacon; serve sauce over chicken.
Melynda says
You are so good at food presentation! This looks so good!
.-= Melynda´s last blog ..12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies – Spicy Oatmeal Crisps =-.
Cassie says
This looks absolutely fantastic! I’ll be trying this one for sure.
.-= Cassie´s last blog ..Parmesan-Crusted Stuffed Chicken =-.
Laney says
Hey Amanda! I know that you cook quite a bit out of Cooking Light and have the cooking group for it too. I got an offer in the mail for a subscription for $10 a year. I am always trying to cook pretty healthy for us but I am not very interested in really complicated recipes with lots of steps. Do you feel that Cooking Light offers fairly easy to make recipes and would be worth my money?
amanda says
YES! It’s definitely worth it. It’s the only magazine I pay for and definitely worth $10! They include lots of articles about nutrition and fitness so it’s different from your typical food mag.
Laney says
Thanks! I think I will get it. Maybe I will even join Light Bites!
Amanda @ bakingwithoutabox says
Bacon sauce! What’s not for a hubs to love? It looks really good!