Many, many years ago, (about 12 actually, but I would rather not start counting), a young mum living in a new city with her husband and their 4 year old son who was in kindy, had waaaaaay too much time on her hands. So she started to cook. And one evening, when money was tight, she looked in her fridge to see what she could come up with for dinner. And this is it. I’m sure I’m not the first person to think of this combination, it’s so simple and pretty impressive, even if I do say so myself. It will only take you maybe five minutes to assemble it in the pan, and then another 20-30 minutes in the oven until the chicken is cooked through. I often put it together in the morning (without the cream) and place it in the fridge until dinner time. Then I just add the cream and put it in the oven while I get the veges ready. Great for those nights when you will be rushing in the door at dinner time wondering what to feed everyone.
Bacon and Mushroom Chicken in Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
All-Purpose Seasoning
3-4 Cloves of Garlic, minced or finely diced
6 Rashers of Bacon, or Bacon Shortcuts
About 6 large Mushrooms, thinly sliced
600mls Thickened Cream (Do Not Use Reduced Fat Cream, or it won’t thicken)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Trim chicken breasts and lay side-by-side in a baking dish.
Sprinkle lightly with All-Purpose Seasoning, then sprinkle on your garlic.
I was actually out of All-Purpose Seasoning this week, and substituted Cajun Seasoning, and it was great, so improvise if you need to.
Lay bacon on top of the chicken and top with sliced mushrooms. I usually lay them in a fancy line down each chicken breast, but you can just sprinkle them all over the place if you like.
At this stage you can cover the pan with glad-wrap and place it in the fridge for later, or you can pour the cream over the top of the chicken breasts and place it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through. I usually slice one open at the thickest end to be sure it is cooked. You can disguise the cut with your bacon.
Now, I don’t know if cream just isn’t what it used to be, or if some chicken breasts are full of water, but lately I find the sauce is too runny when it comes out of the oven, so I drain the sauce into a saucepan and cover the chicken with foil while I place the saucepan on the stove, bring the sauce to the boil, reduce the heat and let the sauce bubble away and thicken as it reduces while I serve up the rest of the meal. Then I just pour the sauce over each chicken breast and serve the meal.
Hope you like my little creation.
Note: I have listed 600mls of cream, but obviously, if you are only using 4 chicken breasts you will not need to use the whole 600ml bottle. I usually only use the whole bottle when I am cooking 8 chicken breasts, and about 3/4 of the bottle for 6 chicken breasts. Unless of course you love your cream sauces, in which case, I say go for it!
Great served with rice to soak up all of that great sauce.