Chicken Cutlets with Bacon, Rosemary and Lemon

I've been trying to be creative with my cooking lately, but I'm failing!  Life has gotten in the way of my motivation and my time to devote to meals.  Maybe it's just a season, but I really am missing my meal-planning and my once a week grocery shopping has turned into daily, running in to pick up a few things, kind of shopping.  I usually can't stand that, but it's surprisingly not bugging me!
I did however, manage to steal an hour at the grocery store the other and stocked up on some meat and staples for my pantry.  Then of course, I had to come up with a plan of what to cook! HA!
Well, I found this recipe, tried it on my family last week, and it was a winner!  It has a few steps, but if you prep everything before you start cooking, then it won't seem bad at all.  Another disclaimer is that there is plenty of garlic in this dish...be prepared!  We love garlic...a lot of garlic, so this didn't phase my family one bit.  Give it a try if you're looking for something new to do with chicken!



Chicken Cutlets with Bacon, Rosemary and Lemon {adapted recipe from Ezra Pound Cake}


INGREDIENTS {serves 4}

• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts {If you can't find thin-sliced, then just pound the chicken to 1/4 in. thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap}
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS:  

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.

  Fry bacon in a large skillet until crisp, about 5 minutes.  Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to plate lined with paper towels. Spoon off all but 2 Tbsp. bacon fat.

Meanwhile, place flour in a shallow dish.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season chicken with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour, and shake to remove excess.  Add butter to reserved bacon fat in skillet and heat over medium-high heat to melt butter.  Cook chicken until browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to plate {reserving fat in skillet} and cover loosely with foil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, rosemary and pepper flakes.  Cook until garlic is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes.  Add broth and lemon juice, scrape up browned bits from bottom of skillet with wooden spoon and simmer until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.  

Return chicken and bacon to pan and simmer in pre-heated 200 degree oven about 5-10 minutes.  Sauce will become nice and thick and this is a good way to keep chicken nice and warm and crispy until you need to serve it.  

Serve with these potatoes...YUM!