It’s officially after the Holidays and for many the New Year brings new resolutions. Many people scour the web for not only healthy recipes but recipes that taste delicious; recipes that don’t appear as though you’re trying to eat healthy especially if you have picky eaters in your house, recipes that actually taste amazing with little effort in prep time. This recipe has many fan favorites that are sure to be enjoyed by even the pickiest of eaters; like smoked bacon or pancetta, apples, and other herbs and spices to add flavor not fat.
When I am preparing any type of meat I always choose healthier and leaner options so the overall fat content is relatively low. For this recipe I marinated the chicken overnight. Now, most of you may see this and say ‘I don’t have time for that!’ That’s’ perfectly fine if time is of the essence then marinate 15-25 minutes. Also, make sure your chicken is cut in thicker pieces so it does not dry out baking in the oven. In preparation for the marinade I used a large bowl because I wanted to make sure the chicken was submerged in the bowl to properly marinate. I used a mixture of olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, paprika, garlic, thyme, lemon zest and lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar.
As the chicken is marinating you then have time to cut the apple slices, Brussels Sprouts, and bacon to the mixture. I also used pre-cooked bacon since I had it available in my freezer. On a side note I personally, did not add the bacon the second time I made this meal and it turned out fine.
Once everything was cut I placed and spread out the Brussels sprouts, Apples, and Bacon on the largest baking sheet I had that was lightly sprayed with cooking spray. I then strategically placed all the marinated chicken with the marinade over the sprouts, bacon on the baking sheet. Finally, I added additional fresh thyme, lemon zest, and craisins for more color and flavor!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breasts of medium thickness boneless and skinless
- 5-6 strips of bacon
- 1 lb bag of Brussels sprouts sliced
- 1-2 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 lemon squeezed
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme stripped from the stem
- Directions:
- First you prepare the marinade for your chicken. In a large bowl, combine the ¼ tsp Himalayan seas salt, ¼- ½ balsamic vinegar, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice 4 cloves of garlic chopped, and fresh thyme and mix together.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- If chicken is already cut then place it in the marinade, but if you do not have the chicken pre-cut, cut the chicken breasts into smaller but thicker chunks.
- Marinade the chicken for the 20 minutes
- Spray your largest cookie sheet with cooking spray
- Start slicing your Brussels Sprouts an apples and place on cookie tray
- Cut your 5-6 pieces of pre-cooked bacon (if you have raw bacon cook then cut) and place on over you Brussels sprouts and apples.
- Finally, once chicken has marinated place with the marinade juice over mixture on cookie tray
- Bake 25-30 minutes and check chicken to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.
**Optional, you could place the cookie tray of Brussels sprouts, Apples, and Bacon in the oven to bake for 10 minutes before you add the chicken, allowing the vegetables, apples and bacon crisp up for further flavor.
LEMONBERRY & FIG 