Before anything else, the “concept” of this recipe is not mine. I got the basic idea from “The Recipe Critic.” But I made enough changes (you should see my page of notes!), that I felt comfortable sharing it with you. Where do I start with this recipe? The juicy chicken? The bacon? Mushrooms? Cream sauce? Or the mushrooms paired with wild rice? Whatever it is…this combination works fabulously.
This recipe isn’t hard. Don’t let the cream sauce scare you (no roux). But it does take a little time in the kitchen. The results are completely worth it, though!
If you look at the picture below, you can spy the “Baked Zucchini Parmesan Sticks” in the background. You’ll love them. They’re easy to make and go with almost everything.
Chicken with Bacon Mushroom Cream Sauce & Wild Rice
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 6 chicken legs & thighs
- 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 16 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
- 1 C. heavy cream
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
Instructions
- Mise en place. (Always!). Preheat oven to 350°. Place a baking dish in the oven to heat.
- Cook bacon in a large skillet. While the bacon is cooking, wash and slice mushrooms. Wash chicken and pat dry. Lay out on plate, skin side up. Sprinkle with flour and 1/2 of Italian seasoning.
- Remove bacon from skillet. Set aside to cool.
- Turn heat on skillet to medium to medium-high. Place chicken, skin (seasoned with flour and Italian seasoning) side down, in hot skillet. Sprinkle bottom of chicken with remaining half of Italian seasoning. Sear 2 minutes, until skin browned. Turn chicken over. Sear another 2 minutes until browned.
- Spray pre-heated baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken in baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is done. While chicken is baking, continue with rest of cooking instructions.
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Crumble bacon.
- In same skillet that has remaining bacon grease and chicken juice/seasoning, sauté mushrooms. When mushrooms are soft, remove half and mix them in with cooked rice.
- Add crumbled bacon, heavy cream, thyme, salt, pepper, and tarragon to skillet.
- Bring to a low simmer. Cook until sauce is thickened to desired consistency.
- Serve with sauce smothered over chicken and with wild rice & mushroom mixture on the side.
Notes
***I use Applewood smoked bacon, though it's not necessary.
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