Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Want a super simple meal idea that everyone will like?  I.Mean.Super.Simple....  No toothpicks required, melt in your mouth goodness that pulls two meats together?  All you need is a package of boneless chicken thighs and bacon, and you have a juicy, flavor-packed main course: bacon-wrapped chicken thighs.

Last week was National Ag Week, but with Tall Guy laid low with Influenza B and me getting smacked with a major sinus infection, we had a hard time finding our appetite.....until I put these two awesome meats together.

Now you know we love to put bacon around anything!  Because we raise beef, we love us some bacon-wrapped filets.  Because this is just a good and a bit easier on the budget, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is also at the top of our YUM! list.  I hated to leave our poultry friends out of the loop, so here is my salute to chicken.

This is so simple to make.  You need chicken thighs and what I like to call "skinny" bacon.  Skinny bacon is stretchy and gives the chicken flavor without a heavy piece of bacon to chew threw.  Save that thick, more expensive bacon for Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts!  Grab a thigh, fold the meat together so that the smooth side of the thigh is on the outside.  Take a piece of bacon, stretch it a bit, and start wrapping it around the thigh.  As I get close to the end, I make sure I have a place to tuck in the end piece.  This way you don't need to use a toothpick.  Put all the thighs in a baking dish, glass or stone, shake some ground pepper and seasoned salt on top if you like, and bake at 425 degrees for about 35-45 minutes. (Baking time depends on how big/thick the thighs are.)  Make sure all juices in the pan are clear.

Serve this up with some healthy vegetable, and you have a light, flavorful, healthy meal.  It was enough of a comfort food, that we found our appetite, and ate it all up!

Even though last week was National Ag Week, we celebrate Agriculture EVERY week here on the farm!