Bacon Wrapped Lemon Pesto Chicken

Pesto.

It sounds so foreign. Or at least it did until I made it for the first time. I sat there looking at the sauce on my plate at a restaurant wondering how in the world could so much flavor be packed into a sauce. I was probably a teenager at the time, so I had not been in the kitchen for long enough to experiment. 

While pesto is good, lemon pesto is fantastic. 

What is it that they say? It'll slap your tastebuds silly?

Yeah. I had the same reaction.

So will you, because I added bacon to the mix. 

Life is better with bacon isn't it? 

I mean even if you get hurt, they say to put bacon on it. 

I've seen it all. That is just crazy.

Let's be real here. Let's get cooking! 

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
6 strips of thick bacon
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup water
1 bouillon cube or 1 tbsp chicken paste
Lemon Pesto (see recipe below)
12 oz box pasta of choice, cooked (spaghetti works the best with our kiddos!)
toothpicks, for wrapping
salt
white pepper
diced tomatoes(optional)




Method To The Madness:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2.Pound chicken breasts to about a 1/2".
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spoon about a tablespoon of pesto onto each breast. Tuck and fold chicken around the pesto.
5. Wrap bacon around the outside. Use two pieces per breast. Secure with toothpicks.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
7. Turn broiler on high. Broil for about 3-5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
8. In a pot while chicken is cooking, melt butter.
9. Add flour and stir well.
10. Slowly whisk in heavy cream. Bring to a slow boil. Sauce will thicken. Add chicken cube/paste. Stir well.
11. Add water if you would like the sauce to be thinner.
12. Stir in the remaining pesto, and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well.
13. Add to pasta, top with chicken. I like to add some fresh diced tomatoes to the bunch. As if there's not enough flavor already. Devour!


Lemon Pesto:3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup parmesan
1 tsp lemon peel
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 to 1 +1/4 cups olive oil


Pesto Method:
1. Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor. Pulse for about a minute, or until it forms a paste.
2. Keep the food processor churning, and drizzle in a cup of the olive oil, adding more until the consistency is where you like it.