Chicken with Balsamic, Bacon, Mushroom Cream Sauce

Happy Memorial Day!  We are actually up in Rhode Island spending the holiday weekend at my parent's "beach house."  We're trying to get in some rest and relaxation as a family before my husband starts a new job tomorrow! 

When I first found this recipe it sounded delicious.  I bookmarked it and knew that I would be making it soon.  My son has been going to a "Cook and a Book" class through our local town recreation department.  Each week the teacher reads a picture book and then has the kids cook something related to the story.  He's learned how to properly hold a knife (butter knife) and cutting skills.  So, when I was making dinner and he was sad that his sister wasn't letting him watch her play on the computer, I asked him if he'd help me cook dinner.  So, we pulled a chair up to the counter and I had him clean the mushrooms and cut them (supervised of course!).  Well, guess who got jealous and wanted to come over and help.....his sister of course!  So, the kids cut all the mushrooms for this dish.  The original recipe called for using chicken breasts and serving the chicken and sauce over pasta.  I ended up cutting the chicken into bite size pieces and mixing it in with the pasta.  Using a pound of pasta left us with a lot of leftovers.  I think we all ended up having it for lunch the next day and my husband and I might have even eaten it the next day too.  It was really tasty though and pretty quick and easy to make. 

Chicken with Balsamic, Bacon, Mushroom Cream Sauce
recipe slightly adapted from Carrie's Sweet Life

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
3 slices of bacon
2 chicken breasts cut into bite size chunks
2 cups of cream
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1 pkg. baby bella mushrooms
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T. of butter
1 lb. of pasta, cooked

Preparation:
Warm large pan with olive oil.

Brown chicken in pan, turning over as needed until cooked through, approximately 10 minutes. Meanwhile add bacon slices to same pan and cook until crisp.

Once bacon is done lay on paper plate with paper towels to get grease off. Once chicken is done set aside on a plate covering with foil to keep warm.

Drain oil from the pan, but leaving what is “stuck” to the bottom, add butter and let melt.

Once melted add garlic and mushrooms. Salt and pepper to your liking, let simmer for a 2-3 minutes then add balsamic vinegar. Cook until desired tenderness.

Pour in heavy cream and bring to a boil, boil for 3-5 minutes then add crumbled bacon.

Add chicken and coat in sauce cook until desired thickness. Mix in pasta of your choice.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.