Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts With Roast Brussels-Parsnip Hash

This is a quick and easy weeknight meal that can be cooked all on one foil-lined baking sheet for easy cleanup. Both my man and my 26-year-old adopted son inhaled it in a hush reminiscent of the Silence of the Lamb (well, my adopted son did not have any of the veg, obvi. As I type this, he is balancing out the protein with a bowl of Cookie Crisp).

I took two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sliced them in half, pounded them thin (you can use the bottom of a frying pan if you don’t have a meat-tenderizing hoocher), and marinated them overnight in a mix of olive oil, salt, thyme, Dijon mustard (I’m really working the packets from the cafeteria, gentle reader), and a bit of dried sage.

The next night, I preheated the oven to 400°, lined aforementioned baking sheet with foil, and wrapped a slice of bacon around each of the four pieces of chicken. Full disclosure: I didn’t have a baking sheet large enough to fit the veg as well, so I popped this into the oven and prepped another foil-lined sheet for the hash.

I peeled 1 small parsnip and diced it into very small cubes, like sugar-cube-size max, since I knew the sprouts would cook faster. Then I halved the Brussels sprouts, tossed the veggies onto the pan, chopped 1/2 shallot, grated some lemon zest, squirted some lemon juice, sprinkled some kosher salt, splashed some olive oil, and squeezed—wait for it—a packet of Dijon mustard. I tossed the mix all together with my fingers, and put that in the oven as well.

I cooked this all about 30 minutes; halfway through, I tipped the liquid from the chicken into the veg pan and tossed the veg again. After that half hour, I let the chicken rest at room temp for a few, scattered some thyme leaves on the hash, and served.

Like I said, this was a huge hit with the boys, their silences only punctuated by phrases of pleased palates such as “Fuck, this is good.” This was so easy, I managed to make hard-boiled eggs for tomorrow’s lunch and spinach-cheese sauce for tomorrow’s dinner in the time it took to finish cooking. I will definitely be putting this dish into regular rotation … and stay tuned for the fate of the spinach-cheese sauce! (Spoiler alert: It, too, involves bacon.)