Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ah Summer...

Shining blue skies, lazy days by the pool, tanning on the roof...

Wait what?

So far my summer has been very relaxing. Ok, i'll be honest, I haven't gone swimming yet and me tanning? I'm white. Like seriously, I practically glow in the dark i'm so pale. I don't tan I burn. 

Lucky me, huh?

But, that doesn't mean I haven't had fun so far.

Really, just having time to relax, sleep, and enjoy life has been the best thing for me lately. No worries just relaxing. 

Lots of cooking and lots of running as well. I guess they kind of balanc each other out? Psh of course, that 3 mile run totally cancels out that giant slice of cake. Yeah...

Anyway, this chicken is good. 

Better than good. I took some leftovers to one of my old co-workers and along with some ribs I had made, and judging from his reaction he liked it. His response? "This is one of the best things i've ever eaten!" 

Yeah, I'm not just a pastry girl, I can hold my own when it comes to cooking up some delicious meat as well! 

So go ahead and impress your friends with this! It's really not hard at all, just do it like Nike.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad

(Recipe by Sarah Eats Austin)

For the chicken

6 chicken thighs

12 slices bacon

8 ounces herbed goat cheese**

3 tbls olive oil

3 tbls balsamic vinegar

2 tsp rosemary

garlic salt to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

To make the chicken thighs, gently lay each one out on a flat surface. Spread 1/6th of the goat cheese on each thigh and roll up. Starting from one side going longwise and wrap the thigh with 1 piece of bacon. Grab another piece of bacon and wrap around going the other direction to completely cover the chicken thigh. Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs. 

Once all are wrapped, place in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with rosemary and garlic salt and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour.

**Notes: If you can't find herbed goat cheese, or just would rather make your own like me, simply buy regular goat cheese, let it soften a little and add in whatever herbs you like. I use a little garlic salt and rosemary. Just stir it all to combine and voila!

For the salad

Spinach

strawberries

toasted pecans 

feta cheese

Directions

Gently toss everything together and serve with your favorite dressing! For salads the ratios don't matter much, just add in what you like and how much of it you want. Simple stuff here but showstopping!