It took some “training” and convincing to get my hubby to try, and like, barbecued chicken! But I was not going to give up on him! Now, it’s become one of his favorite dishes and he asks for it quite a lot. A LOT a lot. So I like to come up with simple changes to add some variety so we don’t get tired and bored of such a wonderful thing! And though I swoon over grilled chicken, for this I like to bake them in the oven. Bone-in skin-on barbecued chicken, to me anyways, is ideal for grilling, but for boneless skinless chicken breasts, I really do prefer to bake them and they come out SO MOIST, very juicy and tender, and I just wouldn’t dream of cooking this particular recipe any other way! We don’t know, and frankly don’t care, if this is a “good thing” or a “bad thing”, but we’ve found that the best boneless skinless chicken breasts have been from Walmart. I know, right?? Walmart of all places. But they simply are the best. Always so very juicy and I don’t care to know why. We love them and I highly recommend them. Simple as that. The trick is, not to over-bake them. I now have the baking time and “method” down to a science! Anything towards the outsides of the pan always bake faster, so the 2 smallest breasts always go in the middle. The larger breasts not only go on the outside, but the thicker sides face the outside, too. Makes sense, right? Then they all bake evenly and get done at the same time. Not exactly, “rocket science”, but I’m proud of myself! 😉 Less than a half an hour in the oven, fully coated with sauce, then topped with bacon and cheese and baked until melted and they’re done! One of the simplest meals I make by far, but delicious every single time and always appreciated!

I wanted mine decked out, but the hubs wanted his “plain and simple” this time. Fresh out of the oven and ready to eat!

We inhaled our supper and enjoyed our chicken with my Grilled Baby Potatoes with Italian Herbs that I tossed on the grill while the chicken was baking! Such a simple but comforting supper! Enjoy the weekend all!  

CHEESY OVEN-BAKED BARBECUED CHICKEN with BACON & GREEN ONIONS 

Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, we prefer the ones from Walmart

Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce, enough to well-coat

garlic powder

Old Bay Seasoning

coarse ground black pepper

8 strips crumbled crisp cooked lean bacon, divided

2-3 cups shredded mexi-blend cheese, Sargento or Kraft works well

4 green onions, snipped at an angle

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In 13×9 sprayed baking dish, squirt/pour 3 triangles of barbecue sauce into bottom of dish each going the opposite direction every other one. (Point up, point down, point up, point down.) Lay fat-trimmed chicken breasts onto triangles following pattern, smaller ones in the middle, larger ones to the outside with thickest parts facing outward. Well-coat tops and sides with more sauce. (We like a lot of sauce! Add to your heart’s content!) 

Lightly dust each top with garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning and coarse ground pepper. 

Pop into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove, top with half of the bacon, and lots of cheese. Pop back into the oven and bake 4 minutes longer. Remove, sprinkle with rest of bacon, bake 1 minute longer.

Remove, garnish with lots of green onions, and enjoy!