Creamy BLT Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus

Servings: 6-7
Time: 45 - 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices of bacon (pre cooked or normal) - could substitute turkey bacon
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 lbs russet potatoes (about 5 potatoes)
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened) - could switch for plain low fat greek yogurt if wanting lower calorie option
2 ½ cups milk (1 ½ for chicken & 1 for potatoes)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp dijon mustard
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp ranch seasoning blend
7 cloves of minced garlic (or 7 tsp)
2 cups chopped baby spinach
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 bundle of asparagus (normally about 1 lb.)

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and cut potatoes into small pieces. If you like potato skins you don't need to peel them.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Lower heat to medium and cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender enough to pierce with a fork.
While the potatoes are cooking, add the cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl and set aside.
Cut off ends of asparagus and place on a sheet pan and cover with oil. Season with salt & pepper. Cook for 20 minutes. (length of cook time will depend on the thickness of asparagus so adjust accordingly)
If chicken breasts are really thick, pound to flatten to cook through faster. Season the chicken all over with salt, black pepper, and ranch seasoning. Warm 2 tbsp of oil and add chicken to the skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes on either side or until outside is golden brown and inside cooked to 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the skillet and cover to keep warm.
Place bacon into the microwave and cook for designated time until crispy. Crumble when cooked.
Add 4 cloves minced garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant ~ 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine. Heat mixture to a boil and stir in spinach and ½ of the chopped tomatoes. Cook for another minute until spinach wilts and remove from heat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back to the skillet and sprinkle in remaining tomatoes and crumbled bacon. Decrease heat to low and cover to keep warm until potatoes and asparagus are done.
When potatoes are tender, microwave butter and milk until butter is soft.
Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Slowly add the milk mixture, blending with a potato masher or mix in an electric mixer until potatoes are smooth and creamy. Season with salt & pepper.
Serve chicken and sauce mixture on top of the mashed potatoes with asparagus as a side.

TIDBITS:

I tried my best to lay out the directions so asparagus and potatoes are cooking while you work on the chicken. In a super ideal world this will all finish at a similar time but don’t hate me if the timing is off!
I find it easiest to drain my potatoes and then put in a kitchen aid to mix there. If you don’t have one you can use a hand mixer in the original pot!
The original BLT chicken recipe is dairy free… I said absolutely not lol. If you want dairy free check out the link below.
You could cook your bacon the stove or in the oven.. it's just way messier and takes more time.
The first time I made this recipe took me like an hour and a half - I was not a happy camper. SO I made things a lot easier for ya'll with hopes it'll go faster.

ORIGINAL RECIPE LINK FOR BLT CHICKEN:

Creamy BLT Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus