Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps (by Paula Deen)

Let me start by saying that I love Paula Deen! I would've loved to have been born a Southern girl - and Paula is the perfect Southern mama! I don't think I've ever tried a Paula Deen recipe that I didn't like - and this one is no exception.

For Christmas Eve 2009, I made a lot of different appetizers as our meal. I had watched Paula & Bobby make the Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps, thought they looked delicious, and decided this was the perfect time to try them. Can you say finger-lickin' good and magically delicious?? Bless her heart, these were full of melt-in-your-mouth Southern goodness!!

Paula Deen's Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• 1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp. 

(original recipe can be found here at foodnetwork.com)

my sweet chicken bacon wraps

This is a picture of my finished product. They had the perfect balance of sweet & hot and were so tasty that I had to seriously force myself to stop eating them, LOL! I did make a couple of changes to the recipe: I used center cut bacon so that there was more meat & less fat, and because I was afraid they might be too spicy, I only added 1 TBSP. of chili powder. For us, 2 TBSP. would definitely have been too much. Super easy to make!

Enjoy!!