Chicken Breasts & Bacon with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Chicken Breasts

4 garlic cloves minced
½ jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil either from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes, or just use olive oil
¼ tsp paprika
1kg skinless boneless chicken breasts, halved horizontally

Cream Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried basil
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes at least, add more to taste
8 strips bacon cooked and crumbled

Chicken

Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sautéing as described below

1. In a large pan, on medium heat, sauté garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of oil (olive oil or oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar – see the note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
2. Remove sun-dried tomatoes and garlic from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken breasts, halved horizontally, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for colour) and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Cover the pan with the lid, remove from heat, and let the chicken sit, cooking in its own juices, off heat in a skillet, until completely cooked through and no longer pink in the centre.
4. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Chicken could have released juices – remove the juices from the skillet, to avoid greasiness.

Cream Sauce

1. Add 1 cup of heavy cream to the same skillet (from which you removed the chicken and the juices).
2. Bring to boil, add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, immediately reduce to simmer, constantly stirring to melt the cheese, until the cheese melts.
3. Add 1 cup of milk gradually, whisking until nice and smooth, while on simmer.
4. Add back the cooked sun-dried tomatoes and the garlic. Add basil and crushed red pepper – mix to combine.
5. Add cooked chicken breasts. Top with crumbled cooked bacon. Reheat until warm.