Food: Instant Pot – Bacon Wrapped Apple Maple Chicken
being mommy · Experiments · food · Main Dish

Food: Instant Pot – Bacon Wrapped Apple Maple Chicken

Mad Madam Kim

Hi everyone!  First and foremost- thank you for stopping by.  I am floored by the number of visitors I have had to my little blog.  As of this moment, 4:40 PM on Thursday, Feb 1, 2017- I have had a total of 3,372 unique visitors and 4,332 views!  YOU GUYS!  My first post was on Jan 17!  Not too shabby!  I’m still making my way through the jungle of the blog world- so thank you for being so kind in comments, messages, and shares.

Last time on Mad Madam Mom, we made Buttery Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken (two nights ago).  Last night- I made straight from the package tortellini with a jarred vodka sauce.  I did add some rosemary, basil, oregano, and parmesan for a more homemade “flair”.  Bubbins wanted to just order a pizza.  I actually said no to PIZZA- wth was wrong with me. LOL!

You see, I wasn’t thinking straight!  I was just so excited to have a mom night out to go see I, Tonya with a dear friend.  We planned it so that we would catch the 9:30PM showing.  I know, super late movie, but our babies would already be put to bed- the hubbies would be fed- and we would be able to just chill.  I had such a great time y’all.  I jammed out to my playlist on the way to the movie theater.  We met up about 45 mins prior to the movie so we could hang out and catch up.  She is an absolute delight!

To make the night even better- we had the whole theater to ourselves!  This was one of those theaters that serve you food and drinks while you relax in a plush reclining chair.  YASSS queen.  Thank you, Siri, for being an absolutely wonderful friend.  No, you guys, I’m not talking about my iPhone- that really is my friend’s awesome name.

Back to food.

Since I made the thighs two nights ago- I have leftover thighs from the huge package my hubby brought home.  (There’s a joke there, but I will keep it classy)
In my desperate search for what to cook tonight, because I REALLY did NOT want to go to the grocery store- um- because I was tired from mom night haha- I discovered that I have a few things in my refrigerator and pantry that would pair well together.  Chicken thighs, bacon, apple juice, maple syrup, minced garlic, tomato paste, and some balsamic vinegar and more!  What if I wrapped the chicken in the bacon and made another type of glaze?  I have some ready to microwave roasted red potatoes to pair with it… let’s try it out!

***PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A EXPERIMENTAL RECIPE.  IF YOU FIND A BETTER WAY OR ADD SOMETHING- LET ME KNOW!  I HAVE INCLUDED A FEW THINGS I WOULD ALREADY DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME.***

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Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with an
Apple Maple BBQ Sauce Glaze

Ingredients:

Sauce:

  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp. applesauce
  • 3 tbsp. apple juice (you can switch this to chicken broth if you switch to juice below)
  • 1/4 of a cup of maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 2/3 cup of chicken broth (you can switch this to apple juice if you switch the broth above)
  • 2 dashes of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. onion salt
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic

Chicken:

  • 1 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs (or you could do boneless/skinless)
  • 1 package of bacon

 

 

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Mix together ALL the ingredients for your sauce.  Again, this is an experiment- so if you find something missing- let me know!  Let’s do this together!
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You should have a nice sauce.  If it’s too thick it’s ok to add more broth.  Sometimes Instant Pots don’t like thick.  Originally, I didn’t have as much broth in. Experiment change #1:  The Pot did NOT like that and I got a burn notice.  So I added more broth.
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Ok.  So here is where I would switch it up a bit. Experiment change #2: You can either remove the skin- OR – I would recommend sautéing it or sticking it under broil for a bit- to crisp it up.  My hubby didn’t like the slimy that was under the bacon.   🙂
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I wrapped each thigh with about 3 pieces of bacon.
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I arranged them in the pot.
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Then I poured on the sauce.  Now, remember I had to add some more broth to it so in this pic it looks thick.
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12 minutes b/c I had five thighs.  Set to seal! When finished let natual release for about 5 minutes then do a quick release.  Be careful as sometimes sauces etc can create little air bubbles that like to splatter when you open.
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The sauce was delicious.  The chicken as juicy and tender.  The bacon was so flavorful.  It definitely had an applewood smoked taste to it.  The sweetness of the maple syrup was ever so slight, but definitely noticeable.  Experiment change #3: I would recommend putting these under the broiler for a bit to crunch up the bacon.  I think that would have made this meal even MORE delicious.  My hubby is all about texture- and so am I to an extent.

 

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And there you have it.  Mad Madam Mom’s first experimental recipe!  Let me know in the comments if you tried it.  What did you do differently?  What would you do differently?  What did you think!?

 

If you make this recipe, be sure to take a photo and hashtag it
#MADMADAMMOM

Published by Mad Madam Kim

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