I’m pretty sure most people skipped over the spinach part of this title and honed right in on the bacon.  That’s ok.  If a little bacon is what it takes to get people to consider eating spinach, I’ll take it. 

Bacon and I have a confusing relationship.  I absolutely LOVE the smell of bacon cooking.  But when it comes to eating the bacon?  Eh, not so much.  It’s weird.  My stomach will audibly rumble when I smell bacon but when I take a bite I feel like it’s a huge letdown.  I know that I’m in the minority here and half of you just lost faith in my ability to make any type of food ever again.  In fact, another little secret? Until recently, I hadn’t even had bacon in years.

But I’m giving it another shot. 

My husband is one of those people that loves bacon but since I don’t really it that much (and it can be expensive) I don’t really make it that often.  Well, hubby got lucky because one day whilst grocery shopping I saw that bacon was on sale and decided it was time to give bacon another shot.  I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to make with it, but I knew I wanted to put it in something rather than just eat it alone.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my post where I told my husband this meal would either be insanely delicious or a total abomination.  The first time I made it, it was ok, but by no means insanely delicious.  After I tweaked a few things though?  It might be one of my new favorite meals.

Yes, even though it has bacon.

I think the key to me liking bacon is putting it in something.  And including pork rinds.  And creamy spinach.  And my new love, chicken thighs.  Good thing this recipe has it all!

Spinach & Bacon Chicken Bake- serves 4 

Calories: 346 Total Fat: 28.17 g Carbs: 1.72 g Fiber: .2 g Protein: 21.91 g

• 1 pound chicken thighs OR 4 chicken breasts, all skinless and boneless
• 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
• 1 cup whole pork rinds
• 2 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 375.  Lightly oil a casserole dish and place the chicken breasts or thighs in an even layer.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
2. Place the pork rinds and garlic into a food processor.  Pulse until the rinds are crumbles and the garlic is mostly broken up.  Add the spinach and pulse again so everything is well combined.  Finally, add the coconut milk and pulse again to combine.
3. Stir in the crumbled bacon and then spread the mix over the top of the chicken.  Make sure to cover as much of the chicken as possible.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 165.  Let the chicken cool a few minutes before serving.