Bo's Sweet and Spicy Teriyaki Chicken!

This recipe is one that my son and his girlfriend made and suggested that I try.  They got the basic idea from a recipe on Pinterest, but they modified it some and came up with their own version. My son is like me in that he likes to improvise when cooking.   I must say, I think it's one of the best chicken recipes I have tried lately.   It doesn't involve all that many ingredients and I think most people would surely like it.  It's chicken, bacon and brown sugar, what 's not to like?  

  Here is what you will need:

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in three strips each (15 pieces)

8 slices of bacon cut in half to make a piece for each chicken strip

2 cups brown sugar (might need more if you coat the pieces heavily)

Teriyaki sauce  (I used Kikkoman)

chili powder

Tony Chachere's creole seasoning

salt

black pepper

garlic powder

mozzarella cheese (optional)

Cut each chicken breast in thirds.  I used my kitchen shears  which made it very easy, but you can use a knife if you don't have kitchen shears.  Sprinkle each piece with salt, pepper, creole seasoning or chili powder ( I used a little of both), and garlic powder.  If you don't like too much heat, just use either the chili powder or the creole seasoning and use it very sparingly.

Wrap each piece of chicken in a piece of the bacon.  Sprinkle lightly with Teriyaki sauce.  Place the brown sugar in a pie plate or shallow dish and roll each piece of bacon wrapped chicken in it. You have to sort of press and pack it on the chicken.

Line a cookie sheet with foil (I used nonstick Reynolds wrap) and spray it with cooking spray.  The foil really saves your pan and makes cleanup much easier with this recipe. The brown sugar does stick and will be hard to clean off if you don't use it.   Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Be careful removing it, because the brown sugar gets very hot and there will be some juices.  At the very end of the cooking time, pull it out and spoon some of the juices over each piece to sort of re baste it. You can sprinkle each piece with Mozzarella cheese at this point and place back in oven for a few minutes until it melts. The cheese is optional.

The chicken will be browned and the bacon crisp when it is finished cooking. This makes a great main dish or could even be used for an appetizer.

I served it with twice baked potato casserole, green beans, salad and garlic bread and of course...sweet tea!