Thirty minute meals are great, could I eat them everyday, No. Are they really nice after a long hard day at work and the family is starving, Yep! It is even better when there is only one pan getting dirty. This meal is pretty darn basic: Bacon, Chicken, Ranch Seasoning, Elbow Macaroni, green onion, a red pepper, cheese, salt, pepper, and water. Really? Yeah, Really. Also it scales up pretty easy.

30 Minute One Pan Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal

Name: 30 Minute One Pan Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1- 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast; 1/4 pound of bacon (4-5 slices sliced in to Lardons); 1 Cup of cheese shredded (white cheddar, not too sharp, or a Colby Jack around a 1/4 pound); 1 oz packet of Ranch seasoning; 1/4 cup of red peppers (cherry peppers are great or red pepper work well); 1/4 cup of green onions (chopped to 1/8 of an inch); 1 cup of elbow macaroni; salt; pepper; 2 cups of water

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1- 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 pound of bacon (4-5 slices sliced in to Lardons)
1 Cup of cheese shredded (white cheddar, not too sharp, or a Colby Jack) around a 1/4 pound
1 oz packet of Ranch seasoning
1/4 cup of red peppers (cherry peppers are great or red pepper work well)
1/4 cup of green onions (chopped to 1/8 of an inch)
1 cup of elbow macaroni
salt
pepper
2 cups of water

Method:

The One Pan Chicken meal begins by cutting the bacon strips in to lardons. What are lardons? They are really nothing fancier than thinly sliced pieces of bacon or salted pork. So stack all the slices of bacon on top of each other. Cut each pile in to 1/4 matchsticks, and toss them into a large heated skillet. Stir often. They will quickly render and you want to remove them when they are still a little meaty as opposed to well done bacon bits. Place on the side in a paper towel to drain.

Remove most of the bacon grease from the skillet but leave around a tablespoon or two to cook the chicken. Place the bite sized cut chicken in the skillet. Quickly salt and pepper and cook on med-high till all the chicken is cooked through. This takes around 5-8 minutes depending on how big your pieces are. I always find the largest pieces and check to make sure they are done by cutting them in half with my pan paddle or spatula.

Next add the elbow macaroni, the 1 oz packet of Ranch seasoning, and two cups of water. Stir to mix in the Ranch Seasoning. Bring the mix to boil and then reduce to simmer. Cover. Stir occasionally.

Simmer for ten minutes, then toss the red peppers in, simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove the lid and stir till almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Add the shredded cheese, lardons and green onion. Stir till the cheese has melted. Serve Hot!

Note: to scale up this recipe just multiple everything by the number of units you are trying to make. Cooking time will be slightly longer due to the increased time to evaporate the water in the mix.

The meal pictured above in Cast Iron was cooked at the firehouse and it was a double batch. The Stainless One Pan Chicken dinner was a single batch.