Whenever I see something on a menu that's wrapped in bacon, I throw caution to the wind, and I have to have it.  So when I saw a recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Honey Barbecue Chicken on a fellow foodies blog, Bargain Bites, I knew I had to try it. 

Sure enough, it tasted as good as I anticipated.  And for good reason, it has all the elements of a must-have dish -- barbecue sauce, honey, bacon and chicken. Yum!

To make this meal even better -- if it's possible -- I'll be serving the chicken with a Barbecue-Ranch Wedge Salad.  For an extra nutritious kick, I'll be adding chopped bacon to the wedge salad as well (sarcasm implied).  At least I'll be using reduced-fat bacon.  That makes it better, right?  Seriously, why does bacon have to make everything taste better?

Bacon-Wrapped Honey Barbecue Chicken
Total Time: 25 minutes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

What you'll need
1/2 pound chicken tenders
6 slices reduced-fat bacon (I prefer Gwaltney 40% less fat bacon.  Three slices contain 4.5 grams of fat and 60 calories.  The   best part is, you won't even taste the difference).
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper
cooking spray 

Directions
1. Season chicken tender with salt and pepper.  Grease a medium skillet with cooking spray.  Brown chicken over medium heat, about 6 minutes on each side. 
2. Brush both sides of each chicken tender with barbecue sauce. 

3. Wrap the barbecue glazed chicken tenders in 1 piece of bacon.  

4. Add the bacon-wrapped chicken tenders back to the heated skillet.  Cook over medium heat until chicken and bacon are cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. 
5. Brush the tops of the chicken strips with honey.  Flip chicken over and sear for another 3 minutes to caramelize the honey.  
6. Remove from heat.  Serve with a side of barbecue sauce. 

The side dish
Barbecue-Ranch Wedge Salad
Total Time: 10 minutes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 to 7 minutes (for the bacon)

What you'll need
1/3 head of iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, diced
3-4 scallions, diced 
1 bacon strip, cooked and diced 
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce 

Directions
1. Cut iceberg lettuce in half.

2. Top with tomato, scallions an diced bacon. 

3. Mix together ranch dressing and barbecue sauce until it is well blended. 

4. Drizzle dressing over wedge salad.  Serve and enjoy!

The leftovers
After making tonight's meal you will most likely have the following ingredients leftover:

• bacon 
  
• chicken
  
• iceberg lettuce
  
• barbecue sauce

I'll be using all of these ingredients later in the week to help eliminate waste. First, I'll be using more bacon, the leftover chicken and iceberg lettuce in tomorrow night's dinner -- Mexican Club Sandwiches.  While these recipes share similar ingredients, you will end up with two completely different meals. 

I'll also be using barbecue sauce in Thursday night's Barbecue Turkey Burgers.  I'll be topping the burgers with onion, tomato and lettuce, so again, I'll get to use up the leftover iceberg lettuce.