Cherry Chicken Spirals

Another recipe that I got from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine... (thank you again mom-in-law for our subscription!) We paired this cherry chicken spiral with corn and au gratin potatoes. Good thing we did because we found the chicken recipe to be lacking some moisture, therefore a cheesy potato dish was perfect with this! It also could have been that we modified a lot of ingredients, which at times I find pays off, but there is times that it doesn't, unfortunately. That is probably one of the best parts of Jeff and I cooking new recipes together on Sundays, is while we're enjoying or creation, we are brainstorming ideas to continuously improve!

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices turkey bacon (we cheated and used real bacon) *make sure the bacon is cooked, but not crispy
2/3 cup dried cherries (probably could get away with 1/3 cup and we used dried cranberries infused with cherry sauce)
3 Tbsp honey mustard (will be halved in the recipe, so for prep,  approximately two separate 1 Tbsp of honey mustard)
1 cup whole wheat panko [Japanese style bread crumbs]
(another change we made here because we already had regular panko bread crumbs at home, however, this may have attributed to the dryness we experienced... always a learning experience!)
1 Tbsp snipped fresh thyme (we went with ground thyme, which, you guessed it! ...we already had, but I would go with fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Pound the chicken breast halves to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness (the recipe stated, "in a rectangular shape" but as you can see in the top picture, our chicken did not quite make it to a rectangle...but oh well!) Also, I like to prep as much as I can, and have my whole area laid out in the correct order that the dish will be prepared.

So on each chicken breast half, place cooked bacon, and cherry mixture (which is simply the dried cherries mixed with honey mustard.) Roll up, and secure with toothpicks if needed. (Hint: they will most likely be needed!) Brush the rolled up chicken with honey mustard and roll in each in the panko mixture (the bread crumbs, thyme, and pepper.)

Place on a cookie sheet that's been lined with parchment paper, and back at about 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes.