Brett and I attended our friend Sally’s Super Bowl party. We try not to miss this party but hadn’t gone in the past couple of years. Sally and her partner Annette have been friends of ours for close to 20 years. A few years back, Annette succumbed to cancer. Sally remains a great friend that we value. It was fun to see the girls again. We refer to ourselves as the tokens. There are usually 20 women and Brett and I at any of Annette and Sally’s parties.

As is tradition, everyone brings a snack or potluck dish to share. I had watched Paul Deen earlier this past week. She was making party appetizers and snacks. This recipe really caught my eye. I love rumaki. Lets face it. Wrap anything in bacon, and it’s a winner. This recipe did not disappoint me. It was a hit at the party too.

Paula’s recipe did not call for marinating the chicken breast. I decided to marinate them to add some depth to the taste. It worked well. I think I will follow another cook’s comments on the Food Network web site. That individual marinated the chicken in Frank’s Hot Sauce. I think the recipe would be better with a little “kick”. Another option would be to marinate them in Buffalo chicken wing sauce.

It’s  very simple recipe to prepare. It takes almost no time to prepare. I doubled the recipe to make it party size. A 2 1/2 pound bag of frozen chicken breasts made about 40-50 bites. I also increased the cooking time to 45 minutes. The bacon was not crisp enough at Paula’s 35 minutes. The breast was still very moist and remained so though the Super Bowl.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe.

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 6 oz. can of pineapple juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound package sliced bacon
1 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Mix pineapple juice, soy sauce and garlic to make a marinade. Place cubed chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag. Pour in marinade. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 45 minutes or until bacon is crisp.