Grilled Chicken BLT's

As summer approaches, it's only natural that we crave a light summer meal which would satisfy our hunger as well as our taste buds.  Barefoot Contessa's Chicken BLT looked superb with homemade thousand island dressing.  I made a few changes to my BLT.  Instead of white bread, I used lightly toasted fresh baked garlic bread where the garlic was finely chopped and backed right in. (YUM)!  I switched arugula for the green lettuce leaves and I grilled up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of using a rotisserie chicken.  To top that off, I added some sliced avocados.  

This was delicious!  

Wine Pairing:  You could go white or red here with a light refreshing Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir.

Grilled Chicken BLT's
adapted from Barefoot Contessa's CBLT's
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
12 slices smoked bacon
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (I agree with Ina here, that Hellman's is the best)
1/2 cup ketchup
8 slices of good white bakery bread, cut 1/2-inch thick, lightly toasted
a handful of baby arugula, washed and spun very dry
2 large ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 ripe avocados, pitted and sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 thin chicken breasts, grilled (or rotisserie chicken)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon on the rack in a single layer.  Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until the bacon is browned and crisp.  Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Combine the mayonnaise and ketchup in a small bowl and spread each slice of bread with about 1 tbsp of the mixture.  Cover that with arugula leaves.  Place 3 slices of bacon on top of the leaves and then add a layer of tomato slices on top of the bacon. Place the avocado slices on top of tomatoes, then place your chicken breast over that. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Spread each of the remaining 4 slices of bread with 1 tbsp of the mayonnaise/ketchup mixture and place, dressing side down, on the sandwiches.  Cut in half and serve.  

This is also fabulous without the mayo/ketchup (thousand island dressing) mixture and simply using the standard mayonnaise that most BLT's call for.  

Enjoy!