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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Mmmmm, Monterey Chicken

If you've read my blog very much, you know I cook a lot of chicken.  Grilled, baked, fried, slow cooked -- if it's chicken, we'll eat it.  Yesterday, I browsed my Pinterest food board looking for something new to prepare for dinner.  And what do you suppose appealed to me?  Yep, chicken.  I came across a Monterey Chicken photo I had pinned a year ago and never tried.  I clicked through to the blog where it originally appeared, All Things Simple: Inspiration for a Simple Life, for the recipe.

Grilled and ready to pop in the oven to melt the cheese.  I used KC Masterpiece Original barbecue sauce.  I think next time I'd like to try a more smoky flavored sauce.
A hit!  It's marinated and grilled, then topped and baked.  It's easy to prepare and makes a nice presentation (once it's taken off the cookie sheet!).  Click here for the link to the original recipe on All Things Simple by Kim McCrary.  I followed her recipe pretty closely.  As Kim suggests, I marinated the chicken for about a half hour prior to grilling.  The only changes I made were:  She used Montreal Steak Seasoning in her marinade, which I replaced with Montreal Chicken Seasoning.  I also used a smaller can (10 oz.) of Rotel tomatoes and I had one additional chicken breast. Somehow, my chicken turned out just as tomato-y as hers appear in her photo.   I probably also upped the amount of cheese because, well, I just love cheese and it's hard to overdo yummy melted cheese.  I used sharp cheddar instead of colby with the monterey jack just because I didn't have any colby on hand.  The final change I made was to cook and crumble a nice smoky bacon rather than use bacon bits.  One piece of bacon per chicken breast seemed adequate.

After baking, the cheese is all melty goodness.  

We completed the meal with a mixed greens salad and some corn on the cob.  The final flourish was the white wine we got on our trip to Cedarburg, Settlement Gold.  It was delicious.  Sweet with a slight apple flavor.  A very good, inexpensive wine. 


12 comments:

  1. This sounds and looks really good. I would have loved to have been a guest at your dinner table. If only I liked to cook... And, since we have a charcoal grill, my husband does all of the grilling. I attempted the charcoal business once. But, fail...

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  2. Ooh, that looks sooo yummy - and I'm with you on the abundance of melted cheese thing :-)
    xx

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  3. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love all the ingredients and it looks so good!

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  4. We love chicken also--and like you, we eat ALOT of chicken fixed all kinds of different ways. It's so good for us ---and we like it better than many other meats...

    Your Monterey Chicken looks and sounds delicious... YUM....

    Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. I too enjoy chicken a lot. This is definitely a must-try. Looks irresistible!

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  6. I cook chicken a lot too - it's so versatile and usually quick and easy. I love the look of your monterey chicken - so many delicious flavours and yes, perfect with a glass of wine xx

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  7. Oh boy! Guess what's on my "to cook soon" list now? We are big chicken eaters and I love everything on that chicken! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. These look amazing! Chicken lover over here too. And I'm always happy for a wine pairing suggestion...looks like a good one!

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  9. That chicken looks delicious! A salad and corn with the chicken sounds like an awesome meal! =)

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  10. That looks delicious! When we eat at Delta Café I order a Monterey - it's very similar. Doesn't have Rotel I don't think. But, I love it. I'll have to try this. I am new to your blog and am your newest follower.

    Judy

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  11. WOW!!!! That looks amazing!!! I think I have all of the ingredients too. I might have to make it this week. Thanks for sharing!!!! I'm always looking for new ways to cook chicken!

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  12. Dinner looks delicious! We love and eat a lot of chicken too.

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