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. 

Tax Time Pick-Me-Up

A very good friend is an accountant.  When tax season rolls around, she and her partner and their staff are always swamped with work.  They barely can come up for air.  When I stopped by recently to turn in my signed e-forms, I also dropped off a little pick-me-up snack to keep them going through the afternoon.

Sausage cheese balls: tax free but not guilt free

Sausage cheese balls are a staple at parties and breakfasts in the South.  They are definitely not a health food, but -- yum!

Sausage cheese balls have been a favorite of mine for many years.  I don't make them very often because of health concerns, but they are popular at our house around the holidays or other times people want a treat.  Our son, for example, recently requested them as part of his birthday breakfast.  A dear friend of mine from my Tennessee teenage years also now lives in northern Illinois.  She always makes sausage cheese balls for parties.  I remember her mother-in-law once sniffing, "You Southern girls certainly like your sausage cheese balls."  Why, yes, Mrs. Irish Chicago, we certainly do!  And you better not get in between us and our sausage balls or we might knock you over!  While I don't actually advocate violence, I do advocate these savory snacks.

They are a little bit of work to make, but worth it.  The recipe I use comes from Tennessee Pride, which is the only kind of bulk sausage I buy, but you can use any brand.  Sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese is also a must.  The mixing takes time, especially depending how much biscuit mix you try to work in.  My daughter uses two cups when she makes these, but I think it is worth the trouble to mix in three full cups, but it does involve using your hands and pulling the meat and cheese mix apart to get more dry ingredients to adhere.  Here you can see the sausage/cheese combination before and after the biscuit mix is incorporated.

After baking, your sausage balls should be golden and crispy, round bite-sized balls like this:

But if they turn out like this,

flat or misshapen blobs, don't worry.  Eat them anyway, they'll taste just as good!


Sausage Cheese Balls

1 pound bulk (or roll) sausage, mild or hot

2 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese

2-3 cups biscuit mix (like Bisquick)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Using fork or hands, combine sausage and cheese in large mixing bowl .  Blend in biscuit mix a little bit at a time, using hands, until well mixed.  Roll into 1-inch balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  You can flip the balls over halfway through baking if desired.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes approximately 75.

Printable recipe

Meatless Monday Meal

Here is a great meal for a meatless Monday.  This bean and pasta bake recipe comes from Nikki & David Goldbeck's American Wholefoods Cuisine, published in 1983.  My sister-in-law gave me this cookbook, and I have used it for years.

This dish contains protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables.  All you need to add for a complete meal is a green salad. Note: The recipe calls for three cups of cooked black beans.  I have always used dried beans, but I suppose it would work with drained canned beans.  I expect the finished product would turn out a little mushier though.

Mexican Beans and Pasta Bake

from Nikki & David Goldbeck’s American Wholefoods Cuisine

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust amount to taste)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, cored and rough chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried cumin

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (can use whole wheat)

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 cups cooked black beans (preferably from dried beans)

1/3 cup sliced olives

1 – 1 1/2 cups broken corn tacos or chips

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in 2-quart pot over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic for 3 minutes to soften.   Add cayenne and chili powder and cook briefly.  Add tomatoes, oregano, and cumin, and bring to a boil.

Add pasta and corn and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes until pasta is just tender.  Stir in beans and olives.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Transfer bean mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with broken chips and cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes to melt cheese and heat through.  If casserole is assembled in advance and chilled, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes.

Printable recipe

Mousehouse

We were passing through central Wisconsin today and couldn't resist stopping at the Mousehouse in Windsor for a little cheese.  Notice the floodlights all around the rooftop mouse.  I wonder how cool, yet creepy, this guy looks at night, holding his illuminated cheese?  I like the button detailing on his overalls and the way his tail curls around his leg. Two more giant fiberglass rodents greet visitors in the vestibule.  

We picked up a little assortment bag of cheese cubes and sausage bites to eat on the ride home.  So tasty!  Great cheese, great sausage, great mice.  What's not to love?