Monterey Chicken

 

When Jud grills chicken, I usually have him grill some extra so I can have a quick easy meal like this one at my fingertips. I found this on one of the people I follow on pinterest. 
 Monterey Chicken  As usual, I changed the recipe because I didn't have the rotel tomatoes.  Her picture looks so good, I will try that next time, but this was great.  I'll report it how she made it and give my changes in (  ).


Printable Version:  Monterey Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup bacon bits
1 cup colby cheese, shredded
1 - 14oz can Rotel tomatoes (I used a sliced tomato)
sliced green onions
avocado (my addition)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts and grill .  We marinate our chicken for several hours in Italian Dression. Top each cooked chicken breast with 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, green onions, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 cup rotel tomatoes. Place in oven and bake until cheese melts. This is such a winner. I love easy meals that I can put together quickly.   http://kimmccrary.blogspot.com/2010/05/perfect-day.html

Hasselback Potatoes

We finally got to have our anniversary meal.  We were suppose to have it Tuesday night and decided to go see the Silver Stars play basketball. Then we were suppose to have it Wednesday night and we had 3 people come look at our house so we went out to eat instead. We finally got to make it tonight. Jud grilled the steaks, I made an awesome salad in our awesome bowls from Oregon myrtlewood. I found the recipe for these potatoes on Pinetrest and tracked down the link. Hasselback Potatoes
I had a hard time getting the potatoes soft.


Printable version:
Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:
8 long baking potatoes
1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
5 tablespoons melted butter, divided
1 teaspoon paprika
coarse salt, to taste
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley (garnish), optional
(for best results, choose oblong potatoes of uniform size.)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a large shallow glass baking dish

Peel the potatoes. Place the peeled potatoes on a cutting board and cut a narrow 1/4 inch slice from the bottom of each potato. Discard the slice (this helps the potato lie flat and not roll).

Place two long handled wooden chopsticks on each side of the potato lengthwise. Use a sharp knife and slice each potato crosswise, making 1/4 inch apart slices, cutting down vertically. The chopsticks will prevent the knife from cutting entirely through the potato. You need to leave 1/4 inch of the bottom of the potato intact.

As you finish cutting each potato, drop them into cold water to prevent discoloring. Gently flex the potato fans open while rinsing under cold running water. This rids the potatoes of excess starch that can impede fanning. Dry potatoes well before baking.

Note: Potatoes may be prepared in advance to the above point. Place potatoes in cold water until ready to bake. To bake, dry potatoes well. Place the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon melted butter, paprika, and salt in a food processor; process until blended.

Brush prepared potatoes with 2 tablespoons melted butter (making sure some gets in the potato cracks), and pat the bread crumb mixture on top of each potato.

Place potatoes in the oiled baking dish; cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until they turn crispy and the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven.

To serve, drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle minced parsley over the tops of the baked potatoes.  Jud's potato was bigger and it could have used an additional 10 minutes.

Chicken Artichoke Casserole

This is a recipe that I got from my mother. I cut this recipe in 1/2 and it was just about perfect for us.










Printable version:   Chicken Artichoke Casserole
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-prpose flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 oz. gruyere cheese, grated
3 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
5 pounds chicken breast
12 oz. mushrooms sliced, canned is fine
2 cups artichoke hearts
Method:
Make a sauce out of the first 8 ingredients. Boil the chicken, and you may use chicken with or without the bone. My mom prefers chicken with the bone because she thinks it has more flavor. I took the lazy way out and baked the boneless skinless chicken in a 400 degree oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper for about 15 -20 minutes.  Cut the chicken in large chunks. Place in a 9" X 16" casserole dish that has been oiled. Add the mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Cover with sauce and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Mom says you can substitute lobster, shrimp, or crab meat.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Found this on Pinterest Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
It made enough for 3 meals.  Loved it.





Printable recipe:    Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 carrots, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 cups steamed white rice, prepared
16 oz prepared wild rice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
_________________________
Cheese Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute onions, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.  Cook until carrots are cooked through.
2. To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9" by 13" baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through. Serves 8-10 people

Chicken in Basil Cream

The cheese grits are from a recipe I got from Stacy and I have posted it before.  cheese grits
 Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce  This is a recipe that I got from pinterest.  I had some left-over grilled chicken and some left-over grilled pork tenderloin. Neither were enough for Jud and I, so I used both.  We decided that the grilled pork was even better than the chicken. I only took a picture with the chicken. I decided to cut the chicken in strips and put it over the cheese grits. Then I poured the sauce over it all.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 halves
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 can (4 oz) pimento; sliced
1/4 cup basil; fresh, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan; grated
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Method:
1. Heat skillet over medium high heat
2. Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls.
3. Dip chicken in milk, and then coat with crumbs
4. Add chicken to skillet with 1/2 of the butter and cook about 5 minutes
5. Add remaining butter, flip chicken and cook another 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
6. Remove chicken and keep warm.
7. Add broth to skillet, bring to boil over medium heat to remove food bits.
8. Stir in cream, and pimientos; boil and stir for 1 minute.
9. Reduce heat, add Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper; cook and stir until heated through.
10. Serve chicken with sauce poured over.
Since I already had the chicken cooked, I only did 7-10 in the directions. I cut the recipe in 1/2.

Talapia with Orzo and Roasted Vegetables

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-ginger-cilantro-sesame-baked-tilapia-fish-24737
I got this recipe from two different places. First, the fish recipe came from Pintrest and the link is above. I got the orzo recipe from Barefoot Contessa and the link follows. orzo with roasted vegetables  I made several variations to this recipe because I am not a huge fan of eggplant unless it is eggplant parmesan.





Printable Version:
Talapia with Orzo and Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients for the fish:
2 talapia filets
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger root - grated
1 jalapena pepper, chopped
1/3 cup cilantro
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Scallions and cilantro for garnish
Method:
Heat oven to 475 degrees. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and salt and pepper both sides of the fish.  Place in a baking dish.

Process the garlic, ginger, jalapena, cilantro white wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Pour sauce over the fish and bake 8-10 minutes.

Ingredients for the Orzo:
1 cup orzo -- cook in boiling water until al dente.
Roast the following vegetables for 35 minutes in a 475 degree oven.

1) chopped red onion
2) chopped bell pepper
3) 1 zucchini
4) 1 clove garlic, minced
5) about 25 grape tomatoes-- bigger ones I cut in 1/2
Put all vegetables in a baking dish and sprinkle with about 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Then salt and pepper the vegetables.
I roasted my vegetables except the tomatoes for 20 minutes. Then I added the tomatoes and placed the fish on the other side of the pan and cooked an additional 10 minutes.

Place the drained orzo in a large bowl and add the following:
1) 3.5 oz of feta cheese (I bought crumbled goat cheese instead)
2) about 1/2 cup black olives
3) roasted vegetables
4) 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
5) 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

Barefoot Contessa adds a dressing, but I didn't think it needed it and didn't want the added calories.