So Thursday night I was going to make these recipes called Ranch Style Chicken and Fluffy Potatoes. We had steak instead. So tonight, I finally set out to cook them. ALWAYS read a recipe before you start to cook. Sometimes, like I do, you miss that fine print that says "must marinade for X amount of time". I saw that the chicken said Prep time: 2 hours so I was like Oh...well crap. Then decided hmm let me make this other recipe..yeah that didn't work. That takes an overnight marinade. So back to the original plan of chicken and potatoes.
The chicken was easy. As you can see from the recipe, the marinade is quite simple. And smells so freaking delicious I might add. I started marinading the chicken and then started the potatoes. Those are really simple but as I was scrubbing them I remembered how much I hated this "job" growing up. Ah, memories. Anyway, back to the cooking. I put the olive oil on the potatoes and in the oven they went. Then I went and screwed around on FB for a bit. Did I mention how much I enjoyed hitting the chicken with the mallet? I have never done that before, normally just marinade everything whole, but boy. That was fun. Then I felt bad because I was beating a chicken breast to a pulp. Who does that?
For the first time EVER in life, I cooked bacon. Yes ladies and gentleman, I have NEVER cooked bacon before. So the first couple pieces were a tad...crispy. And that is not what you want for the bacon since it has to cook WITH the chicken at one point. The bacon was finally cooked, put on a platter and then I tackled the potatoes. PW says to let them "sit for 15 minutes". I say give it a tad longer then that. I burned me some fingers on a couple of them! The filling that she uses sounded kinda...odd. But, as I am sure MOST people cooking do, I tried it and it was delicious!!
Overall, from start to finish, it took me about 2 hours until the chicken was being smashed until it was being served on my plate. So I recommend starting early. It is now 739 and we are just now eating dinner. But it was well worth the wait. I will DEFINITELY be cooking this again :D
- ½ cups Dijon Mustard
- ½ cups Honey
- ½ whole (juice Of) Lemon
- ½ teaspoons Paprika
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- Crushed Red Pepper (optional To Taste)
- 6 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 pound Thick Cut Bacon
- Bacon Grease
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese, to taste
- Canola Oil
Preparation Instructions
To begin, make the marinade. In a large bowl mix together ½ cup Dijon or country/grainy mustard with ½ cup honey, juice of ½ lemon, ½ teaspoon paprika, and ½ teaspoon salt and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy. Set aside.
Next, rinse the chicken breasts, place between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to around ½ to ¾ inch thick with a mallet. Next, add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.
While the chicken marinates, fry up some bacon. When finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.
When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until brownish/blackish, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes per side. Remove chicken to a large baking sheet. If cooking many pieces of chicken, repeat skillet process and remove finished chicken to baking sheet. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from over.
Lay a few pieces of bacon over each chicken breast. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like. Return pan to oven for an additional five minutes until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Serve immediately.
- 9 whole (to 10) Medium To Large New Potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ cups Sour Cream
- 4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened
- 1-½ cup Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Chopped Chives
- 1 clove Garlic, Pressed
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
Preparation Instructions
Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Rinse and dry the potatoes then place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and massage to coat. And don’t get too attached- you know how this will end.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Place the sour cream, cream cheese, Monterey Jack, chives, garlic, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise. With a spoon or melon baller, scoop out inside of the potatoes, leaving a very thin rim of potato inside the skin. Add the potato pulp to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Using a potato masher or fork, gently mash the ingredients together until fluffy and smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning – be sure to salt it adequately. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.
At this point, you can flash freeze the potatoes if you want: Stick the pan in the freezer, uncovered, and allow them to harden on the outside for about 20 minutes or so. Then simply throw them into a couple of large Ziploc bags, seal them tightly, and freeze them until you need them.
When you’re ready, bake the potatoes in a 375 degree oven until thoroughly warmed through.
The potatoes will soften, “melt”, and fill the potato shells as they bake. Yummmmmm.
Pictures:
0 comments:
Post a Comment