Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese #25

This is another Ina Garten recipe.  I've recently learned how much I love goat cheese, but essentially have no recipes to make with it.  I thought this recipe looked elegant, yet very simple when I saw it on Ina's show.  I got online and decided to make it after I saw all the glowing reviews.

The case:


Ingredients
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
12 ounces Montrachet goat cheese, with garlic and herbs
Fresh basil leaves
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached.. 
3. Cut 12 thick slices of the Montrachet and place 2 slices plus a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast. Rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. 
4. Bake the breasts for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.

The ruling:
After reading some of the reviews, I decided to sprinkle the herb mixture Herbs de Provience over the top.  We really enjoyed this chicken.  I couldn't believe how much flavor and how juicy the meat was. The star of this dish is definitely the herbed goat cheese. 

Ranch Potatoes #24

This is simply another version of hash brown potato casserole.  I saw this on one of my favorite cooking blog's Plain Chicken.  One of the only things that could possibly make hash brown casserole is ranch!

The case:
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (1-ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 (2.8oz) packages bacon pieces

1 (30-ounce) package frozen country-style hash-brown potatoes, thawed

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly grease a 11/2-quart baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, dressing mix, and bacon. Add hash browns, stirring to combine. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.
Bake 30 minutes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.

The ruling:
This was very tasty!  Michael especially liked it.  Very simple and quick!

Outback's Alice Springs Chicken #23

I've eaten at Outback many times, but I've never had Alice Springs Chicken.  I found this recipe on food.com, and since I love the combination of chicken, mushrooms, and bacon and love honey mustard, I had to give it a try.

The case:
Ingredients
1 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 -6 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
12 slices bacon, cooked
3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. With an electric mixer combine the mustard, honey, and 1 Tbsp oil, and lemon juice for 1 minute.
2. Pour 1/2 mixture over chicken in a gallon ziplock to marinate in fridge 2-24 hours.  Chill remaining marinade to serve with chicken.
3. After marinating chicken, preheat oven to 375°F Put remaining oil in frying pan. Heat and sear chicken on both sides.  Cook until chicken is cooked throughout.
4. Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with marinade.
5. Meanwhile in frying pan add butter and saute mushrooms.
6. Season chicken breasts with salt and peppers.
7. Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then approx 1/3- 1/2 cup cheese on each.
8. Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

The ruling:
I don't know if I can come up with a word that truly describes how much I loved this chicken.  The sauce poured over it is the kicker.  This chicken would be really good cooked on the grill instead of the stove top.  Now, I want to go to Outback so I can compare the two!

Memorial Day Meal 2- El Pollo Loco Creamy Cilantro Dressing #22

Michael decided to smoke Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pork Butt for dinner on Memorial Day.  I wanted to add something a little different to go with it.  Originally I was looking for a side dish, but I came upon this dressing that I thought would go perfectly with the spicy pork.  This recipe came for Todd Wilbur's More Super Secret Restaurant Recipes.  Love his recipes!

The case:
Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 4 teaspoons finely minced cilantro
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin

Instructions:

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cover and chill.

Ruling:
This sauce is delicious.  It reminds me of the creamy jalapeno sauce at Chuy', but with different flavors.  This would be wonderful on all sorts of things!

Memorial Day 2011- Broiled Blue Cheese Tomatoes #21

This Memorial day also happened to be my Mom's birthday.  Michael and I had my family over to eat.  We made several of our old favorites including marinated grilled chicken and Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese, but you know I had to make a new recipe as well.  This was featured on Paula Deen's show lately.  I immediately saved it to my recipe box and am happy to be making this delicious sounding combination.

The case:
Ingredients

• 1 sleeve round buttery crackers, crushed
• 1 (5-ounce) container crumbled blue cheese 
• 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions 
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted 
• 3 large tomatoes, cut in half crosswise 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 F. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, blue cheese, bacon, and green onions. Add the butter, stirring to mix well. 
3. Place the tomatoes, cut sides up, on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomato halves evenly with the salt and pepper. Divide the cracker mixture evenly among the tomato halves. 
4. Broil 5 inches from the heat with the oven door cracked open until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. 

The ruling:
Delicious! Paula has another winner.  I could eat these as my meal alone!  I think this combination of ingredients would be wonderful in a stuffed chicken breast.  I'll have to try that soon!