MONTEREY CHICKEN

Hi guys...we're back! Aunt Peanut came to visit so I took the weekend off from the blog. I'm working on another post about our adventures, but I just couldn't wait to share this chicken recipe with you first.

We've made it before, but I forgot just how delicious it is! It's definitely one of the best main dishes I've ever pinned. The original recipe is from All Things Simple and I didn't change anything other than not pounding the chicken flat because we grilled it outside instead of George Foreman-ing it. Completely perfect!

Monterey Chicken

3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Barbecue sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Green onions

Bacon bits

Shredded cheddar or Colby Jack

1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

Dump your marinade ingredients in a big ziplock baggie, put your chicken in there too, close it up and get your chicken good and coated. Toss the baggie in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes. (We ended up leaving ours for about 45 because the grill caught on fire! But, it's a pretty salty marinade and you wouldn't wanna leave it on the chicken much longer than we did.)

Now for the grilling! Dave said it took about 7 minutes on each side on our grill, which wasn't really as hot as it should have been because Dave had to shut it off and scrub everything after he put out the fire...just cook it until it's not pink in the middle. :)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and put the cooked chicken on it. Squirt about a tablespoon of BBQ sauce on each, followed by about a quarter cup of Rotel. Now, heap on about a quarter cup of shredded cheese, sprinkle on some bacon bits and some slices of green onions (just however much you want of those two.)

Now, pop those babies in the oven until the cheese is melty--about 5 minutes. When they come out, I won't blame you if you eat them right off the pan. They look mouth-watering and smell even better!

We had ours with buttered noodles and corn...sooo yummy! Monterey Chicken tastes just like summer--fresh and grilled. YUM.

We were starving after our afternoon of flying Kinley's Dora kite. It was supposed to be one of her Easter presents, but her daddy couldn't wait. Plus, it was super windy here yesterday so perfect conditions.

We went to a field behind an elementary school in our neighborhood after getting Dora stuck in our dogwood tree a couple of times in our yard.

Kinley loved trying to catch Dora every time she dove back to the grass and she couldn't stop shrieking every time she saw her favorite explorer zip up in the sky.