One of my favorite dishes at Chili's is their Monterey Chicken. Anytime we go there that is the one dish I get every time. We don't get to go out and eat as often as we like anymore but, that's OK with me. Eating out is the one thing that we really had to cut back on since I stay home with the kids. Eating out and fast food can really hit your pocket book hard. Sometimes your don't even realize it. Ya know there are some days I don't even miss it. I mean don't get me wrong I do love to go out and have a great meal that I don't have to prepare. We do go out and eat occasionally, but not as often as we used to when DH and I both worked. It is amazing how you can recreate some of your favorite take out foods right at home. Monterey Chicken being one of them. All that cheesy, barbecue, oniony, bacony goodness it just makes me weak at my knee's. I dont even think some of those are actual words, but that's the only way to describe it.Imagine my surprise when I got The Hungry Housewife's recipe newsletter and saw her Copy Cat version for BBQ Cheesy Chicken aka Monterey Chicken. I just happened to have Monterey Chicken listed on my March Menu but, I was still searching around for a great recipe. Well this was a tried and true recipe so, that was the one I made. This chicken was totally out of this world awesome!!!!!!! It is definitely a keeper in our house. Everyone loved it except Carson, but he is so darn picky and only thinks hot dogs and PB & J Sandwiches are good right now. I know one day he will broaden his horizons. What is your favorite Restaurant Dish that you like to recreate at home. ??
These are the ingredients you will need: Iron Skillet (I ♥ my cast iron skillet) Chicken Breasts, BBQ Sauce, Oil, One Caramelized Onion, Salt & Pepper, Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese (Shredded) and Bacon.
Place chicken breasts in large zip lock bag and pour enough BBQ sauce in bag to cover the chicken. Marinate them in the fridge from about 30 minutes. I marinated mine for about one hour.
Thinly slice your desired amount of onions I would use at least one good size onion it will shrink down in size. Coat lightly with vegetable oil and Season with salt and pepper. In a dutch oven fitted with a lid, I had to use a glass covered casserole dish bake for around 1 hour, or until desired color is reached. Make sure you stir them every 15 minutes so they don't burn.
as you can see mine got a bit to dark on some of them. That's OK because I ate them anyways I love caramelized onions. Especially the crispy ones. my DH dislikes onions but told me to make more next time. Go figure!!
Preheat oven to broil to HI, with rack 4 inches from heat In a large oven proof skillet (I used my cast iron skillet just like Leslie), on the stove top over medium heat, saute chicken until mostly done, about 4 minutes per side. If your chicken breasts are a bit thicker you will need to saute them a little longer. Next time I will split the chicken breasts in half for easier cooking.
Pour some BBQ sauce over chicken. Place desired amount of onions on the chicken, cover with cheese (how ever much you want) Place bacon on top. Umm now this is really starting to come together. Just look at that picture. I added a toothpick or two to hold down the bacon from curling.
Place pan in the oven and broil until the bacon has crisped up, about 5 minutes. Or until the chicken reads 165 on a meat thermometer. YUMMO!!!!! My chicken breasts were a little thick so after I broiled the chicken and the bacon crisped up I turned the heat down to 400 and baked the chicken a bit more to make sure it was cooked through. Next time I will make sure to split the breasts first.
Cheesy BBQ Chicken
(Copy Cat Chili's Monterey Chicken)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 onion, caramelized
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (or homemade)
Shredded Cheese
(Cheddar or Colby jack shredded cheese blend)
Place chicken breasts in large zip lock bag and pour enough BBQ sauce in bag to cover the chicken. Marinate them in the fridge from about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to broil HI, with rack 4 inches from heat In a large oven proof skillet( I used my trusty cast iron skillet), over medium heat, saute chicken until mostly done, about 4 minutes per side. Pour some BBQ sauce over chicken. Place desired amount of onions on the chicken. Cover with cheese (how ever much you want) Place bacon on top. I stuck a toothpick or two through the bacon to keep it from curling while broiling. Place pan in the oven and broil until the bacon has crisped up, about 5 minutes. Or until the chicken reads 165 on a instant read thermometer. If after you have broiled th chicken it still isnt cooked through, lower the temp to 450 and cook till juices run clear.
How to Caramelize Onions
Preheat oven to 425 Thinly slice your desired amount of onions. Coat lightly with vegetable oil Season with salt and pepper. In a dutch oven or casserole dish fitted with a lid, bake for around 1 hour, or until desired color is reached Make sure you stir them every 15 minutes so they don't burn.
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21 comments:
We don't have a Chili's within 45 minutes, so I have never eaten there, but this looks fantastic! I'm getting ready to write it down. I can't wait to try it! I had actually bought the stuff for another chicken dish, but I think I may make this one instead. The recipe I want to be able to recreate would be garlic sauce. I always order a great steamed veggies with garlic sauce when we go to Chinese and the sauce is to die for. I wish I knew what in the heck it had in it! I've tried, but am not that familiar with asian ingred. and was not even close!
Strong work! That looks exactly like the Chili's version! Chili's has always been a fave of mine ever since it got me through nursing school. (I waited tables and bartended there for MANY years!)
I was just wondering what to make for supper tonight. THIS IS IT. Just keep on making these great dishes and I won't ever have to worry about a "menu" again. LOL
Yum! I love anything that involves bbq!
Oh goodie..I am sooo very glad you and your family enjoyed it!!!
Thanks for the shout out!
Wow that is making my mouth water just looking at it!
That's exactly what I order when we go to Chili's. Thanks for the recipe!
We used to do lunch at Chili's when I was working but I never make it to Chili's anymore - the closest one to our home is right next door to T.G.I.Friday's and across the street from Outback, they always seem to win the vote when we're out eating over that way. I never ate this though. This just looks so good - definitely a keeper! Thanks!
This looks SO good!! I love bbq and chicken...I also LOVE my cast iron skillet. This is going on my list to try!!
Made this tonight and it was great! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Oh this dish looks fantastic.. Wonderful recipes you have on your blog I so enjoy visiting here:)
Wow Becky that was fast. I am so glad you liked it. I think I am going to add it down again for out Menu next month, it is so easy and yummy.
Whoa, this looks so amazing! Yummy!
Oh my this looks sooooo good! I have to try it!
I made them last night. They were great!
thanks.
Cheese, BBQ and chicken? Oh, sweet wounded wuffles. This looks better than Chili's version to me!
We don't go out to eat as often either now that I stay at home with my son. And you're right - you can totally copy your favorite restaurant recipes and they're just as good. I love chili's, so this sounds fantastic!!
I could bribe my 14 year old son with that recipe! I may have to try it too. I recently made up a recipe for Penne Gorgonzola which is a copycat for a dish served at Johnny Carino's. It was easy and yum.
One word - sinful. Oh, and delicious. So two words. 1
I will be making this for my family soon. It looks delicious!
Wow, this recipe looks fantastic! Definitely printed out this one. Now to go tip toe through some of your other stuff. Love your site so far!
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