A grilled chicken breast, finished with caramelized onion, crisp bacon and sauteed mushroom, topped with provolone cheese.
Grilled and Smothered Chicken
I lost my Mama in 1997 but she was always such a fun person and I sure do miss her. One of the things that I used to love to do with her was to go to restaurants together for lunch or dinner, and one of our favorites was Ruby Tuesday located right on the beach in Biloxi - gone now thanks to Hurricane Katrina.We would eat far too much, laugh a lot, and it was just a wonderful time, and boy did she love those ribs! We never had enough room left for dessert and used to say we should just go out and eat dessert sometime, but sadly we never got around to doing that before she passed.
I can't recall if it was there, or another similar restaurant where we tried a chicken dish like this - a marinated, grilled chicken breast, simply smothered in caramelized onion, bacon and mushroom and topped with cheese. So good. Well, Mama being the great cook that she was, went home and set out to duplicate that and a new favorite was born.
You can do the final step in a single baking dish, but Mama used to finish these in little individual baking dishes {affil link}, which is the best way in my opinion. The juices accumulate in the dishes and make a bit of a pan sauce in the bottom, perfect for dipping bites of the chicken in - and just yummy. When I saw those little dishes come out, I knew this dish was coming up for supper!
While fantastic as a main dish, these also make great sandwiches and sliders for a party too. Thin the breast by pounding or slicing lengthwise and trim them into cutlets about the size of your roll or bun before grilling. Here's how to do it.
Pound chicken breasts, or slice in half lengthwise, so that they are evenly thick. I like to use a meat tenderizer {affil link} on mine so that the marinade penetrates the chicken. Put marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag or glass bowl, mix well and set aside 2 tablespoons for basting.
Add chicken, cover or seal, and let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
After it's marinated, we start with bacon and that's always a good thing! Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel; set aside and crumble when cooled. Add butter to the bacon fat, and saute the onion, cooking until caramelized.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion and set aside; add the mushrooms and cook, remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, grill, pan sear, or broil the chicken, until done - time will be dependent on the size and thickness of the breasts and the method of cooking. Coarsely chop the bacon.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked chicken into a shallow baking dish or in mini bakers {affil link} on a baking sheet. Baste chicken on both sides with some of the reserved marinade. Top with onion.
Top with bacon and mushrooms. Place in oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until internal temperature on an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
Remove and top each piece of chicken with cheese and return to the oven just long enough to melt. Serve immediately.
For more of my favorite recipes using chicken breast, visit my page on Pinterest!
Mama's Grilled and Smothered Chicken
Yield: About 4 to 6 servings
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
A grilled chicken breast, finished with caramelized onion, crisp bacon and sautéed mushroom, topped with provolone cheese.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 2/3 cup light olive oil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (like Colgin brand), optional
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the Smothered Chicken:
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 8 slices of Provolone cheese, or enough to top each piece of chicken
Instructions
- Pound chicken breasts, or slice in half lengthwise, so that they are evenly thick and tenderize if desired.
- Put marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag or glass bowl, mix well and set aside 2 tablespoons for basting.
- Add chicken, cover or seal, and let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
- Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel; set aside and coarsely chop once cooled.
- Add butter to the bacon fat, and sauté the onion, cooking until caramelized. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion and set aside; add the mushrooms and cook, remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, grill, pan sear, or broil the chicken, until done - time will be dependent on the size and thickness of the breasts and the method of cooking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the cooked chicken into a shallow baking dish or in mini bakers on a baking sheet.
- Baste chicken on both sides with the reserved marinade, top with crumbled bacon, mushrooms and onion.
- Place in oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until internal temperature on an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
- Remove, top each piece of chicken with cheese and return to the oven just long enough to melt. Serve immediately.
Notes:
Substitute any cheese you like for the provolone. Makes great individual sandwiches or even sliders. For sandwiches or sliders, trim into cutlets the size of your rolls before grilling. This marinade is also good for pork chops.
Smoky Mountain Chicken: Marinade chicken as above. Substitute thin slices of smoked ham for the bacon and omit onions and mushrooms. Brush barbecue sauce on both sides of grilled breasts, pile several slices of ham loosely on top of each breast, then top with cheese. Place in oven just until cheese is melted and garnish with chopped tomato and sliced green onion before serving.
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