Bacon and chicken and cheese, oh my!

Last night I was home alone for the evening, reading terribly embarrassing stories which I shall not post about here, so I wanted to make something simple for dinner, but more advanced than mac and cheese (tonight might just be a mac an cheese night, though).  A baked potato sounded great and, luckily, we recently made a trip to Russo's where we bought potatoes and tons of other veggies, so I had some lovely potatoes just yearning to be baked and eaten.

 I have made a meal out of a baked potato in the past, but I wanted meat.  Or, rather, poultry.  And I had already started defrosting a breast in warm water.  I hurried online to see what could be made from chicken, cheese, and an oven set to 350.  I ended up finding this:  http://agriculturesociety.com/uncategorized/rustic-baked-chicken-with-cheese-and-bacon/

What could be better?  Bacon, mushrooms, cheese, chicken, garlic, onions, and a potato?

We already had all the ingredients in the house, so I pulled them together and made a tasty, tasty meal.  (I will get confirmation on said tastiness when I make it for the boy in a few days).



So, recipe (as I said, I made this for me, not for many people. I didn't measure stuff, either, so I'll just put the general ingredients I used):

• Chicken breast(s)
• Mushrooms
• Diced onion
• Minced garlic
• Bacon (enough to cover the top of the chicken)
• Grated cheddar
• Butter/Olive oil
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper – to taste

Turn the oven to 350.  To start, place the bacon in a pan over medium heat and cook slightly.  Remove and place on a paper towel to drain.

In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic in butter or oil (or remaining bacon grease) over low heat.  Once browned, add the mushrooms and saute for a bit.  Add more oil or butter and, pushing the onions, garlic, and mushrooms to the side of the pan, place the chicken in and brown it on both sides over medium heat (don't cook it all the way through). Once the chicken is in the pan, add salt and pepper (and any other spices you want) for taste.

Once the chicken is browned, place it in a casserole dish and cover with mushroom, onion, and garlic mixture.  Place the bacon strips over the chicken and then cover the dish with cheese.  Place the dish in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes to an hour, periodically checking to make sure it doesn't burn.

As I said before, I also made a baked potato wit this.  If you don't know how to make a baked potato, I'll tell you.  Take a potato, scrub it clean, and dry it.  Take a bit of olive oil and rub it all over the potato, then take salt and rub it into the olive oil.  Poke some hole in the potato and stick it in the oven at 350 for an hour.  Ta Da!