Smothered Chicken

This is a recipe I have made a couple of times and I'm loving it! I love how versatile it is! I plan on making this many more times in the future. This is my inspiration for the recipe. I have changed it up a little each time I have made it.

Smothered Chicken

- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

- Spicy Brown Mustard

- 3 large peppers (any color you prefer)

- Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning (or any seasoning you like)

- Montreal Steak Seasoning 

- 1/2 cup cheese of choice

- Bacon grease (if you don't have any, you can use vegetable or olive oil)

Instructions

- preheat your oven to 350

- Preheat the bacon grease to medium/high in a cast iron skillet

I love cooking meats in cast iron. It just has such a unique flavor that I love. Feel free to feel whatever cookware you have handy. Same goes for the bacon grease. I realize it's not the healthiest option, but it gives great flavor. When we cook bacon, we pour the grease off into a glass container and keep it in the fridge for times like these!

- Pound your chicken breasts out to about 1/2 inch thick. You could skip this step if you like, but it will tenderize your meat and make sure it cooks uniformly. I like to buy my chicken at Wegman's in the club packs. It's the same price that I would buy it for at BJ's, but it's already individually wrapped. I can just pound them out before I open the package.

- Season the chicken on both sides with your choice of seasoning. I used Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning this time, but just salt and pepper is absolutely fine. Cook the chicken almost all the way through. Make sure you have a nice crust on each side, but you will finish cooking in the oven.

- While the chicken is cooking, cut your peppers into strips.

- Remove the chicken from the pan and let cool just a little

- Scrape the pan and add more grease if needed. You can leave the little bits of chicken, they will just add more flavor for later. Add the peppers and cook until they're slightly charred. Season with Montreal Steak Seasoning (or any other seasoning you would like to try). You can use any peppers you like. This time, I used a mixture of red, yellow and orange peppers.

- While the peppers are cooking, cut the chicken breasts into strips and cover in spicy brown mustard. I didn't measure, but I probably used around 1/4 cup. 

- Once the peppers are nice and charred, mix them in with the chicken and mustard mixture. Cover with cheese and bake for 30 minutes. 

I like to serve mine over white rice, but feel free to try whatever sounds good to you. You can use onions, mushrooms, any color of peppers that sounds good. For a Southwest mix, you could add in corn and/or black beans with some Mexican flavorings. I think I'm going to try a Southwest version next time. You really can do whatever you like with this recipe. You could even substitute the chicken for other meats. Maybe a Philly Cheesesteak version? Or even smothered squash and zucchini for a vegetarian option! 

Let me know if you try any other combos that are delicious!