Monterrey Tapenade Chicken and My Torture

During last weekend's extended holiday time off, I went into refrigerator mode.  Refrigerator mode is when there is so much Tupperware, Pyrex and Corning Ware, that you can no longer see the sides or back of refrigerator due to all the leftovers.  It was time to toss or get creative and re-purpose for some breakfast, lunch and dinner options.

It is inevitable when this happens, every pot, spatula, scraper, skillet, and whisk come out...which means many dirty dishes and the kitchen looks like I just finished making Thanksgiving dinner for thirty people!

It was on this day of course, that the dishwasher decides to break down...and I'm not talking about my husband the dishwasher.  I'm referring to the one that my world revolves around.  I could not get one of the special or standard cycles to work.  It revved up...and then stops...and then I go into mass hysteria looking at my piles of dirty dishes that I just conjured up.

You see if the washer and dryer break, no problem...you just load all your dirty laundry in the car, head to your nearest, safest, laundromat and three hours later you come home with beautiful, clean and warm clothes. However, when the dishwasher breaks...you have nowhere to take all your ingredient induced dishes....nowhere!!!

So, after (a bottle of Pinot Noir) a bottle of Ajax grapefruit scented dish washing liquid, 108 degree scalding hot water, 7 dish drying towels and 3 beach towels (for staging the clean, wet, dishes on deck waiting to be dried), we are now at our 6th sink load of hand washing dishes.  This Monday, the dish washer repair man will be at my house...I may even hug and kiss him.  Until then...paper plates, plastic forks and bbq outdoors!

In my creative leftover efforts, I came across a recipe for Monterrey Chicken.  Monterrey Chicken, typically has a Mexican seasoning ingredient flair and always...always includes cilantro.  If anyone wanted to kidnap me and torture me, they would feed me cilantro!  I could be on a deserted island and if the only thing that kept me alive was cilantro...I'm sorry to say, I would miss you all terribly, as that would be my demise.

Even though my husband thinks I am just being picky, I am not the only one that feels so strongly about the subject this way either...my sister-in-law (who is a fellow Pisces) also concurs with me, as does The Barefoot Contessa.  So there you have it...I am in good company and authoritative on this!

Thankfully I changed it up the recipe and gave it an Italian spin with my leftover tomatoes, olive oil and green olive tapenade that I had in one of the floundering Tupperware bowls.


Monterrey Tapenade Chicken

1/2 cup canola oil
2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
2 Tbl water
2 Tbl chicken grilling seasoning (like Lawry's)
2 Tbl Dijon mustard
2 Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
6 slices, applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
1 Roma tomato, diced
1 cup green olive tapenade

For the chicken, whisk together the canola oil, apple cider vinegar, water, chicken grilling seasoning, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Add marinade to a large plastic sealable bag.  Add the chicken breasts.  Toss to coat and refrigerate for 30 minutes (up to 8 hours).

In a separate small bowl, toss the cooked bacon crumbles and shredded cheese.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In another small bowl, combine the diced tomatoes and green olive tapenade.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat a grill pan or grill over medium.  Brush pan with non-stick spray.  Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off.  Discard marinade.  Cook chicken covered until the thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.  (Approximately 5 minutes per side).

Top chicken with bacon-cheese mixture, cover and cook until cheese is melted, 1 minute more.

Serve with tomato and green olive tapenade topping.

One Year Ago: One Pot Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Two Years Ago: Eggplant, Green Olive and Provolone Pizza
Three Years Ago: Lemon Spaghetti with Jumbo Shrimp
Four Years Ago: Hot Chili Mamma Salsa

Thank goodness I had for forethought to use parchment paper....no dirty baking sheets!!