Monterey Chicken Bake

This is one of my favorite recipes. My husband often requests this one. I came across this when I was looking for something to do with my boneless skinless chicken breasts. The original recipe asked for teriyaki sauce and other additional ingredients that I didn't have on hand. I adapted it to barbecue sauce and other ingredients and it tasted really good. I passed the recipe on to friends and it was a huge hit!

MONTEREY BBQ CHICKEN BAKE

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 to 6 slices of bacon
• barbecue sauce (works better if thick)
• 8 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese
• *2 or 3 each green onion stems
• large bottle of hidden valley ranch dressing
• McCormick Grill Mates barbecue seasoning (to taste)

*optional

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Lightly spray bottom of medium to large baking dish with regular cooking spray. Chop green onion stems into shallots - as much as you desire.
• Fry bacon on stove until crispy. Lay flat on paper towels to absorb grease. After 15 minutes, crumble bacon and set to the side.
• Brush both sides of chicken breasts with barbecue sauce. Lay chicken flat in a shallow baking dish and season with the barbecue seasoning. Flip and season opposite sides.
• Let chicken set for 10 minutes. Brush each chicken breast with barbecue again. Pour Hidden Valley Ranch dressing over each chicken breast, covering thoroughly.
• Place crumbled bacon pieces over chicken in dish. Add shredded Monterey Jack cheese (make sure to completely cover the chicken with cheese) and shallots over dish.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes uncovered. Chicken is done when middle is no longer pink. Enjoy!!

I usually serve this with mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce.