Grilled Chicken and Twice Baked Potato Casserole

We had some chicken breasts in the fridge that needed to be cooked and for a side, I’ve been itching to try the recipe for Twice BakedPotato Casserole since seeing it last week on Trisha’s “Mom On Timeout” blog.  I decided to turn the chicken into a version of chicken parmesan using the leftover sauce from our Thanksgiving meal.  This is our normal method for the chicken.

Grilled Chicken Parmesan

The Ingredients:

4 chicken breast

Italian Seasoning, to taste

S&P, to taste

Peanut oil

Shredded mozzarella cheese to cover each breast

1¼ cup marinara sauce

Parmesan cheese, to taste

The Directions:

1. Use a jaccard to tenderize and thin the chicken.

2. Season the breasts to taste with the three seasonings.

3. Brush the breasts lightly with oil and set at room temperature about 30 minutes.

4. Reheat a cup or so of sauce (more if you are siding the chicken with pasta).

5. Grill the chicken over medium heat until lightly browned on side one.

6. Flip, add mozzarella, and grill to an internal temp of 158F – it will go on up to 162F or more.

7. Plate the chicken and top with sauce and grated Parmesan.

While this side dish doesn’t exactly go with chicken parm, I just had to make it.  I discovered on-line that medium potatoes weigh 5-10 ounces (a pretty big range) so I split the difference and used four pounds.  Check out Trish's site for some great shots of hers.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole  

Ingredients:

8 potatoes medium sized, scrubbed and dried (Larry used 4 lbs)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt

½ pound bacon cooked and chopped

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded

¾ cup mayonnaise

¾ cup sour cream

4 green onions sliced (Larry used ¼ cup finely diced onion)

salt and pepper to taste

Topping

¼ pound bacon cooked and chopped

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded

2 green onions sliced (¼ cup yellow onion, fine dice)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Rub potatoes with olive oil and salt and place on baking sheet.

3. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork, flipping halfway through. Let cool for 15 minutes.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Lightly grease an 9-inch square or 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside.

5. Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. It’s perfectly acceptable for the potato pieces to slightly fall apart.

6. Stir in mayonnaise and sour cream.

7. Stir the cheese, bacon and green onions into the potato mixture.

8. Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and bacon.

9. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, removing foil for the last 10 minutes.

10. Top with sliced green onions and serve (Larry had no green onions).

The Verdict:

The chicken was very good as expected but we all agreed that the potatoes were absolutely fantastic and one of the best potato dishes we have eaten.  Mine was at room temperature to start the baking process and 30 minutes in the oven was not long enough so next time I’ll cook them for an hour.  If you like a loaded baked potato or the normal twice baked potato, I'm sure you will enjoy this dish.

As hard as it is to improve on fantastic, this did it for me.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/26/21 event date