Chasing 2 Monkeys: Cheesy Chicken Potatoes

Twas the day before payday and the cupboards were bare, my hubby’s tummy was rumbling around in despair. But alas! We had chicken, potatoes and cheese; I thought to myself, “What in the world can I make out of these?”

Ok, horrible rhyming skills, I know, I know! But seriously, this was us 6 years ago; we had no money and little left in the fridge for a meal. I had those three things plus some red onion, so I quickly went to work, and it has since become a favorite in our house.

Here's what you need:

6 small-medium red potatoes

1/4 of a red onion

2 chicken breasts

butter

salt

pepper

lemon pepper

garlic powder

mild cheddar cheese

extra virgin olive oil (or as Rachel Ray would say, "grab some E.V.O.O.")

First step is to cut up the chicken breasts into bite size pieces, then cook them in a pan with butter, salt, and pepper; stir frequently. Don't cook the chicken all the way, just until it all turns white...It will be going in the oven so you don't want the chicken to be too dry. Preheat your oven to 350*.

While the chicken is cooking, wash and chop up your potatoes.

Then, chop the onion into tiny pieces (or if you just want them for flavor, leave them in bigger chunks and pick out later).

Add the onions and chopped potatoes into a glass baking dish. Mine is 9x13. Drizzle on some olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and the garlic powder. Toss that around for a second.

Drain the cooked chicken and toss that in with the potatoes and onions.

Cover with foil and pop in the oven (center rack) for 45 minutes. Now get to grating some cheese! How much you grate really depends on how much you love cheesy goodness! We love cheese, so I usually grate about 1 1/2 cups to go on this.

After 35 minutes, take the foil off and sprinkle the cheese on top. Place it back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes (uncovered).

Once it's done, take it out of the oven and let it cool off for about 10-15 minutes. Then serve :) We didn't have anything to go along with this meal back then, but now I like to serve it with sauteed green beans. YUM!