Guest Entry: Grilled Chicken and Bakes

When I started my cooking blog, I thought it would be fun to include guest entries. My friend Matt was the first person to volunteer to write a guest entry. Although Matt doesn't cook a lot, this is a meal that he makes often and wanted to share. Let me know if you would be interested in doing a guest entry!

Grilled Chicken with Bakes, By Matt

I don't cook very often (and I'm not very good), but there are a few things I make and I wanted to write up one of them. This is a dinner that I'll make when I have a little time.

This first picture includes all of the ingredients I use.

I start with the bakes since they take the longest. This is a recipe I got from my mom. No idea where she got it. My brother and I like fries, so my mom came up with these. They taste pretty good, but they're not actually fried. Since they're baked we started calling them bakes.

Take a potato and slice it up. Any way is fine. I do a combination of long, thin strips and chunks. Grease a baking pan with Pam and place the potato pieces in the pan. The more potato surface area you can get touching the pan the better as this will get the bakes crunchier. Then cover the potato pieces with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper (my mom also uses garlic).

Bake at 425 degrees fahrenheit until golden brown. This usually takes about 30 minutes but my oven doesn't work too well so you should monitor it closely the first time you try it and adjust as necessary.

Then I prepare some fresh fruits and vegetables to hold me over until dinner is ready.

After about 15 minutes I start preparing the chicken since that doesn't take too long. I used to buy skinless, boneless chicken filets (either Harris Teeter or Purdue). I would slice it in half for two related reasons: 1) I'm impatient and it takes longer when its thicker and 2) Slicing it in half ensures I cook it thoroughly. However, I've recently switched to Purdue's packaged chicken filets. They come in packs of five and are individually packaged so they're easy to freeze. I normally will make two of these at a time since they're already pretty thin.

I throw the filets on a stove-top griddle I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $40 (after the 20% off coupon). Then I cover the filets with Emeril's Original Essence. Not too much though.

Cook at Medium-Medium High for 10 minutes or so (until thoroughly cooked). Once its done I'll throw a slice of Swiss cheese on top and let it sit for a minute to melt just a bit.

The timing is the hardest part for me but if you do it right the chicken should finish a minute or two after the bakes. The bakes usually need a few minutes to cool but the chicken doesn't. Sometimes the bakes need more salt after they come out of the oven (or maybe I just like a lot of salt).

Variations - If I don't feel like waiting for bakes, I'll eat some bread to hold me over and have fruits and vegetables as the side. Or vice versa depending on how I feel that day.

Difficulty: If I can do it, it must be easy.

Matt's rating: 7-8 depending now how patient I am with the bakes.