Chicken for Twenty

Last Friday evening, the Weston home was converged upon by Fair Oaks youth workers!

Gary and I invited all of our volunteers and their families, both junior high and high school, to come together to eat, talk, and share one another's lives. It was a great time to just hang out and be friends, and not have an agenda to cover. Our hope is that this will evolve into a regular event, that we may continue to get to know and encourage one another, outside of youth events where the focus is on our students.

Of course, our favorite way to hang out is to eat together, and last Friday was no exception. I am not accustomed to cooking for crowds, so I took the opportunity to debut a new dish; and as many people requested the recipe I will post it for you here.

Cousin Sandy's Tejas Chicken

Ingredients:

-Appropriate number of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-Equal number of bacon strips
-1 6 oz can jalapeno or chili peppers (sliced or diced)
-1 bottle Italian dressing
-1 large jar chopped pimentos (optional)
-Toothpicks
-Oven bag

Directions:

-Fold each chicken breast around 2 slices of pepper, or, if you are using diced peppers, spoon approximately two teaspoons into each fold.
-Wrap a slice of bacon around the chicken breast, secure with toothpick, and place in a large cooking bag, dusted with flour.
-Pour Italian dressing over the chicken and sprinkle with pimentos.
-Marinate in refrigerator overnight.
-When ready to cook, puncture bag and place in a large baking dish.
-Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Cousin Sandy says:

This is delicious with rice and very filling. I usually allow two chicken breasts per person, but I've rarely seen anyone actually eat two at a sitting! Leftovers may be frozen in marinade and reheated with no loss of flavor. I have also prepared this with mushrooms instead of peppers, and used diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top, for a completely different flavor. Good luck and good cooking!