My Mountain Melt

My friend Limor and I have been spending our girl's night at our wonderful neighborhood Ale House. After realizing that their famous Mountain Melt has a million more calories than even two people should share in one sitting, and being the foodie I am, I knew I could make it at home...

So it began. (Adapted from a recipe from Fiesty, Frugal and Fabulous)

Here's what the original recipe said to use.

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes cut into cubes (skin on)
• ⅓ cup oil (olive or vegetable)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ tablespoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 5 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank's.)
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used 1 cup cheddar, 1 cup mozzarella.)
• ½ package (7 strips) Maple Leaf Ready Crisp Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• ½ cup diced green onion

First - scrub clean the potatoes and cut them however big you wish. Cubed, of some size. And preheat your over to 500. Yes, 500. Trust me. 

Second - cook the bacon. I love bacon, so I do it on the stove in a pan. Full fat. Yumm-o! Dry it on a paper towel and then chop it with a knife. I don't crumble bacon. It's weird. 

Step 1: mix olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce in a bowl. *Note - I do not really 'measure' things. You can. Please do. We like garlic and onions here. We use a lot of that, so...

                

 

Step 2: Coat the potatoes in the mixture you just made. Then, put them in a casserole dish, but make sure you leave as much excess 'juice' from the bowl, in the bowl. (That's what will coat your chicken.) Bake in the 500 degree oven for 1 hour. Stir them every 10-15 minutes. This will make them crispy. Trust me, you will want them crispy...

                     

Step 3: After the potatoes are done, take them out and turn your oven down to 400. Let it cool a bit before putting the casserole back in for final cooking, or it will more than likely burn. Toss the cubed chicken in the bowl of leftover juice. Coat evenly. Put the raw chicken on top of the potatoes. Cover with the cheese and bacon. Put back in the 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. When it looks all bubbly and yummy, it's done. If you need to be sure, test a piece of chicken.

THEN IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Enjoy.