Chicken Monterey

Since we had just gone to Costco, I always get avocados (5 in a bag). Avocados are one reason that we could never go on a 200-mile radius diet while living in KS (we could come pretty close, but there are a few things that we would not want to give up eating). Chris almost always orders things that come with avocados if he sees them on a menu. He would eat them everyday if we lived in CA and had a tree. But we don't, so we have to settle for avocados at Costco (which usually are pretty good).

This is one of Chris' top 3 favorite things that I make. Once when Josh was over, I made it and he asked for some bread, so that he could mop up all the sauce that was leftover in the dish. It's that good.

Chicken Monterey adapted from NO JACKET REQUIRED by Neiman Marcus

serves 4-8 (depending on what else you have for dinner)

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved

salt and pepper to season

2 tbs flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

8 large button mushrooms, diced

1 teas. celery salt

1/2 teas. white pepper (do not use black pepper, the taste would ruin this dish!)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine (please use something that you would drink. Bad white wine will ruin any

dish!). And then drink the rest of the bottle yourself...haha. Just kidding. Ok, maybe not.

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and mashed (I usually throw in another one since we love them)

3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided into 1/2 cup and remainder

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Use a 9x13 baking dish. Pound chicken breasts until 1/4 inch thick (you can also cheat and find this already done for you in the store to save time and energy). Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper: dust with flour. Melt 1/4 cup of butter in large skillet over medium heat and brown chicken. Transfer to baking dish in a single layer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the skillet, melt remaining butter over medium-low heat, saute onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Stir in 2 tbs of flour, celery salt, white pepper, chicken stock and wine. Cook over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until thick. Stir in avocado and 1/2 cup cheese to blend. Adjust seasonings if needed. Spoon mixture over chicken and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!