The battle between
winter’s grip and spring prying a seasonal hold has been a challenge in many
ways. Waking in the morning, choices
have been: spring jacket or winter coat; dry roads or hoping not to slide;
taking a long hike or staying indoors?
It was a weekend in March
when it looked like spring was getting the upper hand on winter. Temperatures in the 50s, clear sky, soft
breeze; the waterfalls, down the trail from Hamburger Rock campground, were
flowing. A purely perfect setting for
crossing out another name on the to-do list of San Juan County adventures – the
rock art of Hog Canyon.
Located three miles west
(mile marker 4 on Highway 211) from Newspaper Rock, there is a short pull-in
area for parking. The trails up to the
walls (Blue Grama aka Blue Gamma – popular to crack climbers) are well worn,
but the soil is loose. Following the
rock art itself entails maneuvering up and around boulders, sometimes squeezing
between one that has split in two after its fall from the wall.
Carved onto stone, drawn
into the desert varnish, there are square-bodied humanoid figures, mountain
sheep, insects, long leaves resembling ferns, circles and many other shapes and
figures. There is the occasional
signature of those who settled or visited in the early 20th century (1911
– Ralph Hurst and Bill Dalley). While
many the modern day traveler thinks that the Indian rock art is nothing more
than “ancient graffiti”, they fail to understand that it was the earliest form
of the “written word” for these cultures.
Why the name “Hog
Canyon”? In Utah’s Canyon Country
Place Names (Steve Allen), there is a reference to “Pete Steele noted that
the canyon was fenced with knit wire (sheep wire) to hold the pigs that used to
pasture in the canyon. The fence still
stands. (1821~)”. In the December 10, 2014 issue of the San Juan Record, Albert Eugene (Pete)
Steele’s obituary states, “One of his jobs growing up was punching cows for the
SS Cattle Company rooted deep in San Juan County’s history. His tales of the
Old West and the history of San Juan County were a treasure to anyone lucky
enough to hear them.”
Since I’m writing about
challenges, let me get to my next challenge which relates to food. Many times I have seen recipes posted on
Facebook that have the same name, but a slight difference with
ingredients. One such recipe (2
variations) was “Bacon Wrapped, Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts”; now
that’s a mouthful just to say. I looked
both recipes over and basically they had one difference; while one used chopped
green onion, the other used chopped jalapeno peppers. I threw down the gauntlet, or oven mitt, and
challenged myself to make this recipe more intriguing. I thought back to a sandwich I had enjoyed at
Sweet Cravings in Moab; how a mixture of jalapeno jelly and cream cheese had
brought great flavors to roasted turkey breast.
Why not do that with chicken!?!
Looking in the pantry, I
found a jar of both mild and hot jalapeno jelly. While I intended on using some green onions,
I also diced up red onions and a multicolored selection of bell peppers for
their natural sweetness.
The chicken breasts need
to be pounded out to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Always use the flat side of
your meat tenderizer, or you can purchase a flat sided mallet. Do not use the
mallet directly on the chicken; place it inside a plastic bag, or between 2
sheets of plastic wrap. Also, placing a
clean linen towel over the plastic will most definitely ensure that the tender
poultry meat will not shred, but extend out smoothly. Gently pound out the chicken to the desired
thickness; this is not the type of meat to take your aggressions out on.
After pounding out the
chicken, spread one tablespoon of the mild jelly (green) or the hot jelly
(red); leaving about a half inch border from the edges. A tablespoon of cream cheese was spread on
next; in the other recipes, only two tablespoons of cream cheese was used for
the stuffing. I pressed about two
tablespoons of the bell peppers with red onions; only green onions; or bell
peppers with green onions into the cream cheese.
Now you might be wondering
why no salt sprinkled over the chicken; bacon is going to take care of the salt
issue. In the recipes I read, they
called for the bacon to be partially cooked before wrapping around the chicken. The use of totally raw bacon helps it to be pliable
enough to fully wrap around the rolled breasts; allowing the fat to baste the
chicken and keep it moist as the bacon begins to crisp up in the oven. A roasting pan with a rack allows the bacon
to crisp up on the bottom as well as the top, so no need for a broiler later
on. Preheat the oven to 400F; line the
roasting pan with aluminum foil and add two cups of water to keep any bacon
drippings from burning and smoking.
Spray the rack with nonstick spray and place back inside the pan. Now for the chicken rolling...
Carefully begin to roll
the chicken and if any filling begins to ooze out, just push it right back
inside. Take a slice of bacon (you'll
need 3 for each breast) and wrap it lengthwise around the chicken. This will help keep the filling from coming
out the sides while roasting. The bacon
will overlap a bit and seal against the chicken meat, so no toothpicks will be
necessary.
Lay two slices of bacon on
your board, about one inch apart, and carefully lay the rolled breast with the
first bacon slice's seam facing upward.
Wrap those two slices around the chicken and let the ends come together
to form a seal. Carefully pick up the
bundle and lay it, bacon seams side down, on the roasting rack. Leave about an inch in between each bundle,
so the bacon can crisp up on all sides.
Place the roasting pan inside the oven and let it cook for 40-45
minutes; until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
There you have it, Bacon
Wrapped, Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts.
The jalapeno jelly and cream cheese mixture combined to form a decadent
stuffing which enhanced the natural sweetness of the bell peppers and red
onions. With the green onions, they
combined with the jalapeno jelly to give that Southwestern flavor
sensation. The bacon kept the chicken
moist, yet seasoned it at the same time.
Sometimes less is more,
but with this new version of the recipe, more of more is just what you
want. Enjoy!
Mary Cokenour