Smoky Bacon Pork Chops (or Chicken)

When I moved to Tennessee a couple of years ago I was nervous and anxious about a lot of things such as living among complete strangers and environments, being away from my family and friends, finding a good job that would support Neal and I while Neal finished school, and finding a good grocery store. I know, I'm such a nerd.. but grocery shopping is very important to me! I look forward to my weekly trips and finding new ingredients and recipes to try. When we moved here I tried 3 or 4 different stores that were close to where we lived and finally settled on Kroger for the majority of my shopping. Overall, it's a great grocery store and has everything I need and want at a good price. Then a few months ago, we moved to a town home a few miles down the road and all my grocery store options changed. The nearest Kroger was now completely out of the way and I absolutely hated the layout of the store and the lack of items that they carried. It's funny how two of the same stores can be so different.
So, from the recommendation of my mother-in-law, I tried Publix which was literally 1/2 a mile from our new home. Tried it and loved it!! I'll spare you all of the reasons why I'm addicted to shopping there, but one of the things I love is that they have one similar characteristic to Costco. Any guesses? Free samples! They have a mini kitchen type of set-up near the front of the store where they cook 2 or 3 new items every week for you to try out. There's also a rack of recent recipes they've made that you can look through for ideas and get all the ingredients while you're in the store. These smoky bacon pork chops were one those recipes that I tried while looking at the cereal aisle. I took the first bite and walked right back to the recipe rack to grab the recipe card and gather the ingredients. Neal loved it and scooped the leftover topping out of the bowl with a spoon. The pork chops or chicken breasts are topped with a creamy, cheesy and smoky sauce that adds fantastic flavor to the meat. It's a cinch to throw together and it can easily go from a quick weeknight meal to a Sunday dinner with guests. No, it's definitely not the healthiest dish (at all), but try substituting turkey bacon and light mayonnaise and you won't feel nearly as guilty. Served with a green salad and some warm bread and you've got yourself a quick and easy meal! (Picture and recipe courtesy of Publix) (And sorry for the lengthy description.. It really is delicious! :) )

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 3 green onions, finely diced
• 1/4 cup chopped bacon pieces
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. Tabasco Chipotle hot sauce
• 2 tsp. McCormick GrillMates Mesquite seasoning
• 4 pork chops or chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Season pork chops/chicken breasts with mesquite seasoning and place on baking sheet. Combine cheese, onions, bacon, mayonnaise and hot sauce in a small bowl. Spread cheese mixture evenly over the meat. Place on middle rack of oven. Cook pork chops 8-9 minutes, or chicken 20-25 minutes, or until no longer pink. Increase oven heat to broil and broil 2-3 more minutes or until cheese is lightly browned (Be careful to watch as you broil the meat so nothing is burned). Serve warm from the oven.