Joyeux Kitchen: "Call Me Senorita, Chicken"

Doug's working two jobs now, Project Engineering during the day and serving at Red Robin at night--can you imagine?  He's beat.  And he's more than willing to paw through the fridge after work at 11pm, but leftovers aren't always satisfying, so one night last week when he'd worked an 18 hour day, I wanted to cook him up something super-filling and special. 

I never make up recipes, I'm not that brave, but occasionally I do gussy up a recipe that bores me.  Knowing I had some chicken breasts ready for cookin', I flipped through my three-ring full (FULL) of recipes.  I landed on a quick Campbell's ad/recipe for chicken enchiladas I'd pulled out of a magazine at the doctor's office months ago (oh please, who hasn't done that?).  It looked awfully plain, but I was inspired.  I took the tortillas out of the equation entirely and added fresh chopped up jalapenos and some homemade green salsa, and served the whole thing with Paula Deen's Mexican Rice.

 For the chicken, you'll need:

• Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 tbsp butter
• Can of cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
• 2 diced fresh tomatoes, or 1/2 can organic diced/peeled
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup tomatillo salsa, recipe below (you could easily substitute jarred salsa)
• Two whole, sliced jalapenos, seeds left in for spicy-lovers or removed for a milder dish
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

Melt the butter in a large oven safe saucepan (I used my Dutch oven) and brown the chicken over medium high heat on both sides.  In a separate bowl mix the remaining ingredients, except the cheese, and pour over the chicken.  Cover and bake at 350 for an hour, until chicken is nice and tender and the sauce is bubbling.  Right before serving, uncover and top with the Monterey Jack.  Turn on the broiler to melt and lightly brown the cheese. 

While your chicken is cooking, whip up this delicious rice dish.

You'll need:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14 1/2-oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar

In a large saucepan (I used my electric skillet), melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the rice, onion, peppers and garlic.  Cook until the rice is browned and vegetables are tender.  Watch the rice really closely!  It's easy to burn it and then you'd have to start all over again.  Stir in the water, tomatoes, chili powder, and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender, about 15-17 minutes.  Stir in the cheese and transfer to a serving bowl.  Thanks for another winner, Paula :).

Easy Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

You'll need:

• 1 pound tomatillos, quartered if large or halved if smaller
• 1 small red onion, quartered
• 1 jalapeno, halved
• 2 garlic cloves (or, I use 2 tsp. minced garlic)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

This is SO easy!  I saw Sunny Anderson making it one day (on Food Network, obviously) and my mouth watered... had to have it.  It's not too spicy and delicious with blue corn tortilla chips; salsa's a great alternative to less healthy snack foods.  Throw all the veggies in an 8 by 8 glass baking dish, toss with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast until tomatillos turn golden around the edges and are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and blend ingredients together until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.