The word “smothered” can sometimes be a very
off-putting descriptor. “Smothered” by a herd of stampeding elephants, for
instance, can inspire a horrifying visual. On a personal note, the word “smothered”
reminds me of a chilly, windy camping
trip from my childhood when my mom broke into my tent and cocooned me in a
ridiculous amount of blankets in the middle of the night…However, when
describing food, the word “smothered” is usually code for “ooey”, or “gooey”,
or “this-is-so-good-I-could-kiss-you-on-the-mouth”! I love my sundaes smothered
in hot fudge, I love my pb and j sandwiches smothered in jelly until it oozes
out of the sides, and I love this Southwest Smothered Chicken. I will warn you,
if you are a giant pansy when it comes to spicy food, this could be a jolt to
your delicate taste buds. I will include some variations to lessen the heat,
but I encourage you to man up and try the original version. For this photo, I
served the chicken with sides of refried beans and Mexi-rice. (Dump some salsa
and cheddar cheese over leftover rice and heat). Feel free to substitute your
favorite Mexican sides.
Here’s what you do:
1. Flatten 4 chicken
breast halves to ½ inch thickness. Sprinkle sides with ½ tsp each of cumin and
cayenne. In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1 tbsp. oil over medium for 4 to 5
minutes on each side. It should be golden before continuing.
2. Combine 1
cup frozen corn and 1 cup your favorite medium (mild if you like) salsa and
spoon over chicken. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice of pepper jack cheese (or
Monterey jack for less spice) and 2 slices of pickled jalapeno. (Pick ‘em off
if they scare you)! Cover your pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until heated
through and cheese is melted. Top each with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
No comments:
Post a Comment