Both of these recipes are from Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook if you are
trying to get into cooking- it keeps the ingredients and preparation short and simple.
For dinner serve this chicken with a simple salad: just top
greens with the Cilantro-Lime vinaigrette (below) and leftover mozzarella or MJ
cheese.
Leftovers tip: Chop up the leftover chicken to serve on a
salad for lunch the next day.
Smothered Green Chile
Pepper Chicken
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about ½ lime)
1-2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 small can whole green chiles, drained
¼ cup mozzarella cheese (or Monterrey Jack)
1.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.
Arrange chicken in a 8-inch baking dish; squeeze
lime juice evenly over chicken. Sprinkle
evenly with taco seasoning.
3.
Slice chiles lengthwise to open up flat. Place 1 chile over each chicken thigh. Cover dish with foil; bake for 30
minutes.
4.
Sprinkle cheese evenly over chiles and
chicken. Bake, uncovered, additional 5
minutes or until cheese melts.
Note: I adapted this slightly as the original
recipe is for 8 chicken breasts. I
find that each can of green chiles usually has 3 chiles, so you can buy 3
chicken thighs or split up a chile between 2 breasts. I’ve also sprinkled a mix of chile powder,
paprika, cumin, a tiny bit of cayenne and fresh ground black pepper over the chicken
when I didn’t have taco seasoning around.
Cilantro-Lime
Vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
Combine all ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.
