When I was a teenager, a friend’s mother turned me into a
Mexican food monster! This woman not only made delicious dinners for me, but
she made homemade salsa that I will never forget, nor will I ever find anything
that compares. It was super spicy, just like her, but you could taste the love
she put into it. This woman, incidentally, was one of the hardest working and
loving women I’ve ever known. She worked tirelessly at work and it was a bit of
a guilty pleasure to eat her food because she literally cooked all day when she
did. But there was nothing better and with that said, she quickly turned me
into a Mexican food snob. And while in general I admit to being a food snob,
this is particularly true for Mexican food and specifically salsa!
So anyway, I don’t really cook Mexican food too much. Partly
because it’s never going to be that good. In fact, while talking to my friend
about this dinner, I may have mentioned that my Mexican food always has a “tint
of white girl” in it! Nevertheless, I attempted a chili relleno Big Eater Small
Body style. Which means no deep frying. But if I’m being honest, the fried part
of chili relleno is not really my favorite part anyway, so I wasn’t too bummed
out about the healthy conversion! What I came up with was a much healthier and
equally tasty dinner that may have gotten a round of applause from even from my
little salsa making mama!
Here’s the breakdown:
2 chicken breasts
6 poblano peppers
1 can corn
1 small can green chiles
1 jalapeno, minced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-28 oz. can whole tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 package Sazon
queso fresco
olive oil
Sprinkle chicken breasts with Sazon seasoning on both sides.
In a cast iron dutch oven, heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat and
add chicken. Let cook approximately 3-5 minutes and flip over. Cook for an
additional 3-5 minutes. Then add the can of whole tomatoes with the juice and
the can of Rotel. Cook in the sauce for about 5-10 minutes covered. Then add to
a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Time here is
loose because the chicken will be cooked regardless, but you’re trying to get
it where it will pull apart with forks. Meanwhile, roast the poblanos. You can
do this on the grill very easily or directly on a gas stove. Either way roast
them until they are well charred. Then put them in a bowl with a covered top.
Let them sit 5 minutes or longer to return to room temperature. Then peel the
char off them and make a slit in one side to remove the seeds. Sauté corn,
jalapeno, garlic, onion and green chiles for about 8 minutes. Turn off the
heat. Take the chicken out of the oven and shred. Add the chicken to the corn
mixture. Then crumble the queso fresco to the mix. Add as much as you like, but
remember, its BIG EATER SMALL BODY! Spoon the mixture into each pepper. Add a
tsp or so of cumin to the leftover tomato sauce. Then spoon about half that
sauce into the bottom of a baking dish, line the dish with the peppers and bake
at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Everything is already cooked, you just
want to heat through.
I served this with the rest of the sauce spooned over top and a cucumber, cilantro, lime and pineapple salad. This salad is super easy, just throw all those ingredients into a bowl.
What I ended up with was a super delicious labor of love.
Yes, it took longer to cook than most things I blog about. But it was totally
worth it! And if you’re feeding a few people, it’s really inexpensive but
definitely doesn’t taste so!
I truly enjoyed the meal, although it really could have used
some of that salsa!
