In light of my current trip, (I'm in TEXAS, visiting my best friend, everrr!) I've decided to give you a nice spicy, Mexican recipe.
This. Is. One. Of. My. Favorite. Dinners. (Paul's too!)
This meal, chicken chilaquiles (let's see how many times I can say it in one post!), is delicious. What are chilaquiles you might ask? Chilaquiles are a Mexican dish, traditionally with corn tortillas and a tomato-ey sauce with cheeeeese.
My recipe-bestie, Martha (yep, we're on a first name basis), does a yummy spin on this traditional Mexican dish that's spicy, warm, filling, satisfying, and authentic tasting--we could eat it every day of the week here at the Yerrick house. I a million-billion times recommend trying this recipe--you won't regret it, and you'll crave it daily. Also, you can make a big batch like I do and freeze the left-over's for later!
First, let me say that I LOVE this cookbook. It's by far my favorite cookbook right now.
It has pretty little pictures of every recipes--and the recipes are always divine. I have yet to make a bad dish from this book. My favorite part is that it's divided into seasons and uses ingredients that are easily found that time of year.
Now, to begin this divine experience...The cast of characters:
Anyways, you'll need 3 chicken breasts. Boil them, let them cool a bit. Shred them, then set them aside.
Next, you'll need a red onion. A beautiful, delicious, juicy red onion.
Cut the top and the bottom off, then cut it in halt from top to bottom. Then, cut it in half again--also from top to bottom. Turn it on its side, then slice it very thinly. Set aside.
Chop up some garlic. I use 6-ish cloves--depending on my mood. I'm a huge garlic fan. Anywhere from 4-8 cloves of garlic will suffice, depending on your taste.
Heat some oil in a stock pot on medium high heat and saute the onions, until tender, then the garlic, until fragrant.
Heres a quick tip about garlic...If you want the garlic flavor to stand out, then add the garlic at the end. If you want it to be more subtle, saute the garlic near the beginning.
Next, add in your can of tomatoes. You can really pick any can of tomatoes you want. The original recipe calls for whole peeled tomatoes, I don't really like using these because I don't like big chunks of tomatoes in my food. This time I chose to use crushed tomatoes, but sometimes I use diced tomatoes. It really doesn't matter, canned tomatoes are canned tomatoes.
After your tomatoes, stir in your tomato puree--about half the can.
Yay! Now it's time for my favorite part. The chipotles. Where do you buy chipotles, you ask? Well--they are in the ethnic foods aisle, by the Mexican food. They come in a little can like this:
There are other brands, so your can may not look identical to this one--but you get the idea, right?
These bad boys are SPICY. They pack some punch. Be wary if you heat them by themselves. You. Will. Choke. And cough. And gasp for air. One time, I made chipotle burgers and it was bad bad news for everyone in the room--but that's a whole different post. (By the way, while typing this I spelled 'news' 'noos' because I was sounding it out in my head...yeah, long day.)
Anyways, back to the wonderful can of chipotles. Chop up one, two, or three chipotles (depending on the level of spiciness you desire, I went with 2.)
Add them to the pot. These will add a delicious smoky and spicy flavor to the dish. One of my favorite kitchen ingredients.
Get a few of teaspoons of the adobo sauce that the chipotles are in and add that to the pot too--things are about to get crazy in here.
You can easily transfer the remaining chipotles and their sauce to a different container and store them in the fridge for later use.
After the chipotles, add a cup of chicken broth.
Then a tablespoon-ish of salt (this should be adjusted to your liking).
Add 2 tablespoons of cumin.
Then add pepper, oregano, chipotle powder (optional), cayenne, chili powder, and a dash of garlic powder.
Rinse and drain 1 can of black beans. Add it to the pot.
And finally, add your shredded chicken to the pot.
To heat to medium low, and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, grate some monterrey jack cheese and chop up some cilantro. (I like to grate my own cheese as opposed to buying pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in flour and gives things a different texture--it leaves a gritty feel behind. When you grate your own cheese it tastes creamier and it also melts better. Plus, it's less expensive!)
After 15 minutes, stir in cilantro.
To prepare your bowls, line a bowl with corn tortilla chips. Ladle chicken mixture on top of chips, then top with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese, and fresh chopped cilantro.
You will NOT be disappointed with this heaven.
Chicken Chilaquiles recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups shredded chicken
1 teaspoon oil (vegetable...olive...butter...whatever you have, really)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato puree or tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, finely chopped (reserve sauce)
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups low sodium chicken broth broth
1 jalepeno, finely chopped (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
4 T cumin
1 T dried oregano
1 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t chipotle powder
1 t chili powder
1 T garlic powder
1 T coriander
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
Corn tortilla chips
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
Sour cream
1) Heat oil in pan and saute onions until soft. Add garlic (and jalepeno) and saute until fragrant.
2) Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato puree, chipotle chilis, 2 T adobo sauce (from chipotle can), chicken stock, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cayenne, chipotle, chili powder, and garlic powder and 1/4 cup cilantro. Stir in shredded chicken and black beans.
3) Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) Serve with corn tortilla chips and topped with sour cream, Monterrey Jack cheese, and fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!
