August 2nd. That was the day I did my last post. One hundred and forty five whopping days ago! It makes me sad to think about how little I get to work on something that I love doing so much, but I only have two more semesters in my Master’s program before my life can go back to normal. That means more food, more cooking, more recipes, and more posts! (My stats show that about thirty people are visiting my site each day. That’s down a lot from the two hundred a day that I used to get, but hey…thanks for sticking around. Whoever you are. We should all have a group dinner or something. I’ll cook.)
I have four more weeks on break before my school picks up again. I thought I’d go ahead and post one of my all-time favorite chicken recipes. We must have made this at least two dozen times by now, but it doesn’t photograph as nice as I’d like, so I’ve always held off on posting it. The sauce is quite zesty but adding some avocado slices on top can really mellow it out. Serve the chicken over cilantro-lime rice for a complete meal that will make you want seconds. Trust me, I know.
The chicken recipe has been adapted from Elise at SimplyRecipes.com and the rice recipe is simple and from our own kitchen.
Chipotle Baked Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice
Yield 4-6 servings
Ingredients
Chipotle Baked Chicken
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup packed, chopped cilantro
- 2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo, plus 1 additional teaspoon of adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 4 ounce grated Monterey Jack cheese
Cilantro-Lime Rice
- 6 servings of rice (the amount will depend on what kind of rice you choose to use)
- 1/4 cup packed, chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (add more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Using a blender or food processor, blend together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, chipotle peppers and adobo, lime juice, and salt. Be careful with how much you blend though. The sauce shouldn’t be smooth or pureed, but it should no longer have any large chunks in it.
- Using an 8X10 casserole dish, place your chicken in one even layer. Pour the chipotle sauce over the chicken, completely coating it on all sides.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil, layer on the cheese, and bake it uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
- During the last 10 minutes, or earlier if need be, cook your rice as directed. When the rice is finished, fluff it with a fork, and add in the cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
- Serve the chicken over the rice with some delicious slices of avocado and crema fresca or sour cream.