Recipe Swap! Easy Mexi Chicken

This go around for the recipe swap was inspired by the Secret Recipe Club, in which participants are assigned another participant's blog and make and blog any recipe there.

I was assigned the intriguing Feed Me Seymour! and selected Easy Mexi-Chicken.  Easy, it said, and I was intrigued.  I was also interested in the easy homemade salsa and the cheese sauce.

In my case, the salsa didn't come out as I'd hoped because my having sat on the counter for a mere three days tomato was moldy.  Luckily, I purchased two, and though two would have been the right amount, I decreased the onion and pepper.

The cheese sauce, however, was a HUGE hit.  My son kept saying how much he liked dinner--Momma got smart and put the meal on the boys' plates deconstructed, so they could dip dip dip everything into the cheese.  They both loved it, though the four year old passed one comment that the chicken was a little spicy.

I thought this was great, but struggled with a side dish to put alongside it.  I thought about rice, but ran out of time.  I think the suggested corn and bean salad would have been great, but it's not something my husband would eat.  So, I put carrots on the side and called it a day---this appears to have been delicious dipped in the cheese sauce!  It had a ton of flavor, between the spice rub and the salsa.

Thank you to Sarah for giving me a great blog to explore and to Kim for running said great blog!  Check out A Taste of Home Cooking for the Recipe Swap Roundup!

Easy Mexi Chicken Source:  Feed Me Seymour

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, trimmed of fat and cut into halves

Cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt 

1 red onion, diced

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

splash of lime juice

Fresh cilantro

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1-1 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pound chicken breasts flat between plastic wrap.  

2.  Sprinkle each chicken breast with cayenne, chili powder, and salt.  Rub to spread around whole side.  Flip and repeat on the other side.

3.  Cover a baking sheet with Silpat or foil, place chicken on top, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.

4.  Meanwhile, make your salsa by mixing onion, tomatoes, pepper, and lime juice in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle some chili powder and add some chopped cilantro.  Set aside.

5.  Next, prepare your cheese sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan.  When melted, add heavy cream and stir to blend.  By handfuls, add cheese and stir until blended and smooth.  

6.  Put it all together by layering chicken, cheese sauce, and salsa.

7.  Enjoy!