Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Jalapeno Popper... Chicken!


Today, students around the state picked up their perfectly sharpened Number 2 pencils and went to town on the TAKS.  Kudos to all who were involved in making this happen! As a proctor, I was pleased to see students carefully working out problems and taking the test seriously.  As a foodie, I dreaded the lunchtime meal.  In my haste, I forgot to grab some food for the road.  Had I simply packed my lunch, I would not have had to fear, because last night I made something marvelous.  Now you too may make this marvelous thing.

Yesterday I shared the popper recipe I used when creating poppers for SuperBowl.  Yummy, portable snack food.  I also hinted that I might be inclined to make a meal out of just them, fatty and glorious as they are.  Well, my friends, I tweaked the recipe to provide just that under the guise of a "reasonable" meal, and I even added bacon to the mix.  The results were fantastic, though how could they not be when they had a base of cheese, cheese, jalapenos, bacon, spices and chicken?

Also, this is ridiculously easy and works well with rice, on nachos, any which way you want it.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs chicken breast, sliced against the grain, 1/2" thick to 3/4" thick
4 slices bacon
6 jalapenos
6 oz cream cheese
2 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tspish garlic powder
1/2 tspish paprika

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease 8X8 baking dish
2) Arrange chicken slices in single layer over bottom of dish.
3) Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese together.  If it's too stiff to mix, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
4) Sprinkle seasonings over chicken
5) Spread cheese mixture over chicken.
6) Halve jalapenos and scrape seeds.  Layer over chicken.  (I cheated and used jalapenos I'd already roasted this weekend, so mine were already mellowed and caramelized)
7) Place bacon slices over jalapeno slices.
8) Bake for 25ish minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

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