Fire Roasted Tomato & Jalepeno Chicken and Rice

If you follow this blog, you will know this recipe is relatively close to my pollo picante.  The difference is you use picante sauce for the pollo picante and you are making your sauce from scratch with this one.  Trust me, this is not a difficult recipe and the result is worth the time you will put into it. In addition, if you are a gardener, and had a few green tomatoes left (I had 9 gallons) this is a great recipe for utilizing them verses CANNING more.  Goodness knows how much I love to can by the end of the summer...NOT

TIP:  If you are facing a cold front with green tomatoes on the vine, just pick them all and place in a cool dark place with news paper under AND OVER them to catch the gasses they emit.  Check periodically because they will turn quicker than you realize!  Now on to the recipe...

This is what you will need: 

3-4 chicken breasts,  2 cups of fire roasted & peeled (grilled tomatoes), 2 large jalapenos also roasted and seeded, 3 green onions cut into chunks,  1/2 lime, 1 large clove of garlic, sea salt to taste, 2 cups of cheddar or colby-jack cheese and fresh cilantro to taste.  You may complement your dish with sour cream, fresh tomatoes or avocado slices.  Serving suggestion:  1 can of black or pinto beans and 2 cups dry white rice cooked as directed. We also enjoy a nice salad with this particular dish.

Prepare your chicken and place in a greased dish with high sides.

Roast your tomatoes and peppers slowly and on the top shelf of your grill on a low fire.  When you have one side scorched as below then turn and continue until soft and the skins are splitting.  I leave the skins on the jalapenos but remove the skin and stem area from the tomatoes.  While preparing the ingredients, let your tomatoes set and drain them because you want your sauce thick and full and not watery.

Depending on how hot you desire your sauce to be, will determine how many of the seeds you allow in the salsa.  My kids are not fond with anything too hot, so I basically remove all the pepper's seeds.

Add your tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onion, lime juice and seasonings to a blender.

Set on LOW, and pulse.  You want your sauce to be full and chunky. Pour 3/4 of your sauce over the chicken  breasts and cover.  Bake on 350 degrees for 25 minutes,  remove cover, top with cheese and bake until melted.  You may want to pour some of your liquid off of the chicken but because you serve with beans and rice it should be fine and add flavor.

Add the remainder of your sauce to your beans of choice and set on a medium low heat while you are preparing your rice. 

Once rice is completed add to your beans.  When chicken is ready serve with chips or fresh tortillas & salad. 

When my son made his plate, he did not add a great deal of the salsa and apparently did not want salad or anything pretty on his plate!  (Meat and taters man he is) He says he should  not have to eat what his food eats...

I JUST ADORE TEENAGERS...