quick meals

We’ve been evaluating home delivery meals (comparisons will be posted at a later date) and have been impressed with the quality ingredients and inventive recipes they send.

I like them because we can try recipes I probably wouldn’t have tried for various reasons; for example, only uses a teaspoon of an expensive ingredient I may never use again or maybe unusual meals that we’d like to try just to see if we’d like them.

This Tortilla Chicken was one meal that I thought would be simple and maybe OK, but I was amazed at the flavor they got out of the few everyday ingredients.

On top of the great taste, it comes out fairly light at around 500 calories per serving!

I saved the bottom-of-the-bag tortilla chip crumbs for this recipe specifically.

The only ingredient I had to buy was the fresh jalapeno – we had the chicken, sour cream, lime, and cheese. It’s so easy to throw together and is so delicious!

You pretty much mix the cheese, jalapeno, and tortilla chips together, sear and saute the chicken, throw the cheese mixture on top of the chicken and bake for a few minutes until done.

The cheese melts, the chip stay crunchy, and the jalapeno give it a spicy kick. Yum.  It’s really a great combination of ingredients and makes for a easy everyday family meal with chicken.

We’ll make this Tortilla Chicken often and I’ll use the leftover chip crumbs as an excuse to do so!

Tortilla Chicken with Crunchy Topping

Yield: 2

Simple, crunchy, cheesy, lightly spicy chicken breast drizzled with a lime sour cream crema.  Light and delicious. 

Print

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 fresh jalapeno
• 1/2 C crushed tortilla chips
• 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 1 fresh lime
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.  Place a small glass casserole in the oven while the oven preheats.
2. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil into a medium nonstick pan and heat on medium heat until oil shimmers.  Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and salt and pepper each side.  Add the chicken to the heated oil and cook, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes per side until lightly browned (it will finish cooking in the oven).  
3. While chicken cooks, halve the jalapeno and scrape out the seeds and ribs.  Thinly slice the jalapeno and place into a small bowl.  Add the tortilla chips, cheese, and 1 teaspoon of of olive oil.  Lightly stir to mix and set aside.
4. Carefully remove the heated casserole dish from the oven and place the chicken breasts into it.  Divide the cheese mixture and evenly cover each chicken breast with it.  Put the dish back in the oven and roast until internal chicken temperature is 165°, 7-8 minutes.
5. While the chicken is roasting, cut the lime in half and cut other half into quarters.  Juice the half lime into a small bowl and stir in the sour cream.  Add salt to taste (about 2 good pinches) and a pinch of pepper.  Stir and let sit until chicken is ready.
6. Divide the finished chicken onto plates and drizzle with lime crema.  Serve with remaining limes and a salad or side of Mexican rice if desired.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Cilantro would be great to sprinkle over the chicken.  Use it if you've got it!

My chicken took 8 minutes in the oven, but check it at 7 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is - mine was pretty thick.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 507Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 465mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 46g

Nutrition Values are Approximate