Bye Bye Little Hammy
You were so loved.
You will be so missed.
***Previously a nasty image was displayed here saying the image was used without permission, that was due to someone else hot-linking directly from my site to theirs, basically they were stealing bandwidth and breaching copyright. As it turns out, like a dummy I didn’t edit my recipe post to reflect that… Doh! I have fixed it now! (Boy do I feel like a tool)***
At long last… the heart healthy rendition of Cage Free Chicken Breast Challenge! The Anaheim Chilies seemed to be the crowd favorite this time, and I couldn’t have been happier. Because of those beauties I ended up with something spicy, flavorful and healthy to share with you all. This again is a 3 part recipe, but time wise and difficulty, it is not as hard as it might appear on paper… err cyberpaper. (psst… it’s easy but don’t tell your friends)
The steps are basically char it to stuff it to top it to munch it down. Easy, eh?
I am going to include a Vegan Alternative note to this recipe at the bottom, because it could work really well for our vegan friends as well.
So the name… it means Chili filled up with chicken (how appropriate, eh?) and Mandarin Salsa… this one is hard to translate… it means Mandarin Salsa 
hehehe
Enough Yibber Yabbering!
On with the Recipe!
Chili Rellenado con Pollo with Mandarin Salsa
2 cups Chicken Flavored Rice (see recipe below)
2 cups Shredded Chicken Filling (see recipe Below)
2 cups Mandarin Salsa (see recipe below
4-6 Anaheim Chilies – charred, seeds removed and cut open
Fat Free Cheddar (optional)
Fat Free Sour Cream (optional)
Black Beans (optional)
Prep your Chilies by charring them, for gas stove users you can do this over open flame, for electric oven users you can do this easily by moving your rack to the top position and turning on your broiler. This will impart a nice smoky flavor and mellow the heat of the pepper. Once you have managed a nice roast on those peppers, set them aside and let them cool (they are going to steam themselves done).
Once they are cooled enough to handle, they should be pliable but still somewhat firm, you are going to cut down the side of the pepper to open it up so it resembles a little boat. I would not suggest sailing in your Pepper Boat though . If they are mushy then just butterfly them and use them as a platform for your toppings.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
You are going to fill the Chili Boats with your Chicken Flavored Rice first. Pack it in there and don’t be shy. Mmmm, it’s already looking good isn’t it? Just you wait. Okay next, you are going to take your Shredded Chicken Filling and pile it on top of the rice. Now is the time you come to the options part, this is where you could put on the optional Fat Free Cheddar Cheese. I put about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated. Now place your filled Chilies into a glass baking dish sprayed with a low cholesterol spray or non-stick pan and pop them into the oven for about 10 minutes. Take them out, top them out, top them with some nummy Mandarin Salsa, maybe a teaspoon dollop of the optional Fat Free Sour Cream and a tablespoon or 3 of the optional Black Beans.
Chicken Flavored Rice with Sun Dried Tomato
2 cups Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 cup Long Grain White Rice
1/4 cup Chopped Sun Dried Tomato
½ teaspoon Olive Oil
Boil your broth, then add the rest of your ingredients. Stir it once to shake things up a bit. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low, simmer covered for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep covered… no peeking because it’s the steam that finishes the job. Let rest for 5-10 minutes then you can peek and start with your fork fluffing.
Shredded Chicken Filling
1 Whole Boneless Skinless Cage Free Chicken Breast (trimmed of fat)
3 cups Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1-2 teaspoons Tabasco (adjust to your taste)
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
½ teaspoon Paprika
1 Garlic clove, crushed
Throw this all into a sauté pan over medium heat and cover. Cook it for about 25 minutes. Uncover and remove the chicken breast, leave the mixture in the pan on the heat to reduce while you shred. On a cutting board proceed to shred the meat using two forks to do the job. After you’ve shredded all the meat, toss it back into the sauté pan and cook it all uncovered until the liquid reduces and clings to the chicken. Your done with your filling, wasn’t that easy?
Mandarin Salsa
1 cup Mandarin Orange, peeled segmented and chopped
½ cup Tomato, seeds removed and diced
¼ cup Red Onion, diced
¼ cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Tomatillos, diced
3 Key Limes (or one whole Lime), zest removed and juiced
Combine everything into a bowl and set aside to let the flavors blend. If you want this to be spicy feel free to add a pinch of finely crushed red pepper flakes.
Vegan Alternative:
Replace the chicken broth in the rice with Organic Vegetable Broth. Instead of Chicken try replacing it with sliced Portabello Mushrooms, just omit the broth and sauté in the olive oil and spices. Use Tofu or soy substitutes for the dairy items.
This was a meal filled with fantastic flavor. Let me put it this way… even the burping after we stuffed ourselves tasted good. It’s a very forgiving recipe too, so if you want to add a little more of this or a little less of that you can. The mix of the rice base and the sweet smokey pepper, with the kick of the spicy chicken and the fruity compliment of the salsa was honestly to die for. Enjoy!!
***Heart Healthy Factoid: Did you know that chilies help to increase your blood circulation and metabolism? Not only that but they are believed to help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. Add to that the fact that they are packed with Vitamin C, you couldn’t ask for a more flavor packed way to eat healthy!
My ultimate goal is to prepare a dish from your choices that will be “safe” for even the most discriminate Vegan diet and making the flavor so voluptuous and succulent that it would make the carnivores out there drool. The main ingredient, probably predictable, for this challenge will be: Tofu
