mexican essentials: creamy chicken over rice

How To Make mexican essentials: creamy chicken over rice

• 
  1

  PREP/PREPARE
• 
  2

  If you have a skillet big enough to hold the chicken, and then simmer the sauce, use it… It will save cleaning up an additional pot.
• 
  3

  Dried versus Fresh Peppers If you are using dried peppers cut off the stems and attempt to shake out as many seeds as you can. Then, soak in warm water for about thirty minutes, open them up and remove any remaining seeds; finally, chop and reserve. If you are using fresh pepper, remove the stems, the seeds and dice.
• 
  4

  Are Dried Peppers Hotter than Fresh? That depends on how you are measuring them. Fresh peppers contain a lot of water; dried obviously do not. For every pound of dried peppers, it would take 10 pounds of fresh to equal the same heat level. But that is a bit misleading. When you dry out a pepper it loses 90% of its weight to the evaporation of water; however, capsaicin, the part of the pepper that makes the heat, does not evaporate. So, a fresh 10-ounce pepper, once dried, would weigh 1 ounce, but it would still be just as hot.
• 
  5

  Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• 
  6

  Add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium heat.
• 
  7

  Add the chicken thighs, and sauté until beginning to brown, 3 – 4 minutes per side.
• 
  8

  Remove from the pan and reserve.
• 
  9

  Add all the sauce ingredients to the pan (except the can of tomatoes) and allow to simmer until the veggies soften, about 8 – 10 minutes.
• 
  10

  Canned tomatoes are already cooked, so there is no need to add them at this point.
• 
  11

  Let cool for 10 minutes, place into a food processor (along with the canned tomatoes) and process until smooth.
• 
  12

  You can leave it slightly chunky, if you prefer.
• 
  13

  Cut the chicken into strips, add them and the sauce to the bowl of a slow cooker, then cook on low for 3.5 – 4 hours.
• 
  14

  After the allotted time, open the cooker and add the finishing touch ingredients.
• 
  15

  Give the mixture a stir and slow cook for an additional 30 minutes.
• 
  16

  Do a final testing for proper seasoning.
• 
  17

  PLATE/PRESENT
• 
  18

  Serve over rice or noodles with some crusty bread and a small side salad. Enjoy.
• 
  19

  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
• Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
• Printable Recipe Card