Mexican Chicken with Jalapeno Popper Sauce
I hope everyone is staying cool! This past weekend was a scorcher on the East Coast. I’ve been hanging with the boys at my mom’s house in Hilton Head, SC and the heat index read 116 yesterday! Now, that, my fellow foodie followers, is bloody hot. I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it one more time…. Bring On Fall! I’ll gladly trade my swim suit for a snow suit at this point if it means cooler temperatures. Can you tell I grew up in Northern Wisconsin? This hot weather stuff is for the birds. Hot food, though, now that is a different story.
This recipe was the inspired by my good friend Kate over at Daily Momma Overload who blessed me the other day with a large bounty of jalapeno peppers.
I spent some time thinking about the best way to utilize these little beauties and came to the conclusion that, while jalapeno poppers are an obvious and delicious choice, a main dish of chicken with jalapeno poppers might just be one better. So off I went to work, trying to figure out the best way to put such a dish together.
What I came up with was a cheesy, meaty, peppery delight that I will definitely add to our rotation again. Oh, and even after cooking up this dish I still have a rather large handful of peppers left so look for a popper recipe to show up on the site sometime in the not so distant future. Are ya ready?
Ingredients Needed:
3 Chicken Breasts
A Sprinkle of Cumin per Breast
A Sprinkle of Chili Powder per Breast
A Light Sprinkle of Salt per Breast
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
3 Jalapenos, Seeded and Chopped
4 Oz. of Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup of Chicken Broth (Use 1 Cup to 11/2 Cups for a More Liquidy Sauce)
3 Slices of Bacon
1 Tbsp of Fresh Cilantro or 1 tsp of Dried
3/4 Cup of Shredded Cheddar
Before we start, I just wanted to leave you one note regarding the sauce. I personally would have liked a bit of a thinner sauce. When I make this dish again, I will probably up the chicken broth by a half a cup. It was delicious thicker, my personal preference is simply a touch thinner.
Ok, now we’ll move on to the good stuff. First up, you want to cook up your bacon. When the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan and drain the excess grease reserving 1 tbsp.
Next up you’ll want to sprinkle your cumin, chili powder and salt on each of your chicken breasts. While I didn’t measure the exact amounts I used, I did take a picture to give you an idea. I went a bit lighter on the salt just to make sure I didn’t overdo it. As my mama always reminds me, you can add more salt but you most definitely cannot take it away.
Cook your breast up until the juices no longer run pink and then set them aside covered to stay warm.
Now we’re going to work on the sauce. Start off by throwing your peppers in the pan on medium heat and cooking them up for a minute or two.
Throw your garlic in with the peppers and let that cook up on medium heat for a few swirls of the spoon as well. Now add in your chicken broth, 1/2 Cup for a thicker sauce and 1 to 11/2 cups for thinner sauce. Deglaze your pan to get all the yummy goodness mixed into the liquid. Add in your cream cheese.
Allow the cream cheese to completely melt. Next you’ll add in the shredded cheese.
Allow that cheese to completely melt as well. Finally add in the cilantro and the chopped bacon to the mix.
Mix it well with a few swirls of the spoon and you’re ready to go. Grab a breast, position it on your plate just so and let the jalapeno popper goodness cover ‘er up. Yummo.
Mexican Chicken with Jalapeno Popper Sauce
Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts
A Sprinkle of Cumin per Breast
A Sprinkle of Chili Powder per Breast
A Light Sprinkle of Salt per Breast
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
3 Jalapenos, Seeded and Chopped
4 Oz. of Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup of Chicken Broth (Use 1 Cup to 11/2 Cups for a More Liquidy Sauce)
3 Slices of Bacon
1 Tbsp of Fresh Cilantro or 1 tsp of Dried
3/4 Cup of Shredded CheddarDirections:
First up, you want to cook up your bacon. When the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan and drain the excess grease reserving 1 tbsp.
Next up you'll want to sprinkle your cumin, chili powder and salt on each of your chicken breasts.
Cook your breast up until the juices no longer run pink and then set them aside covered to stay warm.
Throw your peppers in the pan on medium heat and cooking them up for a minute or two.
Throw your garlic in with the peppers and let that cook up on medium heat for a few swirls of the spoon as well.
Now add in your chicken broth, 1/2 Cup for a thicker sauce and 1 to 11/2 cups for thinner sauce. Deglaze your pan to get all the yummy goodness mixed into the liquid.
Add in your cream cheese.
Allow the cream cheese to completely melt. Next you'll add in the shredded cheese.
Allow that cheese to completely melt as well. Finally add in the cilantro and the chopped bacon to the mix.
Mix it well with a few swirls of the spoon and you're ready to go.
JadeLD — July 26, 2010 @ 5:54 am
Just over from SITS – this looks so yummy! I love anything which involved melted cheese!
Have a lovely day,
Jade
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE — July 26, 2010 @ 8:38 am
Truly…that looks incredible! You know, in some cultures they swear eating hot food helps you deal with warm weather, because it raises your body temp. a bit so its closer to the outside temp and less noticeable. Not sure if that's true, but I 'd be willing to sit outside and eat THIS to see!
Biren — July 26, 2010 @ 11:01 am
Wow…this looks yummy! That jalapeno is a good counterpoint to the thick sauce.
anniebakes — July 26, 2010 @ 11:19 am
looks great! you missed a BEAUTIFUL weekend in the northwoods-hot, but not very humid + sunny! don't get many of those,
anne
http://www.anniebakes.net
Monet — July 26, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
Julie, that spicy cream cheese sauce makes me want to sit down to a huge platter of nachos! I don't eat meat, but I imagine that I could use the cheese sauce for several different vegetarian dishes. Yum! I hope you are staying cool today!
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum — July 26, 2010 @ 12:48 pm
Ooh, what a fun recipe! And so pretty!
Kate Murphy — July 26, 2010 @ 1:31 pm
Glad you put the peppers to use! That's why you top my list of recipients. Looks good, I'll have to try it. Eddie loves spicy food.
Beth @ DiningAndDishing — July 26, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
Everything tastes better with garden fresh produce, no?? :). Those peppers are just beautiful!
gringationcancun — July 26, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
ok i'm saving this one too
Me, Myself and Pie — July 26, 2010 @ 4:34 pm
Wow, your pictures are just amazing. I feel like I could just take a bite from my screen! This looks wonderful.
M @ Betty Crapper — July 26, 2010 @ 4:45 pm
It's almost too hot for the beach. ouch it's been hot where you are. I love jalapenos. What a great way to use them all.
simplysandi — July 26, 2010 @ 5:04 pm
Looks good.
Melissa B. — July 26, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
WOW…116 degrees? That might be hotter than those jalapenos, huh? Looks yummy!
Joey @ Big Teeth and Clouds — July 27, 2010 @ 7:39 am
That does look good, but I'm not sure my tummy can handle that kind of heat!
Weight Loss Tips — July 27, 2010 @ 8:42 am
Love all the pictures, the recipe sounds really good. My family isn't a friend of jalapeno peppers so might have to change it a bit, but still thanks for a great chicken recipe.
Ma What's 4 dinner — July 27, 2010 @ 1:50 pm
I think I have everything I need to make this. Now I know what's for dinner.
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
grace — July 27, 2010 @ 4:54 pm
superior chicken dish, julie! i'll take two servings and an extra bowl of sauce on the side.
Maranda — July 27, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
Holy H*ll that looks amazing! I love bacon wrapped poppers! I am definitely making this soon!!!
Kim — July 27, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
Oh my goodness does that look amazing! I'm seriously bookmarking this one because it looks like heaven on a plate! Great recipe mama!
Vanessa — August 2, 2010 @ 3:10 pm
This sounds delicious… I may have to put this recipe to use with all the Jalapenos growing in my garden right now!! Thanks for sharing!
Maranda — August 12, 2010 @ 7:48 pm
So….I just made this for dinner. Yeah…The Hubble literally licked the plate clean! Then he posted on his facebook page that Mexican chicken with jalapeno popper sauce for the win! I think he liked it.
Oh! And I did too!
Chris — August 15, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
I'm here via Kim's blog because this Jalapeno popper sauce was instant love for me. I love making ABT's (aka jalapeno poppers) on the smoker and the thought of it as a sauce is amazing. I can't wait to try this!!!!!!!!
Chris — August 15, 2010 @ 4:06 pm
Question, the sauce doesn't look as chunky as the bits of bacon and jalapeno, did you run an immersion blender in the sauce before serving?
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Cristie — September 18, 2010 @ 5:43 pm
I also stopped in from Kim’s blog. This dish looks amazing and will be gracing our table tomorrow. Darling blog, so glad to have found you
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Joy — December 7, 2011 @ 6:15 pm
I found this recipe and your blog using Gogee and made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I held the shredded cheese, bacon and cilantro out of the cream cheese sauce, poured the sauce over the chicken breasts and then sprinkled on the bacon, then the cilantro, then sprinkled with finely shredded colby/jack cheese. This is a dish I would definitely serve to guests. I will be making this again! I sent your link to my daughter-in-law, telling her how delicious this recipe is!
Julie replied: — December 28th, 2011 @ 9:03 am
So glad you enjoyed it Joy! It’s definitely a favorite in our house as well. Happy eating to you!
Alicia — March 31, 2012 @ 7:36 pm
This was delicious!! I used 3/4 of a cup of broth and it was still thick so I can only imagine how it would be using 1/2 of a cup. Definitely keeping this in my recipe file to make again!
Sarah E. — June 25, 2012 @ 5:16 pm
We LOVED this. It’s definitely a favorite in our house. We don’t double up recipes often unless they are good and we’ve made this quite a few times now
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Hi, can anyone suggest a simple and good restaurant style starch and vegetable for this dish?
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Darcy — August 24, 2014 @ 1:22 am
Just wanted to comment that my husband and I loved this dish tonight! I never make anything spicy and I even second guessed making it, but I’m glad I did. The only changes would be to thin the sauce out just a tad and make more chicken so we had leftovers. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing!