Chicken Quesa-pizzas

This started out as a recipe contest entry--I will ocassionally check active contests to see if anything sparks my interest, and this one my mother had informed me about. I was all excited to try it, as it was intended to be similar to the show Chopped, where you have a list of ingredients that all must be incorporated into your dish.

I had never cooked with a poblano pepper before, obviously bringing some excitement my way. I LOVE new experiences in the kitchen! The thing is, there are so many cultures and cuisines that I'll never be able to say I've done it all. Cooking is art.



In this particular recipe, I had to use poblano peppers, shredded mexican style cheeses, chicken thighs, and corn tortillas. Now, as fate would have it, by the time I was all moved into my  new kitchen and had the time to cook, I had missed the deadline by a day. Oops. I had already made up my mind on what to make--mini pizzas!

I needed to cook the chicken, so I decided to cook down the poblano in the pan with some onion and chicken.

After slicing the poblano, jalapeño and onion, I added it to a large skillet with some heated avocado oil over medium-high heat. I lowered the heat to just under medium added the chicken after sprinkling it with some salt and pepper - nothing fancy yet. I covered the pan and let the thighs cook for 7-10 minutes on each side until they were cooked through. I didn't want to cook the chicken on too high of heat, as I knew it needed to be shredded to be used here.

While the chicken cooked, I laid a tortilla down, topped it with cheese, chili powder, and cumin, then added another tortilla. After adding more cheese, my base was ready. While the original contest called for a corn tortilla, I knew entering was out the window anyway and figured I would go with my personal preference. To me, corn tortillas have too much flavor in some dishes.

To top if off, I added some "pizza sauce" - chunky salsa. Then, I put on some of the chicken and vegetable mixture and a few more pieces of cheese to hold it all together. Listen, cheese is important here.

I let it bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F; just enough to melt the cheese together and crispen the tortilla.

It held up nice, making it a simple dinner.

What's the verdict? Another take on the Tex-Mex style went quite well. I used a medium salsa and added a jalapeño, so it was perhaps too spicy for kids this round, but with a few adaptations this would be a great kids recipe thanks to the ease and cleaniless factor. No fork and knife required.

It made a really great dinner and I was pleased with the results.

Chicen Quesa-pizzas Recipe

Ingredients:

1 poblano pepper
1/2 onion
1 jalapeño
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded mixed Mexican style cheeses
2-3 chicken thighs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
6 flour tortillas
1 tablespoon cumin
2-3 teaspoons chili powder

Instructions:

Add avocado oil to large skillet and heat to medium. Slice onion, poblano, and jalapeño and add to pan. Cook for about 7 minutes, until peppers are softened and onion is translucent. Season chicken with salt and pepper then add to pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side. Shred chicken.

Heat ovem to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and lay 3 tortillas out. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese on each tortilla, then top with a second tortilla and another tablespoon of cheese. Add a spoonful of the chicken and vegetable mixture, and about a tablespoon of salsa. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.