Chicken, Psuedo Mexican

Pseudo-Mexican Chicken


  1. Skip to step 8 if you live an uncomplicated life.
  2. Negotiate a deal with your wife: she paints the boat, and you cook dinner (after you help her prep the boat for painting, which is at least half the work).
  3. Note: Step 2 is optional if you already planned to cook dinner, and/or you don't have a boat to paint.
  4. Note 2: The whole recipe is optional if you'd rather paint than cook (now we're really on a rabbit trail).
  5. Realize you have nothing new and interesting to make with the 5 chicken thighs you dug from the freezer yesterday.
  6. Remember the goofy recipe for chicken and Stilton Cheese that you read in your daughter's Geronimo Stilton book. Look unsuccessfully for the book, then give up and invent your own recipe.
  7. Now you can finally get down to business. And hurry, your wife is almost finished painting the boat (I told you that half the work was already done).
  8. Take the skin and fat off the 5 chicken legs. Vow to negotiate this into her side of the deal next time.
  9. Use a food processor or some kind of chopper thingy to make bread crumbs out of a heel of bread (or take the easy way and use store bought bread crumbs).
  10. Mix the crumbs with parmesan cheese (I did about a 1/3 cheese, 2/3 crumbs ratio).
  11. Note 3: You’re supposed to use Stilton cheese, but I didn’t have any.
  12. Get sidetracked Googling Stilton cheese. Here is a link to expedite your side trip (for the cheese scholars among my readers).
  13. Add chili powder, garlic, basil, and salt to taste (it takes quite a bit of chili powder to flavour the coating), and mix into the coating.
  14. Beat an egg with a small amount of milk.
  15. Roll the chicken legs in flour, dip them in the egg/milk mixture and roll in the breadcrumb mixture.
  16. Put the chicken in a lightly oiled cast iron frying pan. Oh yeah, you should have preheated the oven to 350 right after negotiating the cooking/painting deal. If you didn’t, do it now and go read a different Geronimo Stilton book until the oven gets hot.
  17. Put the whole frying pan in the oven.
  18. Note 4: If you used one of those modern, plastic-handled or Teflon things, you’re plumb out of luck. Cook it stove top or find another pan.
  19. Bake until done (I think around 30 min.). When you stab the chicken with a fork, the juices should run clear.
  20. Take out the chicken, transfer to plate, and cover to keep warm.
  21. Put the frying pan on medium heat and stir in a cup of chicken broth.
  22. Add garlic, chili powder, basil, oregano, and salt to taste.
  23. Add a few tablespoons of cream cheese and whisk into the sauce.
  24. Thicken with a little flour or cornstarch if necessary. Alternately, you could add more cream cheese. Depends on how fattening you want the sauce to be.
  25. Note 5: You probably already know how to thicken stuff, but if you’re really stuck, send me a comment and I’ll help you out.
  26. Add some chopped, cooked shrimp and stir in.
  27. Serve the sauce over quinoa, couscous, or rice (which you should have cooked while the chicken was in the oven). Don’t forget to eat the chicken too.
Click here to see the post with this recipe.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Have a comment? Go for it! It's lonely out here in bloggerland . . .

Search This Blog