My youngest daughter loves to watch the The Food Network – especially the show “Chopped.” Chefs compete to prepare delicious dishes with the catch that three specific ingredients must be used. It is sort of a take on the frugal pantry challenge when a frugalista wants to use only items in her pantry to save money and clean out the pantry. My daughter has kind of gotten me hooked on this show so when I was asked to participate in the Sargento® Chopped at Home Challenge, I jumped at the chance to participate in this fun challenge.
Creative cooks and those that are trying to stretch their budgets know how to utilize any ingredients placed in front of them. Put your own skills to the test with the Sargento® Chopped at Home Challenge. The theme for this challenge is a Mexican dish, which is one of my favorite cuisines. To complete the challenge, Sargento® 4 Cheese Mexican Blend must be used along with corn tortillas, poblano peppers, and chicken thighs. I’m up for the challenge? Are you?
You can participate by submitting your recipe to the FoodNetwork.com/ChoppedChallenge for a chance to win $5,000 and a trip to New York City to compete in a televised Chopped cooking challenge for a $10,000 grand prize.
For my recipe submission, I’ve created a delicious and flavorful baked Mexican chicken thighs covered with a creamy poblano sauce topped with Sargento® 4 Cheese Mexican Blend cheese and crunchy homemade seasoned tortilla strips.
Mexican Chicken Thighs with a Creamy Poblano Sauce
Ingredients
Creamy Poblano Sauce
- 2 Poblano Peppers
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
Baked Tortilla Strips
- 8 corn tortillas
- 4 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic pwoder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mexican Chicken Thighs
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- dash black pepper
- 5 – 6 chicken thighs, skin on and bone-in
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice from 1 lime
- 8 ounce Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend shredded cheese
Instructions
Creamy Poblano Sauce
- Preheat broiler to high.
- Broil poblanos until charred. Remove from oven and run under cold water and peel, seed, and roughly chop.
- Over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add poblanos. Mix in flour and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add chicken broth and allow to thicken. Stir constantly.
- Transfer to a food processor and add cilantro. Blend until pureed. Transfer back to pan.
- Add cream and cook until thicken.
Baked Tortilla Strips
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut corn tortillas into 1/2″ strips. Add tortilla strips to a large bowl and toss with vegetable oil and seasonings. Make sure to coat strips evenly.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with a baking mat.
- Cook for 5 minutes. Toss and return to oven. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until crispy.
Mexican Chicken
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a small bowl. Mix in olive oil and lime juice. Rub all over chicken.
- Cook for 40-50 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- Top with 1/2 – 3/4 cup of creamy poblano sauce and cheese.
- Cook for an additional 5- 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked thoroughly.
- Top with crispy baked tortilla strips.
While we utilized the Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend, Sargento offers 30 versatile varieties, unique blends, and distinct cuts. Sargento Shredded Cheese is always cut frmo blocks of 100% real, natural cheese, which makes it a great pick at the grocery store. Package sizes range from 3.25 – 3.95 ounces with a suggested retail price of $2.69/each. Find more recipe inspiration on the Sargento Pinterest Page or visit Sargento.com/Shredded for more information.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.