Salsa Verde Baked Chicken

I had saved several baked chicken recipes, from Kevin on his Closet Cooking blog, for our Thursday night meals, and I believe the Salsa Verde Baked Chicken is the third one I’ve made. I adapted the recipe by doubling the ingredients for my seven breasts.  I also made a double recipe of his Taco Seasoning which just fit into a normal size spice jar.  I made a four-breast pan for our friends and a six half breast pan for us. You can go to Kevin’s blog for the original four serving recipe.

Unfortunately, we got no pics, but mine looked very much like Kevin’s below.

Salsa Verde Baked Chicken – Adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

4 cups salsa verde (Larry got from local restaurant)

7 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts (3 real big ones cut in half)

2 teaspoon taco seasoning (recipe below)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups shredded four cheese Mexican blend or monterey jack

Directions:

Liberally season the chicken with taco seasoning and preheat the oven to 350F

Spread 1/2 cup salsa verde verde over the bottom of a baking dish and place the chicken in.

Spread on the cream cheese.

Pour the remaining salsa verde over and top with the cheese.

Bake in the preheated 350F oven until the chicken is cooked through, the cheese has melted and the sides are bubbling, about 30-40 minutes or until internal temp is 157F (will rise to 162F)

Taco Seasoning – Double recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon chili powder

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Directions:

Mix everything together in a spice grinder and give a few seconds spin (to break up oregano leaves). Store in an airtight container.

The Verdict:

As expected for a Kevin recipe, we all really liked the flavor but it was a little too hot for Bev and Cindy (they like little to no heat) but I thought it was perfect for those who like a mild heat.  The salsa verde got too thin while cooking so next time I’ll add some cornstarch to it.  I ran the jaccard over the chicken a few times and it was fork tender and juicy after being cooked to 162F.  I served it over white rice.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/8/20 meal date