Tortilla Chip Pepper Jack Crusted Chicken With Avocado Jalapeno Ranch Recipe 41

Steps:

• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cumin, oregano and cayenne and stir until coated. Add the chicken broth and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the salsa and remove from the heat. Stir in the chicken, white beans and 1 cup cilantro.
• Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Spread one-third of the crushed tortilla chips in the bottom. Top with half of the chicken mixture. Spread another layer of tortilla chips on top and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with the remaining chicken mixture, tortilla chips and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until lightly browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes. Top with more cilantro.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put about half of the bag of chips into the food processor and blend. You should have 2-3 C crushed chips. (Reserve the rest of the bag in case you don't have enough.) Mix the shredded cheese and the crushed chips together. Whisk together the mayo, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and lime juice. Dredge the chicken breasts into the mayo and then into the chip mixture, pressing down to make sure it's all coated. (Here's where you may need to grind extra chips for coating if you run out.) When all the chicken is coated, put it in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is done all the way through and the chips are crispy. Blend the sauce ingredients together in a food processor and serve over the chicken.

Steps:

• Make the marinade: Add the cilantro, garlic, olive oil, adobo seasoning, pepper, and lime juice to a food processor. Blend for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth.
• Marinate the chicken: Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and slice each breast crosswise into 6 ½-inch (16 ½ cm)thick strips. Add the chicken to a medium bowl, along with the adobo seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper. Toss until the chicken is well coated.
• Pour the marinade over chicken and toss until fully coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Set a wire rack inside a baking sheet and grease with nonstick spray.
• Remove the chicken strips from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and pat dry with paper towels.
• Add the flour to a shallow dish, season with the salt, and stir until incorporated. Add the crushed tortilla chips to another shallow dish. Add the eggs to a small bowl and beat with a fork until frothy.
• Working 1 strip at a time, coat the chicken strips in the flour, then the eggs, then the crushed tortilla chips. Place on the prepared wire rack.
• Bake the chicken for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
• While the chicken is baking, make the queso fundido: Melt the butter in an 8-inch (20 cm) cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper, and sauté until the onion is translucent, 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Add the Mexican cheese blend and Monterey Jack cheese to the pan and stir to combine.
• When the chicken is done baking, let rest while you bake the queso fundido.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).
• Bake the queso fundido for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Turn the oven to broil and broil the queso fundido for 1-3 minutes, until there are golden brown spots on top.
• Remove the queso fundido from the oven and transfer to a heatproof serving platter. Arrange the chicken strips around the pan. Top the queso fundido with the olives, jalapeños, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Garnish the queso fundido and chicken with the cilantro. Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken.
• Serve warm.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Sauce -- Make the avocado sauce ahead of time and set in the refrigerator to chill. I like to use my mini food processor for this, or a blender will work fine. Add the avocado, milk, lime juice, sour cream, jalapeno and cilantro. Blend until smooth. Check for seasoning salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Remove to a small bowl and cover and chill until ready to serve. This sauce is serve cold.
• Chicken -- Remove to the counter, along with the salsa and eggs. You want them to be room temp or at least have the chill taken off them.
• Tortilla Chips -- Add the tortillas to the food processor and grind until fine chopped. The finer chopped the easier it is. A rough chop or hand chop will not work.
• Dredging Stations -- 1: Flour, salt and pepper. 2: Eggs, lightly beaten mixed with salsa. 3: Ground tortilla chips.
• Cheese -- Cut a thin slice about 1/2 of the way through one side of the chicken breast (making a pocket) as you will be stuffing it with the cheese. Make sure not to cut all the way through to the other side. But make a nice slice so you can stuff it with a fair amount of cheese. About 2 tablespoons per chicken breast. Stuff the chicken breast and secure with a single toothpick.
• Chicken -- Dredge the chicken in the flour and make sure to shake off any extra. Next, dip in the egg and salsa mix and last into the tortilla chips.
• Saute -- In a large NON STICK pan (I prefer non stick for this, but one that is oven proof) and heat to medium high heat. Add enough oil to just lightly cover the bottom of the pan. Saute on each side until golden brown. I transfer the pan (if oven proof) to the oven, if not, transfer to a pie plate and finish cooking in a 400 degree oven until the juices run clear. Approximately 10 minutes. It really depends on the thickness of your chicken.
• Serve -- Garnish the chicken with the avocado sauce, some beans, rice, anything you want. The avocado sauce is really good with this. Even serve this over some crisp romaine, onion and black beans and use the avocado sauce as the dressing. You can really serve it lots of way.
• ENJOY!

Steps:

• Combine the lime juice, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, cumin, and salt in a large bowl, mix well.
• Add chicken breasts, marinate for one hour.
• Heat grill to medium high.
• Grill chicken until juices run clear.
• Lower grill heat to low, then cover the top of each breast with mashed avocado, then pepper jack cheese slice.
• Cook covered for 1-2 minutes, just as long as it takes cheese to melt.