Recipe: $8.36 | Per Serving: $2.09 | Yield: 4
This is everything you need in one pan. Jalapeños, chicken, and cheese sautéed together, with kale for health (!!), and topped with avocado because...avocado. This has just the right amount of spicy kick for me, so if you're a softy, I recommend having a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt on hand for mouth-fire emergencies. Just kidding, I needed that dollop of Greek yogurt for myself and I'm not usually a softy.
I have done almost nothing for the blog in the last week and a half. I don't like talking about being busy because I don't believe in the Busy Badge in general, but guys. I was out of commission for 4 days, totally convinced I had listeria. I must have checked those frozen foods lists 15 times against my freezer contents. Really. And the day I could eat solid food again happened to coincide with the start of my evening training for work, which added about 20 more hours to my workweek. Which meant dinner of peanut butter toast and scrounging for snacks at 9:30pm.
By Sunday night I was so tired I considered canceling our weekly Game of Thrones date with our friends. Problems with East Coast living = everything on TV starts SO LATE. Who really wants to start watching TV at 9:00 on a Sunday? I prefer to be in bed with my phone by that time. Zac stepped in and forced me to be social. And I must say, it was the best GOT episode so far this season, so I guess it's good I went.
Sooo back to the Jalapeño Chicken Skillet.
This is so easy! I love love love it. And if you think ahead and slice up a bunch of chicken beforehand (I prep it when I buy it, then freeze it in smaller batches), then half you prep work is done. Basically, you're going to sauté together some onion, garlic, and jalapeño, then add chicken (I use thighs) and spices. Stir in some fresh kale and top it with your cheese of choice - like salty queso fresco or melty monterey jack. Serve it as is or with rice, quinoa, beans, tortillas, or whatever floats your boat. You could even go Jalapeño overload with Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones. It's a good idea.
Speaking of good ideas, you can stretch this pound of chicken even further if you bulk this dish up with black or white beans, and add rice instead of tortillas. After eating the first two servings, we added black beans and stretched the remaining 2 servings to 4. #savethatmoney
Paleo: Skip the corn tortillas (serve it with sweet potatoes!) and the cheese.
Vegetarian: Replace 1 pound of chicken with 2 cans of black beans.
Jalapeño Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil divided (I used coconut)
- ½ medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeño minced
- 1 pound chicken I used thighs!, sliced into bite-sized strips
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt + more to taste
- pepper to taste
- 4 cups kale chopped
- 1 cup cheese shredded or crumbled, I used queso fresco, but cheddar, mozzarella, and jack cheese would all work here.
Instructions
- Warm half a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions about 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the minced jalapeños and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring as necessary.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining oil and the sliced chicken, as well as the dried spices (oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper). Sauté until chicken is cooked through, stirring as needed. This should take about 6-8 minutes, depending on how small you sliced your chicken.
- Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the chopped kale until well combined, then top the skillet with the cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve with avocado, salsa, greek yogurt, cilantro, corn tortillas, rice, beans, or whatever else you like!
Anonymous
We recently made this for a weeknight dinner with cheddar cheese and it was so good. Served with tortilla chips and avocado. Will definitely make again and will have to look for queso fresco next time.