Black Skillet Tex-Mex chicken

By kishthecook

A full meal made in one skillet! I use my favorite REALLY OLD cast iron skillet passed to my dad by my Ozark grandma, then on to me... Melty, Spicey and delicious, Stovetop to oven. If you want to bulk it up, add a can of black beans or kidney beans to the mix..

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Cut in 1/2
• 1 1/2 tsp New Mexico red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground corriander
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp blk pepper
• 4 TBS butter or olive oil (or mix of the two)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen roasted corn kernels
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 jalepeno or serrano chili sliced into thin rings or diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 can roasted diced tomatos
• 1 handful chopped cilantro
• 1 cup shredded chedder or jack cheese

Preparation

Step 1

place a cut 1/2 of chicken breast between 2 layers of wax paper. Give a few whacks with a mallet to flatten it a bit. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breast pieces. Thighs are already fairly flat so you dont really need to smash them. Chicken tenders are fine "as is" too.

mix the chili powder and dry spices, salt, sugar and black pepper. Add a TBS (or so) of olive oil to make a paste. Coat the chicken pieces thuroughly with the rub paste and set aside while you chop and prepare the veggies etc.

preheat the oven to 400 or a broiler to medium.

melt 3TBS butter or heat 3 TBS oil in your skillet over med heat

place the spice rubbed chicken pieces into the skillet and brown 2-3 minutes per side.

transfer chicken to a plate

in same skillet, add the remaining 1 TBS butter or oil. Add the onion and stir 'till slightly brown, add the garlic, serrano, corn and bell pepper. Stir and saute 3 minutes or so.

Add the tomatos and lime juice, stir to scrape up the stuck bits. (at this point, you can add a can of black beans if you want to bulk up the meal) Add the cilantro and stir

Add the chicken and all its juices back to the skillet with the veggies and cook 2-3 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Top with grated cheese and pop the skillet into the hot oven or under the broiler until cheese melts and browns, 3 minutes or so. Serve with warm tortillas and a slice of fresh lime.