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Chris and I had a date night and went to this really cute local pub. It was a new place for us on the other side of town. We had the best Jalapeno poppers appetizer. I know that jalapeno poppers are popular in pubs and restaurants and most of all of you, but I’m not typically a fan of them because they’re kind of spicy. But these were really good. So, I decided I had to make them and this recipe took shape. Sauté chicken until lightly browned with a charred poblano pepper (less heat) stuffed with a creamy cream cheese filling on top and then top it off with melted provolone cheese. I hope you like this recipe because it was delicious.
Chicken with Poblano ‘Poppers’
Ingredients
- 2-4 Boneless Chicken Breast pounded – depending on how many you are cooking for
- 2 Lime juiced and zested (if no limes, bottled lime juice or white wine vinegar will do)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 3-5 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 1-2 Chipotle Peppers or 2 tsp Chipotle powder
- 2-4 Poblano Peppers
- Olive Oil for Sauté Pan
- Butter
- Flour for dredging
Cheese mixture:
- 8 oz pkg Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/3 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 1 Tbsp Chives, chopped
- 1-2 Green Onions, chopped
- Lime Zest
- Salt and Pepper
- Provolone slices
- Parsley, chopped
Directions
- In a large bag combine the lime juice, zest of 1 lime, olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and chipotle peppers or powder. Add the chicken and mix it together all over the chicken. Let rest for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the cheese mixture – cream cheese, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cheddar cheese, chives, green onions, lime zest and salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to broil. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Then in a large sauté pan, on medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and about 2 Tbsp of butter. Add some flour onto a plate or shallow dish with salt and pepper and dredge your pieces of chicken in the flour. Shake off any excess and sauté the chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side until almost finished cooking and the chicken is lightly golden brown. Turn off heat and cover with foil.
- This is the tricky part. I was a little intimidated but charred the peppers using my gas stove so I broiled them. Place your oven rack on the highest level or as close to the broil as possible. Be careful, you don’t want the peppers to touch the oven coil. Place the peppers on the rack and broil each side for about a couple of minutes and then turn each time to char the whole peppers. Watch this process. You don’t want to go off and do something else, trust me, or they’ll burn. Once done, remove from the oven onto a plate. Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic bag to steam the chicken and finish cooking. But make sure they don’t turn mushy.
- Let cool for a few minutes. Carefully remove the char outer layer, skin, part of the peppers.
- Remove the foil from the chicken. Cut the pepper down one side, not in half. Lay one half part of the pepper on top of the chicken, spoon some of the cheese mixture on the pepper half. Fold the other half over. Place one or two slices of the provolone cheese slice on top. Repeat for however many chicken and peppers pieces you made.
- Continue to cook the chicken until done and the peppers are nice and warm and the cheese has melted. Garnish with parsley, or finely diced tomatoes or serve with Pico de Gallo and rice and black beans or other side dish preference.
Enjoy … gathering around the table with family and friends
