When I was recently invited to create a recipe in participation with Sargento® Cheese and Food Network for the Chopped at Home Challenge, I jumped at the opportunity!
Today’s recipe is sponsored by Sargento® Cheese. All opinions shared are my own.
Besides, I’ve always loved a good challenge! I was challenged to develop a Mexican recipe for Chopped at Home using chicken thighs, corn tortillas, Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend and poblano peppers. I incorporated the poblano peppers in the cilantro lime poblano slaw – it’s a zesty and flavorful slaw that complements the chicken perfectly without overpowering it.
These were so amazing, I had to eat one before photographing, I just couldn’t help myself. 🙂
I browned the chicken in an oven-safe skillet a few minutes before baking them. Those chicken thighs were smelling good at this point!
I used a combination of herbs and spices in the shredded chicken thighs that are Mexican-inspired but not too spicy.
These tacos don’t need a lot of toppings because the slaw is so flavorful, but they’d also be great with avocados and sour cream. I just used diced tomatoes and the Sargenteno 4 Cheese Mexican Blend – AMAZING!!! Sargenteno Cheese is available in 30 versatile varieties, unique blends and distinct cuts, and is always cut from blocks of 100% real, natural cheese.
This recipe makes about 8 very generous tacos. The Cilantro Lime Poblano Slaw recipe yields more than you’ll need for the tacos, but it keeps well in the fridge and is also great with seafood.
Are YOU up for the challenge? I hope so… because there’s nothing I’d love more than to see one of my readers win. Submit your recipe to FoodNetwork.com/ChoppedChallenge for the chance to win $5,000 and a trip to New York City to compete in a televised Chopped cooking challenge for a $10,000 grand prize.
For more inspiration visit Sargenteno’s Pinterest page or the Sargenteno website for more information. Good luck!
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt (more or less, to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (more or less, to taste)
- 1 small head of cabbage, very thinly sliced or shredded
- ¾ cup loosely packed fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced (about ¾ cup diced)
- 1.75 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 8 corn tortillas
- 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- Sargenteno 4 Cheese Mexican Blend
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss cabbage, cilantro and poblano pepper. Pour olive oil mixture over cabbage mixture and toss again to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with tacos.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Heat a cast iron skillet (or any oven-safe skillet) over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and then the chicken and cook for approximately 2-1/2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until browned.
- Cover the skillet and bake for 25 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.
- While the chicken is baking, place cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano and crushed red pepper in a small bowl and stir well to combine.
- When chicken is done, shred with 2 forks in the skillet. Add the herb and spice mixture to the skillet and toss with shredded chicken to combine with the juices from baking.
- Serve in tortillas with slaw, diced tomatoes and cheese.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.
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