green chili chicken

Hola – new recipe for y’all today.

My new favorite chicken marinade is 0% plain greek yogurt. I first got the idea from Alan at Sweating Until Happy. Seriously – if you like to cook, follow him on Instagram because he has a TON of great cooking ideas. I’ve been using greek yogurt as the basis of my marinades lately and it keeps the chicken so moist and adds so much flavor for minimal calories!

Anyway – I was meal planning on Monday and was kind of at a loss for what to make for the week. I knew I wanted to make some sort of chicken dish, preferably using greek yogurt for the marinade, but wanted to spice it up a bit. I flipped through an old meal planning notebook and stumbled on an idea – green chili chicken.

Central Market makes this green chili chicken soup that is to.die.for. – but it’s laden with cream. I’ve always wanted to re-create it in a much healthier way, but never gotten around to doing so. I think my plan to make green chili chicken last year as a wink and nudge to this soup. However, since I have no idea how I intended to make it last year – I decided to try it with again with my new marinade friend – greek yogurt.

I have a vague plan of what I wanted to do for the chicken marinade, but it wasn’t until I was in the grocery store that it all kind of came together.

Luckily, this recipe came out perfect. And seriously, that never happens. The flavor was spot on compared to the Central Market soup I love and it was super easy and super healthy.

And I’ll apologize I don’t have a fancy picture – I was so excited I snapped a quick picture for instagram, then devoured the dish! I’ll have to make it again and take some nicer photos with the DSLR

Served with sautéed squash and my southern sweet cornbread.

Green Chili Baked Chicken

Serves 2
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Looking for a unique southwestern style chicken dish? This green chili chicken packs a huge flavor punch, without adding a lot of calories. The marinade is fool-proof and only takes minutes, ensuring this dish is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

If you’re tired of the standard chicken breasts – try this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs or a lean pork tenderloin.

I’ll warn you – this chicken is spicy. However, it can easily be made milder and will satisfy all palates!

Time note: The thickness of your chicken breasts will dictate the cooking time. Cook until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F. I cooked this dish uncovered, but you can cover will foil if you’d like it to cook faster. Uncover for the last 5-10 minutes to brown tops of chicken.

Ingredients:

• 2 thick chicken breasts or 4 thin cut chicken breasts (approximately 3/4 to 1 lb raw chicken)
• 1 serrano pepper (or a jalapeno)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 7 oz can diced green chilies
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoons 0% plain greek yogurt
• Cooking spray

Supplies:

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Rubber gloves (optional)
• Casserole dish
• Small bowl
• Measuring spoons
• Can opener
• Spoon

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Clean chicken breasts using cutting board and knife if necessary. Add to casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Using a clean cutting board and knife, rinse then dice serrano pepper into small pieces. Add to bowl.

Note on pepper oils: I always use a rubber glove on my left hand (non knife hand) when cutting peppers because I wear contacts and the oils from the pepper always make it into my eye later that night.

Note on spice levels: If you want this dish spicy (as I made it) – leave serrano pepper seeds in. If you want a slightly spicy dish, remove seeds from pepper and mince pepper only. If you want a mild dish – omit pepper all together.

4. Rinse and mince cilantro and add to bowl.

5. Rinse top of green chili can, open and add to bowl. Also add spices.

6. Finally add greek yogurt and mix together. Mixture should be creamy. Feel free to add more greek yogurt if you want/need more marinade.

7. Pour marinade over chicken in the casserole dish and toss chicken around in marinade to coat.

8. Add chicken to the oven and cook approximately 45 minutes-1 hour until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Cooking time will depend solely on how thick the chicken is. Covering dish with foil is optional, which will keep the chicken juicier and cut back slightly on the cooking time.

I am excited to make this again and play around with this marinade! I really want to make this recipe using a pork tenderloin!

What new recipes have you created lately?