"what exactly is...'spicy chicken?'"

i heard from a very reliable source this past week that at least one person has been going through withdrawal from these little stories from my kitchen, so i made a point of bringing something delicious to the, erm, "table." (that was bad. i know.)

i've decided it's gotten too hot to have the crock pot on all day long, so instead, i spend a fair amount of time in the evening hovering over my stove and oven - a brilliant solution, don't y'all think? this week, however, had some particularly yummy results. my mother and i planned to have dinner together on wednesday night, so wednesday afternoon, i emailed her asking if she had any "special requests." i had been thinking along the lines of a particular side or dessert, but her response was "...spicy chicken." this is not the name of some chicken i've made before. i was a bit befuddled. i asked her what, exactly, is "spicy chicken?" her answer - and this is why i love my mother - was brilliantly simple: "chicken that's spicy. i've got a hankerin' [sic] for something spicy." she doesn't know this, but that was almost the exact opposite of what i'd planned for dinner that night. well, except for the chicken part. but i had definitely not been going in the spicy direction until her gentle nudge. the best spicy chicken i could think of that i had a recipe for was those crock pot chicken fajitas that we all love, but by this point, it was 4 in the afternoon. not nearly enough time for a crock pot. it was then that i remembered one of my favorite dishes from one of my favorite restaurants and used all i remember about it as inspiration for wednesday night's dinner - which was, by the way, a huge hit in both the departments of delicious and spicy.

i googled a recipe for lime pepper marinade for fajitas and, interestingly enough, none of the top 5 results included pepper. go figure. the marinade recipe i doctored is below. y'all know that i always try to give credit where credit is due, but this recipe came up on so many different sites that i wouldn't know who to thank.

ingredients:
lime-pepper marinade (recipe below)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
2 fresh serranos, sliced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large onion, sliced into rings
1 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
salt

lime-pepper marinade:

4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and minced
1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons tequila
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from real limes)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

directions:
combine all ingredients for marinade. cover chicken with marinade, let marinate for 2 hours in the fridge.

preheat oven to 350.

coat a large skillet with olive oil cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. cook marinated chicken breasts until browned on both sides, 3-5 minutes per side, depending on size. remove chicken to an oven-proof dish. sautee jalapenos and serranos for about a minute in the same skillet chicken was cooked in. top the chicken with the peppers and bake for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. meanwhile, in the same skillet, caramelize onions. sprinkle with salt and cook until they're as done (or not) as you like them. [if you're cooking for my mother, this will be quite a while.] once the chicken is cooked, turn on the broiler and top the chicken with the cilantro and cheese. broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly. (i only broiled for 2 minutes. ish.)

serve the chicken over the caramelized onions. suggested sides - black beans, cilantro lime rice

here is my finished product (well, not quite finished because i don't have it plated with the onions in this photo, but right out of the oven!):

we loved this dish. some of us could have used a little less cilantro (momma), but overall, it was a hit and took care of that "hankerin'." it's pretty spicy, so feel free to cut back on those peppers if you'd like. also, don't forget to wash your hands after handling them. if you dare to go all the way with the peppers, however, and they get the best of you, the best solutions are milk or bread - they'll do a lot more to absorb the heat than water, which will just help to spread it around.

try it out - let me know what y'all think!

♥ whit