I have been challenged by the show Chopped that airs on the Food Network. How is that? Well, the 2016 Chopped at Home Challenge is underway and one creative cook will win $10,000. Who wouldn’t like to be that cook?! For Round 2 of this year’s challenge, the theme is Mexican and the mystery basket ingredients are:
- Sargento® 4 Cheese Mexican Blend,
- corn tortillas,
- poblano peppers, and
- chicken thighs.
For my quick creation, I made Grilled Chicken Tostadas with Roasted Poblano Guacamole.
I started off by making a quick marinade for the chicken thighs. I let them marinate for approximately 30 minutes in a combination of olive oil, chopped chipotles, cumin, and salt.
While the chicken was marinating, I got to work on the other components. I toasted the corn tortillas on my grill until they were crispy. Then I roasted the poblano peppers until the skin started to blister and blacken. I then removed them from the heat to cool.
At that point, I was able to place the chicken on the grill. It took somewhere between 10 – 15 minutes to grill the boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Once the chicken was done and had time to rest, I chopped it into bite-sized pieces.
Next up was the Poblano Guacamole. I removed the stem and seeds, as well as the charred skin. I placed it in a bowl and mashed it with my fork. I then added the pulp from an avocado, juice from 1/2 a lime, and a pinch of salt. I mashed it all together and left a few little lumps.
Now that everything was ready, I was able to assemble the tostadas. The corn tortilla went on the bottom, followed by a layer of poblano guacamole, grilled chicken, topped with Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend, and garnished with cilantro.
The challenge gave me a new appreciation for the professional chefs who are on the show. It’s a lot of work in a short amount of time and no do-overs. I think that I did well in my attempt. After all, my teen-aged son came back for more and even asked me the following day if I would make them again.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotles, chopped
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 avocados
- 1/2 lime
- dash of salt
- 8 corn tortillas
- Cooked chicken thighs
- 1 package Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend
- Poblano Guacamole
- Cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine first four ingredients and mix well. Place in plastic bag with chicken, squeeze out air, and seal bag. Knead chicken around marinade to coat as much as possible. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Toast corn tortillas over open flame until crispy. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Roast poblanos over high heat until skin blisters and blackens and peppers become soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, grill chicken thighs over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes or until done. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before chopping into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove stem, seeds, and charred skin from poblanos. Place peppers in medium sized bowl and mash with fork. Remove pits from avocados and add pulp to bowl with pobalano. Squeeze lime juice and add dash of salt and mash with back of fork until blended but slightly chunky.
- Place a layer of poblano guacamole on top of corn tortilla. Top with chicken, 1/4 cup Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend, and garnish with cilantro.
About Sargento and the Sargento Chopped at Home Challenge
Sargento is available in 30 versatile varieties and is made with cheese cut from blocks of 100% real, natural cheese.
There is still time to enter Round 2 (deadline for entries is 8:59 a.m. ET on 5/23/2016). The top-scoring entrant will win $5,000 and a trip to NYC to compete in the final round. Click here to enter and for more details.
For more inspiration, check out the Sargento Pinterest page Pinterest.com/sargentocheese/ or visit www.sargento.com/Shredded for more information.
If you enter, please let me know. For those of you who are not up for the challenge, you can still vote for the dish that you like the best between May 23rd and June 13th – like mine. 🙂
What would you make with the mystery basket ingredients?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.
