Tuesday, March 29, 2011

You Win, Habanero

This weekend I made two very spicy dishes, both on accident.  I've read that the habanero pepper is the spiciest pepper.  I used one in my stuffed focaccia, and couldn't really taste it.  I figured my taste buds were just getting used to spicier food... I was very wrong.  I cut up the other and used it in these, and my mouth was burning.  Lesson learned: do not underestimate the power of habanero.  I'm not sure what to call these, they're kind of chicken fajitas, just rolled up and baked.  They were very tasty, of what I could taste that is!
We had gone to Babe's Chicken a few days before; if anyone lives in the Dallas area and hasn't been to one, please go.  Their chicken and sides are amazing... don't eat for the whole day before you go, as you will be stuffed to the brim when you leave.  See their site by clicking here.  Anyway, I had leftover fried and smoked chicken, so I shredded it, took the breading off and used that.  If you have any kind of leftover chicken that you can shred, you could use that too.  I used approximately one and a half cups of chicken.
Cut up tomatoes, onions and habanero peppers to mix into the chicken.
Cook on the stove for around 5 minutes over medium heat to brown the veggies a bit.  The pink color of the chicken was making me a little nervous, so I wanted to make sure it was cooked throughly.  Turns out that was the color the meat!
I bought these soft whole wheat tortillas from Central Market and wrapped the chicken and pepper mix in them.  Then sprinkle with quarto fromage cheese.  Cook for around 12 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cheese has fully melted on top.
I made homemade guacamole while these were cooking in the oven, and served with it on top of the tortillas.  These were very tasty, and took about 20 minutes to make, including the time in the oven.  Great way to use your leftover veggies and chicken!  If you feel you can handle the spice, feel free to use a habanero.  If not, regular bell peppers would have worked well too.  Enjoy :)

Chicken "Fajitas"
1 1/2 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup onions, cut into bite size pieces
1 habanero pepper, minced
6 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese  *I used quarto fromage, you can use whatever you like!
guacamole *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray an oven safe baking dish with non-stick spray.
Place veggies and chicken in a pan over medium heat for around 5 minutes, until veggies start to get tender.
Remove from heat and spoon mixture into tortillas.
Roll the mixture in, and place on the prepared dish.
Once you've used all the mixture, sprinkle the tortillas with cheese.
Cook for around 12 minutes. 
Let cool for a few minutes before serving. 



2 comments:

  1. The pinkish color of the chicken sounds like it's because the chicken is smoked (and it looks like it got a nice amount of smoke too!) - when you smoke meats like pork for instance- if you slice it after smoking, there will be a pinkish tinge to the outer layer of meat under the surface "bark" - known as the smoke ring. Judging from the texture, the chicken certainly looks fully cooked, so the pink is just tinting of the meat- since chicken is so pale in color, the smoke tint is much more visible than in pork or beef.

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  2. If the habanero wins...the Thai ghost chili punishes. Although, I've never experienced anything hotter than habanero (nor will I, probably) and don't want to. Kudos to you for taking an inadvertent whirl!

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