" Jamaican-Me-Hungry" Chicken Bake

* Pamela *'s Note:

As this bakes your house will be filled with the most delicious aroma! Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, this dish is worth it :) Created for RSC 2006.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 -6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Jerk Rub

• 1 teaspoon onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder , use ancho chili powder if you can find it
• ½ teaspoon cayenne , more if you dare
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon sage
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chives
• 1 pinch clove
• 1 pinch cinnamon

Topping

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• ¼ cup onion , diced
• ½ cup red peppers or ½ cup green pepper , diced
• 1 habanero pepper (optional)
• 2 teaspoons rum
• 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons jamaican jerk spice , posted above

Directions:

1. For the rub, combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag. Reserve 2 tsp for topping. Place chicken into ziploc bag and rub mixture into chicken. Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. For topping, sauté garlic, peppers, and onion in olive oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook until slightly thickened.
3. To bake, place seasoned chicken in a 9x13 baking pan. Divide topping equally on top of each breast. Bake 30-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Eagerly anticipate your meal as the aroma wafts through your house!

Reviews

[flower7]

This was very tasty and very spicy! I had to replace chives with parsley and habanero with pickled jalapeno (couldn't get them). Also used chicken thighs instead of breasts. Recipe didn't give a temp. to bake at so I did at 375°F for 35 minutes. Chicken was nice and moist. Loved the flavors from the seasoning mix. Thanks and good luck in the contest! - Mar 5, 2006 Update: I had some of this in the freezer and wanted to do something a little different with it. I thawed out a serving (a couple thighs worth) and then mixed it with a pkg of cream cheese, a couple Tbsp mayo and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese to make an excellent chicken salad! Thanks again Pamela!

[Pale Rose]

I was a little disappointed with this recipe because it didn't taste very Jamaican, but it wasn't terrible. The spices and the vegetables were looking very good, until I added the crushed tomatoes. It seemed like there were too many and I didn't feel like this recipe was much different than putting tomato sauce on top of chicken and baking it. If I made this again, I would double the spices, or cut the crushed tomatoes in half. We left out the habenero and the cayenne, because my family does not like spicy stuff. It may have tasted better with the spicy ingredients, but I think the recipe needs to hold it's own without the spice. Thanks anyway, it was fun to try!

[Razzlledazzlle]

I expected it to taste like something Jamaican and it really didn't to me. It was not at all what I expected and it may have been better without the crushed tomatoes.