Mexican Chicken and Polenta

justcallmetoni's Note:

Based on a Weight Watchers recipe, I've tweaked this to suit my own tastes to create a little more flavor contrast between the polenta and chicken. Though the dish is light, family and guests will never know it. I usually serve this with some black beans and a crispy green salad,

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 2 sprigs fresh cilantro , chopped
• 4 garlic cloves , peeled
• ½ small yellow onion , chopped
• ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano or ¼ teaspoon oregano
• 2 -3 cups water
• 3 dried ancho peppers , stems removed and seeds shaken out
• 3 garlic cloves , unpeeled
• ½ cup canned tomato sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ cup uncooked cornmeal , to make polenta
• 1 ½-2 cups water
• ½ cup frozen corn kernels
• ½ teaspoon Splenda sugar substitute or ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 2 medium scallions , sliced (optional)
• 2 sprigs cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a large skillet and cover with water; add chopped cilantro, oregano, onion and peeled clove of garlic.
2. Cook chicken breasts over medium heat about 10 to 15 minutes; chicken should no longer be pink in center; remove chicken from pan and let cool; reserve liquid.
3. Add ancho peppers to the reserved liquid in pan; cover and soak about 10 minutes (no heat on pan); drain liquid into a bowl.
4. (Sometimes, I add the whole ancho to the pand and seed after they are softened.) Shred cooled chicken and set aside.
5. Place peppers, garlic, tomato sauce and cumin in blender and blend on high until smooth, about 2 minutes; if you have an immersion blender you can add everything to the pan and blend.
6. Pour mixture into a saucepan, add chicken and heat through about 3 or 4 minutes; use drained poaching liquid to thin a bit if it seems too dry.
7. To make polenta, bring water to a boil; add salt.
8. Add about 1/2 cup of the water to the cornmeal to make a paste or slurry; Slowly add cornmeal slurry to the boiling water, stirring until smooth; after 10 minutes add Splenda and corn kernels; cook another 3 to 5 minutes.
9. Spoon 1/4 of the cooked polenta onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).
10. OR If you prefer polenta wedges, coat a 9 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray and pour polenta into pan; smooth with a spatula; let polenta to firm up, about 3 minutes; cut into quarters and remove from pan.
11. Place polenta slices in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray; cook on both sides until crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes per side.
12. Place polenta wedge onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).

Reviews

[anme]

I recently fell in love with polenta so this recipe was calling out to me! I fried my polenta and topped it with the chicken and served it for lunch today. Big hit to everyone who ate it. I did go light on the peppers since some people I am feeding hate peppers (odd, I know!). Also I added some cheese to the polenta. Made for ZWT 3!

[Annacia]

First off I must say that after reading the reviews I altered the polenta. I omitted the Splenda and added 1 tsp of Taco Seasoning - Budget Friendly Seasoning for Tacos, Burritos... By doing this I found the polenta a very good accompaniment for the wonderful chicken. I also used the same Tex Mex Seasoning in the chicken to replace ancho peppers that I can't get here. This made a lovely dinner that is very healthy and tasty. The chicken would aslo make yummy burritos.

[Elmotoo]

Do NOT use an immersion blender!!!! There isn't enough liquid & it will splatter everywhere!! The chicken & sauce is delicious. The polenta is a bit flat. Maybe use 1/2 skim milk? Maybe add a small amount of Monterey Jack cheese? Or both? This went together pretty quickly & had a lot of flavor so it will show up again. Thanks, Toni!