Mexican Chicken with Cashew-Chile Cream

 Mexican Chicken with Cashew-Chile Cream

My Mami makes a creamy sauce from peanuts that she serves over chicken. It was one of my grandfather’s favorite dishes and over the years it has become one of recipes I crave as when the temperatures drop.   Mami’s peanut chicken dish is made with a whole fryer chicken, is fried and served with sauce on the side. I like to make it with chicken breasts, less mess with the kids. Besides giving the nuts a whirl in the food processor this is a one pan dish, which always ranks high in my home. We hate dirty dishes.

This creamy chicken goes great with a side of rice, a side salad or even pasta.  Ground ancho chile powder gives this sauce an earthy note, without adding heat – feel free to omit.   My local H-E-B sent me a bag full of goodies, primo picks to create this recipe.  Their H-E-B Cashew Grande Whole Roasted Cashews with Sea Salt are amazing, we almost finished off the bag while I was prepping the ingredients for this recipe. Big in size and even bigger on sweet, buttery cashew flavor. Cashews big enough for Texans, yes! And let’s talk about H-E-B’s desert honey, wow! Bold, sweet flavor desert honey can de used on fruit or use it as a tasty marinade for chicken or fish, or add a teaspoon or two to sweeten up your teatime.

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Mexican Chicken with Cashew-Chile Cream

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cashews I used H-E-B Cashew Grande
• 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey I used H-E-B Honey Desert Honey
• 4 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 cup fat-free less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons crema Mexicana
• Fresh cilantro sprigs

Instructions

1. Combine cashews, chile pepper and honey in a blender or food processor; process until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper.
3. Heat butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
4. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cashew mixture, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in crema Mexicana. Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Sweet Life Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by H-E-B. All opinions are my own.