This is one of Michael’s all time favorite dishes.  It is simple and is a part of my quick week night dinner favorites.  You can make this dish the hard way or the easy way.  I recommend the hard way because, well, it just tastes better and I know exactly what is in it.  (It also is really not hard at all) The easy way requires canned green chile sauce and I’m trying my best not to buy food in cans anymore.  I don’t trust a vegetable that can live without growing mold after about 2 weeks.  It’s just weird.  What could you possibly be putting in that can to make food last forever….  Gross….  Just don’t judge me when I eat my Amy’s Tomato Soup this winter.  That is one can I can not give up!

The Hard Way:

6 Chicken Breasts

1 6 oz bag of sliced almonds

4 limes (3 for marinating)

2 tbs cilantro

2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp salt

6 medium green chile’s

Clean the chicken and set it in a bowl along with the juice of 3 limes.  Salt and pepper the chicken and refrigerate it while you are making the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 350 and lay foil on a flat cookie sheet.  Lightly oil all sides of the chile’s and place them on the pan.  Cook the chile’s for about 7 minutes each rotation, rotating them 3 times.  Keep an eye on your chile’s so they do not burn.  You want the skin to start to turn brown in some spots.  Remove the chile’s and allow them to cool to the touch.

While the chile’s are cooling, spread the sliced almonds on the clean cookie sheet and bake for about 9 minutes.  DON’T burn them!!  Keep checking on them because they cook pretty fast.  Set the almonds aside.  (Disclaimer: I have a mini oven so mine cook pretty quickly – keep an eye on these)

Once your chile’s have cooled take each one and de-skin them.  The simplest way to do this is,  first, cut off the top stem portion and throw it out.  Slice each chile lightly long ways and peel all of the skin off of each one.  Open up the chile and scrape the seeds out.  The more seeds you leave in the spicier it will be so be careful!  Put the meat of the chile in a food processor along with the garlic, the juice of one lime, cilantro and the salt.  Process until smooth.

Grill the chicken to perfection and top with the chile sauce and the toasted almonds.  I like to serve black beans and corn with this dish but feel free to get creative with the sides.

The Easy Way:

Follow the above directions for everything but the sauce.  You can buy green chile sauce at pretty much any grocery store I have ever been in.  Go to the Mexican aisle and it will be near the salsa in a little half sized can.  One little can will cover about 4 chicken breasts.  You can also just buy green salsa if you live somewhere where Tex Mex is not on every other corner.  Heat the sauce and pour it over the chicken, top with the almonds!  Yum!

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