Monday, September 13, 2010

California Chili Chicken


Welcome to Red Couch Recipes, please take a seat.  This zesty Sunset Magazine recipe from 1995 is an old family favorite.  The spiciness of the chili powder combined with the almonds and black olives, make this recipe unique.  As the chicken cooks, some of the corn meal coating begins to slough off and combines with the sauce.  If you are craving something spicy, this dish is for you.  Yummy!

Recipe for California Chili Chicken

1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil, or more if chicken begins to stick
1 onion (6 ounces) minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup large ripe pitted olives
Fresh cilantro or parsley sprigs

1.  In a gallon-sized Ziploc bog, combine cornmeal and the salt and pepper.  Shake a few chicken pieces at a time in the mixture to coat.

2.  In a non-stick 5-to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, brown chicken in half of oil turning as needed, about six minutes.  Lower heat if coating begins to scorch.

3.  To pan, add onion and garlic, stir often until golden, for about five minutes.  Add chili powder and cumin; stir one minute.  Mix in broth and almonds.  Return chicken to pan.  Slice enough olives to make 2/3 cup; sprinkle over chicken.  Set remaining whole olives aside for garnish.

4.  Cover chicken; simmer until no longer pink in thickest part for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.  Then, cook uncovered on medium-high heat stirring until sauce is very thick, two to three minutes.

5.  Skim fat from sauce.  Serve chicken with rice.  Garnish with whole olives and cilantro or parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



Thank you for dropping by my Red Couch today.  I hope your try the California Chili Chicken recipe.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

I am posting with the following:

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Design by Gollum's Foodie Friday

9 comments:

Linda (More Fun Less Laundry) said...

Joni, this looks delicious! I pasted it on my desktop so I will remember to try it! Linda

Cathy said...

Yum, I love this kind of dish with all those great flavors.

Sue said...

My dad arrives on Thurday. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner...now I know! He will love this! Me too.

Heather said...

Wow, my hubby would love this! He likes anything with heat:)

I really like your caramel apple bites a couple of posts back... fun, cute, simple idea for a party.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my brownies the other day:)

Renée said...

I think I got this recipe and made it years ago from Sunset. It looks so good! I've got to give it a try again, as I think it is fairly low carb!! Thanks so much.

Jacqueline said...

This is so mouthwatering. We would love that. This will be on our "joni's recipes to try list".

Unknown said...

wow! i hope this tastes as good as it looks because yowza it looks amazing! thank you for another great link up to TNSC

Lynn said...

This really looks good, even at 7AM!

Kirby said...

I came axross this from your Spider Bread(which is too cute!)this sounds so good, I'm always looking for new and different chicken recipes!

Engageya