More wrappin'

On Tuesday night, we continued our wrappin' dinners. This time I was going to make a braised chicken/Mexican-style wrap.

I started by sauteing some boneless/skinless chicken thighs in a Dutch oven. The chicken was seasoned with salt & pepper and cooked in olive oil, just until crispy, but not cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate.

,Add in 1 medium red onion, sliced. Give the onions about five minutes to dance around.

After the onions have softened add some veg. I thought I had a few bell peppers I planned to use. Wrong! I had one sweet Hungarian pepper, so I used that. If I had more, I would have used more. Let those move around a bit, then add some minced garlic and the spices. In this case I used some ground cumin and chipotle chile powder. The recipe I used called for using two chipotle en adobe, I recommend caution with chipotle, I think the flavors can go from nice to overpowering and bratty way to quickly.

Stir in a can of diced tomatoes and some addition water. Stir in some uncooked rice and return the chicken to the pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes. The chicken will finish cooking, as will the rice. Now we wrap...

Scoop in some rice and vegetables. I roughly chopped the chicken and put some ontop of the rice. Add some avocado and maybe some cheese (used up some mozzeralla). If you have some black beans, you could add that, as well as some salsa.

Roll up and enjoy...very filling, totally satisfying and full of subtle flavors. The only thing missing for me, some more peppers, perhaps sauted instead of braised with the chicken and rice, so they would retain some of their crunch. And perhaps a little squirt of lime juice and some cilantro. But all and all, very good!

Recipe from Everyday Food.

Chipotle Chicken & Rice

2 TB vegetable oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced large
1 cup long-grain white rice
Lime wedges, for serving
Chopped cilantro leaves, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Working in batches, brown chicken on both sides, about 6 minutes total; transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot (if necessary, add a bit of water to release browned bits).
3. Add garlic, cumin, and chiles; cook until garlic is soft and fragrant, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until tomatoes begin to break down and release their juices, 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water and return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook 25 minutes.
4. Remove several pieces of chicken and stir in rice, making sure it is completely submerged in liquid. Replace chicken, cover, and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes more. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro if desired.