Mesquite Chicken

Ingredients

• 6 oz Cremini Mushrooms
• 3 oz Grape Tomatoes
• 2 Green Onions
• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 ½ Tbsp. Mesquite Seasoning
• 1 ½ oz Shredded Cheddar-Jack Cheese
• 1 oz Sour Cream
• 3 oz BBQ Sauce
• Olive Oil
• Salt Pepper
• Quarter mushrooms. Halve grape tomatoes. Trim
• and thinly slice green onions on an angle, keeping
• white and green portions separate. Rinse chicken
• breasts, pat dry, and season both sides with 1 Tbsp.
• seasoning blend (reserve remaining for mush-
• rooms).

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook Within: For an alternative preparation, brush barbecue sauce on chicken before roasting in oven. This will give it a caramelized, glazed Before it became synonymous with sweet, smoky flavor, mesquite trees were considered an invasive species by Texas cattle ranchers. Their deep root system drank up water from land already stricken by drought and mesquite bean pods were harmful to their cattle. Eventually they figured out the benefit of using the wood in barbecue, and now it fetches a premium price.

2. 2

   Start the Potatoes: Cut potato into ¼” wedges. Place on prepared bak- ing sheet and toss with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, ¼ tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper. Spread into a single layer on 20 minutes. While potatoes bake, prepare ingredi-

3. 3

   Finish the Chicken: After potatoes have baked 20 minutes, carefully and flip potatoes. Bake until chicken reaches a mini- mum internal temperature of 165 degrees and pota- toes are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. While chicken and potatoes are baking, cook mushrooms.

4. 4

   Prepare the Ingredients: Quarter mushrooms. Halve grape tomatoes. Trim and thinly slice green onions on an angle, keeping white and green portions separate. Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry, and season both sides with 1 Tbsp. seasoning blend (reserve remaining for mush-

5. 5

   Cook the Mushrooms: Return pan used to sear chicken to medium heat and add 2 tsp. olive oil. Add mushrooms and white portions of green onions to hot pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned, 5-7 min- utes. Season with remaining seasoning blend.

6. 6

   Sear the Chicken: medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to hot pan and cook until golden brown on one side, 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Chicken will finish cooking in a later step. Reserve pan; no need to wipe clean.

7. 7

   Plate the Dish: Place a serving of potatoes on a plate and garnish with shredded cheddar-jack cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, sour cream, and green portions of green onions. Add chicken breast to plate and brush with BBQ sauce. Slice chicken breast if desired. recipe–it has bigger grains and is easier to pinch than table salt, allowing more control over flavor. If using regular table salt, reduce measured amounts seasoning is used twice. 1 Tbsp. seasons chicken and remaining flavors mushrooms. used twice. White portions are cooked with mushrooms, and green portions garnish dish. the recipe before you start–we promise it will be time