Ally
Sometimes my recipes are easy because the slow cooker does all the work for you, but sometimes my recipes are easy because they’re SIMPLE. This whole gourmet looking meal only requires 6 ingredients! Two ingredient salsa verde chicken? Can you believe it? The idea came to me last week when we went out to Atlantic Seafood for our anniversary dinner. Every time I go there I get the same thing: Green Chile Grouper with Chipotle Potatoes. Taylor doesn’t eat fish, so he didn’t taste the flavor explosion in my mouth, so I knew I needed to make a chicken version for him.
It honestly tasted like the fish version of one of my favorite go-to chicken recipes, which is just salsa verde + chicken in a slow cooker, (I use it in my Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos recipe). I knew if I could just pull off the chipotle mashed potatoes we’d be in business….
Occasionally I have days where I have a little time to actually make dinner, (shocking, I know) so today I won’t be slow cooking the chicken. However, that’s a totally fine option for this recipe! I would just slow cook the chicken in salsa verde on high for 2.5 hours, or on low for 7. You want it to be cooked through, but still retain its form and not just instantly fall apart.
Today, instead of slow cooking, I’m just going to pan fry the chicken in a little butter to brown it, and then add some salsa verde to the pan and let it simmer slowly, braising the chicken until cooked through.
If you thought that three-ingredient chicken was easy, my smoky, spicy chipotle mashed potatoes will be even easier. Step one: make regular mashed potatoes. Step two: mix in some canned chipotles in adobo to kick up the heat. 
WARNING: I like it spicy. I got medium salsa verde, and chipotles in adobo are liquid sun by nature. Here’s my handy dandy spice guide for the potatoes:
- Mild/ Medium: 1 chipotle pepper per 3 potatoes
- Medium/ Hot: 2 chipotles peppers per 3 potatoes
- Burnin UP: 3 chipotle peppers per 3 potatoes
Life is all about options, baby.
Didn’t I tell you this dinner was a cinch? Serve some of your favorite veggies on the side to round it out, like this super simple 10-Minute Parmesan Roasted Asparagus.
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, portioned into 4 servings, ½" thick
- 1 jar medium salsa verde, (mild or hot would work too depending on your spice preference!)
- 3 yukon or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- Canned chipotles in adobo
- 8 tablespoons butter, divided
- ¼ cup milk or half-and-half
- salt and pepper
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel and quarter the potatoes, and let cook in the boiling water for 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain.
- Meanwhile, create ½" portions of chicken breast by slicing one thick breast horizontally to create two, or by pounding the chicken to ½" thick and portioning that way.
- Brine your raw chicken by submerging it in warm salt water for 15 minutes before cooking. This keeps the chicken juicy and brings it to room temperature.
- Dry off your chicken completely, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add one tablespoon of butter. Once the butter is melted, add two pieces of chicken to the pan. Cooking the chicken in small batches with space ensures they will get nice and brown.
- Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown, and then let rest on paper towels. Repeat with the other two chicken breasts, (you may want to add another tablespoon of butter to the pan) and let them drain on paper towels as well.
- In the empty pan of chicken drippings, add the jar of salsa verde, and scrape up all the brown bits of flavor on the bottom.
- Once the salsa is simmering, reduce the head to low and add the chicken. Let simmer 10 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, finish your mashed potatoes. Return the drained potatoes to the large pot over low heat.
- Melt 6 tablespoons of butter, (I like 2 tablespoons per potato, but you can adjust!) and add ¼ cup of milk or half-and-half to the potatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper, and use an electric mixer to mash the potatoes.
- Now, add the chipotle peppers. I use two for medium/hot, so adjust accordingly to your taste. Make sure to break up and incorporate the peppers into the potatoes with the electric mixer.
- Serve the chicken with some extra salsa verde and a big scoop of chipotle mashed potatoes.
[…] and healthy side dishes. Sometimes when I’m making something indulgent and wonderful like Two Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Honey Mustard Glaze, or Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan and […]