Dinner Tonight: Mexican Chicken

9/28/2013

Retired dietitian Kris Johnson sent in this recipe for chicken that she says comes from Mexico. It “may be made with any kind of chicken,” she writes, “tender broilers or fryers, roasting chicken, or plump fowl.”

Mexican Chicken

4½ pound chicken

1½ teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chili powder

¼ teaspoon oregano

½ cup flour

¼ cup butter, melted

¼ cup cooking fat

1 cup sliced onion

½ cup stuffed olives, sliced

1 cup water

3 tablespoons flour

¼ cup milk

½ cup broken walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°.

Scrub chicken with soap and water, rinse, dry, and disjoint (if using a whole chicken).

Mix salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano, and flour in a large paper bag. Add the chicken pieces to the bag and shake until they are well-floured all over.

Transfer chicken pieces to a casserole and top with melted butter and fat. Cover, and bake for 1 hour. Add onion, olives, and water, and bake 1 more hour or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken to a platter, and pour liquid from casserole into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir in flour and milk, and cook until it now longer tastes like raw flour, about 5 minutes. Add nuts, and pour over chicken. Serve with flaky rice or fried cornmeal mush.

— Kris Johnson

Have a recipe that is fast and healthy? Send it to food@theblade.com or Dinner Tonight, The Blade, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660.