Queso Covered Chili Lime Chicken

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One of the things I look forward to the most during the holidays is the FOOD! In our family we tend to have family gatherings where most people bring a signature dish or two. With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I still want to be able to create delicious meals that are simple, yet full of flavor in between the holidays. I was inspired to make a queso covered chili lime chicken because it is bursting with fresh flavors. Although it’s nontraditional, this would also be a great dish to take to family get-togethers.

Queso Covered Chili Lime Chicken

Chili Lime Chicken Marinade

chili lime chicken marinade ingredients

Before you do anything, you need to marinade your chicken. You will need 1/4 cup vegetable oil, the juice of one who lime, 4 cloves of garlic, one bunch of cilantro, one jalepeno pepper, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 TBSP. honey. Roughly chop the jalepeno pepper and the garlic.

chili lime chicken marinade

Throw everything in a blender or food procesor and process until smooth. It will be a rich green color.

marinating chicken

I chose to use chicken tenders. Pour the marinade over the chicken tenders and make sure all of the chicken is covered. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours. I recommend marinating it overnight.

RO*TEL Queso with Real Cheese

While the chicken is marinating, you can go ahead and prepare your queso. Of course, you can use the recipe for queso that is right on the back of the RO*TEL can, but I’m going to show you how to make queso with real cheese. #YesYouCAN make delicious, smooth queso with real cheese!

cheese dip ingredients

First, gather your ingredients. You will need 1 cup of milk, 2 TBSP. butter, 2 TBSP. flour, one can of RO*TEL, and one 8 oz. block of cheese of your choice. I’m using a mild cheddar.

roux

The first thing you are going to do is make a roux. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat, and then slowly add the flour. You want to incorporate the flour into the butter, but do not burn it! Once the flour is totally incorporated into the butter, slowly add the milk while whisking. You do not want any lumps. Let the milk mixture simmer until it thickens a little.

rotel

Once the milk mixture has thickened a bit, add the drained can of RO*TEL.

making cheese dip

Next, stir in your cheese. I shred mine by hand before adding it. Stir and stir until it gets all melty.

cheese dip

Yummy, cheese dip!

Grilling the Chicken

PAM grill pan

You can grill your chicken outside on a grill, or you can use a cast iron grill pan. I love my cast iron grill pan. I use PAM cooking spray in between each batch of chicken to oil up the pan.

grilling chicken

Grill the chicken over medium low heat. These tenders took about 5 minutes per side to be completely cooked through.

Queso Covered Chili Lime Chicken

Chili lime chicken

Once your chicken is finished, you can plate your meal. I like to serve the tenders over a bed of Mexican rice. Top with queso and you have a meal that tastes like it came from a restaurant with minimal effort from you! This has seriously become one of my favorite meals of all time!

rotel collage

Want to know where I got all of my ingredients for this meal? Walmart! Find the RO*TEL in the same section as the tomato sauce. Don’t forget to check out the fresh produce section, too! They have it all!

Queso Covered Chili Lime Chicken
Tender chicken marinated in a chili lime sauce and then grilled to perfection and topped with queso made with real cheese.
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Prep Time
2 hr
Cook Time
30 min
Prep Time
2 hr
Cook Time
30 min
For the marinade
  1. 1 lb. chicken tenders
  2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  3. Juice of one lime
  4. 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  5. 1 bunch cilantro
  6. 1 jalepeno, chopped
  7. 1 tsp. chili powder
  8. 1 TBSP. honey
For the queso
  1. 2 TBSP. butter
  2. 2 TBSP. flour
  3. 1 cup milk
  4. 1 can RO*TEL, drained
  5. 8 oz. cheese, shredded
For the chicken
  1. Blend all ingredients for marinade in blender until smooth.
  2. Pour over chicken tenders and marinate covered in the refrigerator at least two hours, preferably overnight.
  3. Grill chicken. Chicken tenders can be grilled in a cast iron grill pan over medium low heat. Grill 5 min. per side.
For the queso
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan.
  2. Add flour and stir until flour and butter is combined.
  3. Slowly whisk in milk.
  4. Let the milk mixture thicken a bit, then add the drained can of RO*TEL.
  5. Stir in cheese. Stir continuously until melted.
Notes
  1. Serve chicken over a bed of rice and top with queso.
Simple Living Mama https://simplelivingmama.com/

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