Salsa Chicken & Sweet-Sour Peppers

While I gravitate to multiple step, complicated recipes, sometimes it's nice to throw dinner in the oven and sit down while it cooks. Adventures in the kitchen are good for lazy days, but sometimes you need to get food on the table RIGHT NOW.

Three ingredients, thirty minutes, 1 pan.

Ready? Of course you're ready.

Salsa Chicken

1 1/2 cups of your favorite salsa (I used Roasted Garlic Salsa from Trader Joe's)
2 defrosted, trimmed chicken breasts
1 cup shredded light cheese (I used a mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 350. Get out an 8x8 Pyrex baking dish. Don't grease it! You don't need to. I said this was easy!

Add the chicken. Here's a helpful tip- just defrost the chicken in this pan. That way you have even less to clean up.


Top the chicken with the salsa. Layer with cheese. Make sure the chicken is fully covered- any exposed parts may burn.

Bake for 30 minutes or until juices run clear and the top is golden brown.

I serve this alongside Sweet-Sour peppers. Again, this couldn't be simpler and requires minimal supervision.

Sweet-Sour Peppers

2 medium bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 medium red or white onion, sliced into strips
*Note: Try to keep all strips the same size so they'll have a similar cooking time.
Salt
Vinegar- I used white balsamic, but you could use regular balsamic, apple cider vinegar- plain white vinegar would work fine, too.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan (the one with sides). Chop up 2 bell peppers and 1 medium onion. Toss them into the pan and season with a three-fingered pinch of salt ~1/4 tsp. Saute until soft and a bit brown. Add in roughly two tablespoons of vinegar- twice around the pan in Rachael Ray measuring. Let it bubble and reduce to fully coat the veggies. Cook another 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

This meal feels like cheating because it's so easy, but it always satisfies. Get creative and swap the salsa for pizza sauce for Pizza Chicken or chutney for Indian Chicken. This recipe practically begs for improvisation- enjoy!