Pollo con Crema

Last night I needed to use up the last of a chicken that I'd roasted a few days back. I most certainly did not want to go shopping but was still determined to do this delicious chicken some justice. Then, I was gifted with a memory of this lovely little Mexican restaurant that we used to frequent in Cleveland, Ohio and my favorite dish there, Pollo con Crema, which is basically chicken, onions, and peppers in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Perfect! I have tons of onions in the bottom drawer of my fridge and peppers that I pulled before the last frost hit. For my cream sauce I used a variation on a White Sauce recipe to which I regularly turn--found in my worn copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 11th ed. Here's how I whipped this up:

Ingredients (amounts approximate)
1 white onion, sliced
1 chocolate pepper (medium intensity), sliced
2 jalapenos, chopped finely
1 1/2 cups chicken

Saute the onion for a couple of minutes, then throw in the peppers. Add the chicken right before starting the sauce in a separate pan.

While the vegetables are softening, make up the sauce.
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup grated cheese
(Be sure to have these ingredients ready to go ahead of time--cooking show style. Things move quickly while making this sauce, and you don't want it to burn.)

In a small saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour and salt. Stir in milk all at once. Cook and stir until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and continue to stir until bubbly. Cook and stir one minute more.

Pour this sauce over the chicken and vegetables.
Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.






Here it is, bubbling on the stove and almost ready for eating!