Spicy Chicken Ropa Vieja and Smashed Baked Potato

This is another way to spice up your chicken dinner! This is meat and potatoes reinvented!

2 bone in skin on chicken breast
1 bullion cube
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup water
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk

4 potatoes scrubbed
4 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 wedges laughing cow cheese
2 tablespoons finely minced onion
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 cup finely minced baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste

This is a great meal to make when you have just enough time to start dinner and run out to baseball practice. Place the bullion, chili powder, cumin, salt, cayenne, pepper, vinegar, water and chicken into your slow cooker. Turn this to high for 2-2 1/2 hours. Remove from the chicken to cool. While the chicken is cooling place the flour and butter in a medium sauce pan.
Let this come to a bubble for one minute then whisk in the sauce that the chicken cooked in and the milk. Let this thicken to almost a gravy then shred the chicken and add it to the sauce. Let this simmer until ready to serve. When the chicken is half cooked place the four potatoes in aluminum foil sheets and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil each and season with salt and pepper. Wrap then tightly and place in a 450 degree oven. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream and laughing cow cheese. Add in the onions, spinach, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Once the potatoes are cooked remove the, from the foil and let cool enough to handle. Once cool smash them in with the cheese mixture. Serve the chicken and sauce over a heaping mound of smashed potatoes! For more on this recipe or any others please email me at alesia.leach@gmail.com