Friday, February 4, 2011

Chicken Picado (Like Carlos O' Kelly's)

Anyone who knows me, knows how addicted to Mexican food I really am, & one of my favorite Mexican restaurants is Carlos O' Kelly's. For about 5 years, I would always get the same thing from there, Chicken Picado. Just recently, I've started expanding what I eat from their menu, but I still always crave the Chickemn Picado.

Awhile back, I was really craving the dish, but couldn't afford to make the trip to the restaurant, so I searched forever online for a similar version I could make at home. What I found isn't quite the same, but it definitely cured my craving! Now, I may even like this at-home version better than that from Carlos O' Kelly's! Here's is my slightly adapted version of what I found on www.recipelink.com.

For the picado sauce:

1 cup milk
1 8oz. container sour cream
1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves minced fresh garlic
Corn starch mix to thicken sauce (2 tsp corn starch mixed with 2 tsp water)
1 tomato, diced & drained (save juice)

For the chicken:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
6-10 green onions, sliced thin (whites from greens after slicing)
1 green pepper, diced

Also needed:
16 oz. shredded monterrey jack cheese
1 package small flour tortillas


Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit


Melt 1/2 stick of butter in saute pan over medium heat. Saute the white portions of the green onions, bell pepper, and chicken. Cover & cook until chicken is completely white. Set aside.


Combine milk, sour cream, 1 stick of butter, salt, pepper, and minced garlic in skillet over medium heat. Stir and heat till sauce starts to boil. Transfer sauce to blender & puree until smooth. Transfer back to skillet. Continue to heat till boiling. Add cornstarch mixture & stir. Add tomato juice from diced tomatoes & stir. Transfer back to blender & puree. Cover and set aside.

In a glass baking dish (I use an 8x8) put the chicken, peppers & onions mixture in the bottom of the pan, & cover with picado sauce puree. Top with LOTS of monterrey jack cheese, the green onion & diced tomato, & bake in the oven until cheese is melted, & the sauce is golden & bubbling around the edges, about 30 minutes.




Warm 2-3 tortillas per person in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Ladle the chicken picado in the middle of the tortillas, fold, & enjoy!

Serves about 2 people.

7 comments:

  1. Glad you liked my recipe. Took me nearly 12 times to get this one. Now I make it differently. I sauté garlic and white onions and green peppers in butter till tender. Then I set aside. Now I cook the diced chicken and season with Kroger brand fajita seasoning. I cook it just enough to get a slight crisp to the chicken. Then I add sauté mix and heavy cream. Bring to boil. No thickening needed. If still thin then add cheese to the sauce. Now just bake as before. Much easier and Quicker than before. Enjoy. Chad Agler

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  2. do you really NEED to puree it??

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  3. This is a great recipe! It is now a favorite of our house! I may or may not have once been an employee there and this is really close.

    Sauteing up the chicken with onion and peppers is good, but I use yellow onions instead of green. When they make theirs, the tomatoes and chives are added after it is baked. They don't add tomato juice at all, though.

    I'm not sure exactly how they make their butter garlic sauce, but this tastes great!

    I'm not trying to "correct" you or anything, just putting my two cents in!

    Dee, I don't puree it (I don't have a blender or anything) and it turns out fine. It might make the sauce come out smoother or thicker. Letting it stand for a bit after baking thickens it up too.

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  4. I am so glad I have found this recipe and can't wait to try it. I moved to the east coast in 2000 leaving behind Carlos O'Kellys which I absolutely love. Chicken Picado was the only thing I would eat ( ha 3 times a week on some occassions). Since I moved away, I would definately go back home and that consisted of going to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the one in we visited burned down a few years ago. Ugggg get on the east coast please!!!!

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  5. Does anyone know how to make the butter garlic sauce from Carlos O Kelly's? I'm pregnant with number 2 and each pregnancy I CRAVE Carlos O Kelly's!! And all they have in Louisiana is seafood! LOL I miss Kansas! I need the butter garlic sauce!! PLEASE HELP!! :) Thanks~ Ashley

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  6. This was close but not quite it. It tasted too heavily of sour cream for my liking but my husband and son really enjoyed it. They haven’t ever had the real deal though :) I think I’m gonna have to make a drive to Topeka soon to satisfy my pregnancy craving.

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