Peruvian Chicken & Green Sauce

My middle son and I really adore the restaurant Alpaca... not only because we are suckers for animal themed branding, but because it is delicious and fresh.  The flavors are hard to find anywhere else in the quick food genre.  So, I was especially excited when a recipe by Half Baked Harvest popped up in my feed for Peruvian chicken.  (Also - check out her recipes - there are many, many great ones!)  I took her original recipe and made my own modifications to fit my family.  This entire meal was done in less than 30 minutes - which makes it ideal for our busy house.  

Recipe - (Feeds our family of 5 including teenage boys with one lunch of leftovers - so adjust as necessary)
To make Marinade:
- 2 to 3 lbs of HHF boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken tenderloins, or chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup olive oil (plus more as needed)
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed (I cheated and used garlic infused olive oil because I was in a rush)
- 1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno depending on size and heat desire, sliced (Seeds increase the heat, so we used 1/2 of a large jalapeno with seeds)
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher coarse salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/3 of a bundle of fresh cilantro (you can chop or just rip this as you add it)
***Add all above ingredients to a gallon size ziploc bag or a large sealable glass dish. Seal and massage or toss to spread the marinade all over the chicken. Add more olive oil as needed to coat chicken with marinade. Refrigerate for an hour to overnight.  (I did this in the morning on the way out the door to a weekend youth soccer game.)

Green Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup mayo (I used Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayo)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (in a pinch, you can use a 1/2 of milk or cream and add 1/2 tbsp of lime or lemon juice or white vinegar, stir and let sit a few minutes until it thickens a bit... this is what I did since I realized after starting the meal prep that my costco size greek yogurt my son picked out was actually vanilla flavored and not plain)
- 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1/2 to 2 jalapenos (this is really going to depend on your spice tolerance)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice

Additional needed ingredients:
- 1 to 3 mangos, diced (we used 3 because we really like them and they were on sale)
- 1 to 3 avocados, diced
- Remainder of the bunch of cilantro, chopped
- Rice or quinoa or a combination of both, as desired, to serve underneath the chicken and sauce.  I put mine on a bed of fresh super greens, but the rest of my family used a rice/quinoa combo.

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  Spread chicken and marinade mixture out onto a baking sheet or in a shallow baking dish.  cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on cuts, until chicken begins to crisp and is cooked through (over 165 degrees internal temp).
3.  While the chicken is cooking, cook rice or quinoa, if using, to package instructions.
4. In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients for the green sauce except for the jalapenos.  Blend well and then add the jalapenos, one quarter at time - blending and tasting in between - until you reach your family's heat tolerance.  Our family has a broad range from a little to a lot of heat - so I tried to find a sweet spot for us which was a half of a large jalapeno with seeds.  
5.  To serve, add chicken to a bowl of rice, quinoa, or greens/salad and top with desired amount of sauce.  Add to the top, your desired amount of mango, avocado, and chopped cilantro!  Enjoy!

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