Chicken Breasts with Grilled Pineapple and Tomatillo Salsa

Serves 4

Sweet onions and juicy pineapple hit the grill for a little extra flavor before being paired with tomatillo salsa, fresh cilantro and lime juice. Tender grilled chicken breasts are topped with this perfect balance of mild spice and sweet crunch for a show-stopping dish with minimal prep.

Ingredients

1/2 large sweet white onion (such as Vidalia), cut into 1/2-inch-thick ring slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups roasted salsa verde (Herdez makes a wonderful salsa verde with no added junk)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime (or more, to taste)
2 skinless, boneless whole chicken breasts, halved

Method

Heat grill to medium-high. Place onion rings in a bowl and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil, salt and pepper. Grill, turning from time to time, until just charred and soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to let cool.

Rub all sides of the pineapple with 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining oil then arrange on grill and cook for about 1 minute per side. Remove and let cool.

When cooled, roughly chop onions and pineapple and place in a bowl. Add salsa verde, cilantro and lime juice.

Rub chicken breasts all over with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then arrange on grill and cook until golden brown all over and completely cooked through (about 165° on an instant read thermometer), turning from time to time to create hatch marks, if you like.

Transfer chicken to a platter, spoon grilled pineapple salsa over the top and serve immediately.

Almond Crusted Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Basil

Almond meal, which is made from ground blanched almonds, forms the nutty crust on this baked chicken, topped with slowly caramelized sweet onions and fresh basil. Serve this dish as a main course along with roasted or mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and a green salad.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup almond meal
1 T mustard (I prefer Great Value because it doesn’t have added “Spices” (a.k.a. MSG))

1/4 cup agave nectar

4 (4- to 6-ounce) chicken fillets, skin removed
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Method

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add Vidalia onions, basil, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and slightly caramelized, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in lime juice and keep warm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease the bottom of a baking dish with coconut oil or use non-stick foil; set aside. Put almond meal on a large plate; set aside.

I pounded the chicken flat and it made it wonderfully crispy, but this step is not necessary. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Combine the agave nectar and mustard. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mixture over the top of each chicken fillet then gently roll each in the almond meal, pressing to make sure it sticks. Arrange chicken in prepared baking dish in a single layer and bake until chicken is done to your liking, 15 to 25 minutes.

Transfer chicken to plates, top with caramelized onions, garnish with green onions and serve.

Southwestern chicken rolls

Spicy sesame noodles with chicken

This was really good. The kids saw this had peanut butter and honey in it and now refer to this dish as PB&H noodles. It got rave reviews from the fam and is a definite do-over.

Herb roasted chicken

This is another recipe from the What's cookin' good lookin' series on the website What's in it for me? Check it out!

Ok, this chicken is awesome and quite easy if you own a large (whole-chicken size crock pot).

I prefer to use boneless chicken breasts and modified the recipe thus:

Half the ingredients:
3 cups water
1/4 C sea salt
etc.

1 and 1/2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts (or approximately 6 breasts)

1. I followed the directions for step one above (halving the ingredients in the first step). The longer you soak the chicken, the more AMAZINGLY TENDER the chicken is. I think I ended up (unintentionally) soaking for two days and it was like slicing into butter! Yum!

2. I'm all about the grill lately, so instead of using the crock pot, I combined the remaining spices, and substituted butter for olive oil. I mixed it around/rubbed it on the breasts. On medium heat, grill 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. What you get is an amazingly sweet, amazingly tender chicken breast. I couldn't get enough of it.

This chicken was delicious with mashed sweet potatoes.

**as a side note, the hubby liked it the first time, but the second time he confessed that it reminded him too much of fish (??! I hate fish just as much as he does, I don't see see fishiness in it). Ironically, this is one of my very favorites. Figures! What are ya gonna do? **

Sesame Chicken

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

4-6 chicken breasts (cut in half)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. sesame seeds
1/4 c. orange juice
honey

1. cook garlic and butter in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Just until garlic begins to turn brown. Stir in brown sugar until melted.
2. Combine baking powder, salt, paprika, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Drag chicken through mixture and place in skillet with garlic/butter/brown sugar mixture. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning over once, until browned.
   
3. Add orange juice. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes, turning once, until chicken is glazed and has clear juices. Drizzle honey and sprinkle sesame seeds over top of chicken. Simmer until sauce thickens and almost disappears. Watch carefully to prevent scorching. Allow to sit for a few minutes to cool.
4. Remove chicken from pan. Excellent served over brown rice or with fried rice.
   

I was a bit doubtful about this meal with my picky eaters, and while it was cooking it didn't smell the most promising, but I got rave reviews from the fam. It is definitely a do-over. I served it with steamed broccoli, rice, and steamed green beans.