In the modern American kitchen, one would be hard pressed to find a household that does not have frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. I, myself always have these on hand. I use them in soups, ethnic dishes, and for quick weeknight meals. They are very convenient but they can tend to taste very flat. That is why the cooking world is up to its nose in chicken recipes. There are thousands of recipes out there for how to make a boneless skinless chicken breast taste like something more than cardboard. You see, the skin and bones of meat will lend a lot of flavor to the meat in the cooking process. The breast meat has a mild flavor to begin with, but when you remove the skin and bones before cooking, the meat is terribly bland if the cook doesn’t take extra steps to season the bejeezus out of the meat.
Chili Lime Chicken
(My recipe)
the zest of 2 limes
the juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tblsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
Begin by zesting the two limes. I have a microplane that I use for this and it’s a kitchen tool that I couldn’t live without. I use it to grate cheese, nutmeg and for zesting citrus.
Place the zest in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Cut the two limes in half and juice them into the bowl with the zest. I have a reamer that I use, and yes, it’s another indispensable kitchen tool that I adore.
Add the olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper to the bowl and whisk well. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat a grill and allow the chicken to warm slightly (just below room temperature) on your counter while the grill is heating.
Once the grill is hot, cook the chicken breasts for at least 4 minutes per side, depending on how hot the grill is. And yes, that’s a George Foreman Grill….and I love it so leave me alone about it! That thing is awesome for winter-time grilling and small time grilling where I don’t want to go through the whole process of heating the charcoal hibachi.
As a great side dish for this chicken, I made roasted asparagus. I know that some people tend to be tempted to make sauces and a bunch of floof for asparagus, but it really is one of those vegetables that are delicious the way they are and don’t need much in the way of seasoning. Simply snap the woody bottoms off of the stems, wash, and spread out on a baking sheet (and preheat an oven to 425 degrees F). Drizzle about 2 Tblsp. of extra-virgin olive oil over the asparagus. Then sprinkle 1 tsp. of both salt and pepper and toss the asparagus for even coating. Roast in the oven for 5-12 minutes, depending on the size of your asparagus (they can very from very skinny to very thick so watch carefully).
What we have here is a quick and delicious dinner. When quick cooking time is a necessity, these chicken breasts are insanely convenient. With a little finesse, they can make a very decent meal. Enjoy!
