Spicy Chipotle Grilled Chicken

Fire up the barbeque because this is the best spicy chipotle grilled chicken you'll have all summer. More of a warm heat then spicy, this is a mixture of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (my favorite), garlic, paprika, cumin, chili and cilantro. It's one part southern, one part Mexican and 100 per cent summer grilling food.


You always know you're made a great meal when everyone at the table is eating in determined silence. No time between bites to talk 'cause every flavour is being savoured. And that's exactly how this dinner went down. You can find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Mexican section of grocery stores.

A great accompaniment is Martha Stewart's recipe for Cuban-style roasted sweet potatoes. The sweet flavour of the potatoes and fresh lime juice is the perfect match for the heat of the grilled chipotle chicken. I used the recipe from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, but it's the same as the one posted on Caroline's Favorite Vegan Recipes.

Spicy Chipotle Grilled Chicken (serves 4)
From Bon Appetit, July 2006

Ingredients
1/4 cup canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 chicken breasts

Directions
In a food processor, combine chipotles in adobo, olive oil and garlic cloves and puree until minced. Add chopped onion, chopped cilantro, paprika, ground cumin, chili powder, and salt and process until onion is finely chopped.

Arrange chicken breasts in a pan and spread chipotle mixture over both sides of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight if you're planning ahead.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Grill chicken until cooked through, moving to cooler part of grill as needed to prevent burning and brushing with reserved marinade during last 5 minutes of grilling, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter and serve.

Alternatively, you can grill these on your stove top in a frying pan.

Healthy! Quinoa Stir-Fry with Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

I'm working out of Vancouver for the next few days (with the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay!) and am staying with my sister and her husband. We've had two dinners together now and both have had more then a few similarities. They've both been extraordinarily healthy (a good thing), they've been "one dish" dinners (making it easy to clean-up) and they've both had avocado and cilantro (mmmm).

Now I must say at the onset of both these dinners I didn't think it was going to be enough to fill me up, and both times I was wrong and left pleasantly full. The grilled chicken really makes this a well-rounded and hearty meal. And the quinoa is a good source of iron and amino acids.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Grilled Chicken and Vegetables (serves 3-4)

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small carrot, diced

1 medium red pepper, cored, seeded and thinly chopped

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small red chili, diced

1 cup snow peas

1 cup green beans, cut into half inch pieces

3 small chicken breasts, grilled

2 green onions, thinly chopped

1/2 cup cilantro

1 avocado

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place one cup quinoa and one and a half cups water in a small saucepan with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook undisturbed until the quinoa absorbs all the water, about 15 minutes.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat, add oil and grill the chicken until cooked, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over a medium heat heat. Add carrot, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about one minute. Add red pepper, ginger, garlic and chili. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Add peas and green beans and salt and pepper to taste, continue to stir and cook for a few more minutes.

Add quinoa, stir, and then add green onions, avocado, soy sauce, lime juice, cilantro. Divide stir-fry onto plates and top with sliced grilled chicken. Enjoy.

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Bulgar Salad with Kale, Salami, Olives

A terrific, healthy side dish for dinners or you can enjoy this just as it is for lunch.

Tabouli

This salad is easy to make because the amounts of parsley, mint, tomato, cucumber and scallions you add are forgiving- add more or less to suit your tastes or what you have on hand.

Chicken Breasts with Tomato, Olive and Feta Relish

I've come across the most amazing recipe for grilled or barbeque chicken. Grilled chicken breasts with tomato, olive and feta relish. And if there was even a single morsel left from the dinner I just made, then trust me, I would still be eating. Very happily still eating. Instead, I've had to make due by seriously licking out the bowl that I made the tomato, Kalamata olives and feta relish in and polishing off a square of Ritter's chocolate.

I've been trying to add more chicken to my diet, after many years of not eating it. It's a solid source of protein, and the chicken breast is a healthy choice as it's the leanest part of the bird. It's a perfect meat for a hot barbeque grill or a stove top cast-iron pan. I served this with grilled yellow zucchini and string beans, which is a nice colour contrast to the bright cherry tomatoes and dark olives.


Grilled Chicken Breasts with Tomato, Olive and Feta Relish (serves 4)
Source: Bon Appetit, June 2007

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 6 to 7 ounces each)

Directions
In a medium bowl, add cherry tomatoes, olives, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, mint, vinegar and feta cheese. Season relish to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue or heat a stove top cast-iron pan to a medium-high heat. Brush chicken on both sides with remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates and slice, if desired. Top with relish and serve.

Parmesan Chicken with Jamie Oliver

"If you're going to eat three times a day until the day that you die, why not be good at it." Jamie Oliver

Recently on a special edition of the New York Times The Minimalist, Jamie Oliver provides viewers with a little inspiration and shows us how to make a delicious looking Parmesan Chicken. And, Jamie provides us with one more use for a frying pan- a mallet.

[Watch the video]

My sister Lorelei is coming over from Vancouver this weekend to spend a little time with her less then able-bodied sister (me) and has kindly offered to cook anything I like. Well Lorelei, I hope you watch this video because it's a big contender for what we'll be making. And sadly, by "we" I mean you.

Parmesan Chicken with Jamie Oliver
(The following measurements are a rough estimate from the video)

Ingredients
1 tsp thyme, minced
1 tsp rosemary, minced
salt
1 tsp lemon zest
4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
4 slices of prosciutto
2 chicken breasts
olive oil
pepper
balsamic vinegar

Instruction
Using a clean working space, take the chicken breasts and top with minced thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, salt, grated Parmesan cheese and prosciutto. Cover with plastic wrap and whack the chicken with a mallet or the flat bottom of a frying pan until its half an inch thick. Add a little salt and pepper to the other side of each chicken breast.

Heat a frying pan and add olive oil. Ad the chicken breasts, prosciutto side down and sear until crispy. Flip and cook the other side. Chicken should be tender and cooked through.

Once done, plate the seared chicken and drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Parmesan crusted chicken served with ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. A classic summer recipe that takes a full flavour advantage of the bounty of fresh basil. It's a toolkit recipe.

I first tried this recipe during my first few months of becoming an aspiring home chef, nine years ago. I bought Donna Hay's New Food Fast and was determined to become a fantastic cook- in less then 40 years. Given where I was starting from, I thought it would take about that long.


There are a lot of recipes out there for Parmesan crusted chicken, and they are all for the same thing. Delicious, juicy, Parmesan crusted chicken. Try this recipe. Don't serve it with rice- take my word, chicken and rice is WAY overdone. Serve it with grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, green beans or asparagus. And, next time I try it I'm going to add some black olives to the dish. Mmmmm.


Parmesan Crusted Chicken (serves 2)
(adapted from New Food Fast by Donna Hay)

Ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 ripes tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
balsamic vinegar
salt

Directions
Cut each chicken breast into 2 flat pieces. Dip each piece in the egg whites and then press the chick into a bowl with the grated Parmesan and black pepper.

Heat a skillet and add oil over a medium high heat. Add the chicken. Cook about 3 minutes on each or until golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and chop the fresh basil. Add into a bowl with salt and vinegar and set aside.

Serve the chicken topped with the tomatoes and basil. Grate extra Parmesan on top.
Optional: add a handful of black olives. Enjoy!