Spicing up chicken

Let’s face it, chicken gets boring…fast. I’ve had a moratorium on chicken in my kitchen for about a month or so. I’ve done everything I could to avoid it, as I have a very bad habit of eating something regularly for weeks and then getting so sick of it that just the sight of it makes me ill. When I first found out I was diabetic I defaulted to the supermodel diet – chicken and brown rice. I figured I needed to consume more whole grains and chicken was easy – low fat, easy to prepare, but utterly boring.

When I was out shopping the other day my local grocery store had a really good sale on chicken and I couldn’t resist. Now the big problem is what could I do differently with it to avoid the same dishes that got it banned from my kitchen temporarily. For some reason I’ve become fascinated with dishes that use cinnamon in a savory manner and I’ve come to use it quite liberally in my cooking. My favorite way to make a moist chicken kabob is to simply marinate some chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and cinnamon. It’s very simple, but very good.

So, I retired to the kitchen to investigate the spice rack and came up with the following, Mediterranean influenced dish that turned out quite good, and it all starts with the spices:

Spice Mix

½ tsp Paprika
½ tsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Ground Ginger
¼ tsp Ground Coriander
¼ tsp Cinnamon

Other Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast
¼ c. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Zest of a medium orange
Juice of a medium orange
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Wash, dry and dice the chicken into 1” cube chunks, put into a medium bowl
• Coat the chicken with the olive oil and spice mixture
• Add the garlic, orange zest and juice, stir to combine
• Put chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for about an hour
• When the chicken is done marinating, heat a saute pan with a drizzle of olive oil and cook until done, about 5 to 7 minutes

Accompaniment

For this meal, I kept the sides pretty simple. I made a baby spinach salad that I dressed with some olive oil and lemon juice and then hit it with some fresh ground pepper and sea salt. I also made an Almond and Apricot Couscous for a starch. If you want to give it a try, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 c. Israeli couscous, uncooked
1 ¼ c. water, or chicken broth
Medium onion, diced
¼ c. dried apricots, diced
¼ c. sliced almonds
1 tsp. dried or fresh cilantro
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Drizzle some olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat
• Add the onion and sauté until translucent
• Add the Israeli couscous, stirring to combine
• Toast the couscous for three to four minutes, or until fragrant
• Add the water and bring to a boil, then cover
• Reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed
• Fluff the couscous with a fork, then add in cilantro, apricots and almonds
• Lightly dress with salt and pepper to taste

Looking for something interesting and new for dinner?  Give this a try. If you do, drop me a quick note to let me know how it went. Enjoy!