You know, writing a blog has taught me a lot of things about myself. Firstly, I really enjoy any excuse to bake, and will often bake with the excuse ‘it’s for my blog’. Secondly, when I do cook savory food, you know, to actually eat for lunch and dinner (yes my diet unfortunately cannot consist of sugar alone…being a grown up sucks) I tend to always cook chicken. I don’t know why this is, but it seems like I gravitate towards cooking chicken. I guess it is because it’s so versatile, and out of every meat I am the most comfortable with cooking it. I feel like I should really change it up a little bit, but it seems like every time I go to cook something new, I end up cooking it with chicken.
Not that there is really anything wrong with that, I mean there are so many amazing things you can do with humble chicken. It really fits into most cuisines and you can really end up never cooking the same thing twice. And when I cooked this chicken dish I just had to share it on the blog, as it was really delicious and yet another one for the perfect weeknight meal archives!
At the moment in Melbourne, lemons and limes are really cheap. It is actually really great, because it is hard to justify buying them when they get expensive. But it’s so great to have them, whether it’s for marinades, dressings for salads or for mixing into drinks, they are almost as versatile as chicken! So when I realized that they were so cheap, I bought heaps of limes especially, because I find these are always the first thing to go up in price, then realizing that maybe I had gone a little overboard. I mean I can consume limes and lemons in the truck load, but I am only one person! So I had to work out a way to use my limes before they went off.
So I decided to make up a recipe and give it a go that combined my love of chicken with my love of limes. And the result was really delicious. What I ended on was a tasty Mexican inspired marinade that really ticked all the boxes. It was simple to prepare, quick to cook, healthy and delicious. What more could you want? Just add some salad and you have a perfect weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 500 grams of Chicken Breast
- 2 fresh limes, juiced
- 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh coriander, to serve
Instructions
- To make the marinade, in a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, chilli flakes, paprika, ground coriander seeds, ground cumin, garlic cloves and olive oil. Stir thoroughly.
- Cut your chicken breast into even, smaller pieces and season with salt and pepper. Place in the bowl with the marinade, and stir to coat. You can also use your hands to really get an even spread across all pieces of chicken.
- Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.
- Once you are ready to cook your chicken, take the bowl out of the fridge. Heat some additional oil in a skillet on a medium heat. Place the chicken pieces in the skillet once it is hot, and cook on both sides, turning when each side is golden.
- Cook for around 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through completely. Serve with salad and some extra lime juice, or some steamed vegetables. Cover the chicken with some fresh coriander if desired.
This meal was super easy to make, and was the perfect option for me to take for lunches with a salad during the week. The marinade itself was super tasty, and was full of Mexican flavour, so I was actually excited to eat my salad for lunch!
Sometimes I find it hard to find chicken recipes online that are just for delicious, healthy, simple marinades. I feel like this one might be a good one for those out there finding the same problem. It is really delicious and you don’t need to feel the least bit guilty eating it. Plus with the simplicity of ingredients it should be something you can just whip up quickly before heading to work in the morning, then all you need to do is cook it when you get home. I feel like hopefully you will enjoy this recipe as much as I did, because it was absolutely delicious and ridiculously healthy.
Who doesn’t love a healthy, simple weeknight meal? I know I am a fan, and I’m trying to be a little more practical with my cooking, so this one is a winner in my books!
What do you like to cook during the week? Are you as obsessed with chicken as I am?
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
