Blackened chicken and cilantro lime Quinoa

Blackened chicken and cilantro lime Quinoa

So, I was hesitant about this recipe because I did not love Quinoa when I made it in the form of "Quinoa Mac and Cheese". Honestly, I think if you are going to make Mac and Cheese....don't mess with it. Nothing can replace or be as good as a traditional homemade Mac and Cheese.

I went ahead and tried Quinoa again and I am glad that I did. I messed up on the recipe because I used less Quinoa and I didn't adjust the lime, so it was very "limy". However, I  still liked all the flavour combinations when the Quinoa, Chicken and Avocado sauce were eaten together. The chicken was my favourite part of the dish. I was full of flavour and it was spicy, but the avocado sauce helped balance the heat.

I found this recipe easy to follow and it came together pretty quickly. I will be making this again!

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
½ Teaspoon of Paprika
¼ Teaspoon of Salt
¼ Teaspoon of Pepper
¼ Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
¼ Teaspoon of Onion Powder
¼ Teaspoon of Cumin
1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
2 Cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock
1 Cup of Quinoa
Juice and Zest from Two Limes
A Dash of Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Cilantro, chopped
2 Avocados
½ Small carton of Greek yogurt

Teeny bit of milk to thicken sauce to desired consistency

Combine all the dry seasonings in a small bowl. Mix them together and then season both sides of each chicken breast. 

Add the teaspoon of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Heat the olive oil for a minute over medium/high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for seven minutes on each side with the lid on.

Add the chicken stock and quinoa to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed.

After the chicken breasts have cooked all the way through, remove them from the pan and let them rest for seven minutes before slicing them.

Add the warm quinoa to a large bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine.

Serve the sliced chicken breast on top of the quinoa. If you find the blackened seasoning too spicy, you can add a quick and easy avocado cream sauce to cool it down.

 Avocado Sauce -  combine avocado, greek yogurt, teaspoon of lemon juice and a little cilantro in a mini-food processor. Add milk to obtain desired consistency. **I didn't use a mini food processor, I just mashed it all up and then used a hand blender to mix it up.**