Peruvian Chicken

Processed with VSCOcam with s3 preset

 

I love California, as a matter of fact I’d be hard pressed to name a state within this union that I’d consider leaving California for.  One of the many great things about living here, besides the diversity here, is the weather.  On a great day, the temperature ranges between 78F and 82F.  Since we live by the beach, there is seldom a day without a cool ocean breeze.  Lately however, the temperatures have been 10-20F degrees above normal, and for the last two weeks temps have settled in around 89-98F—HOT!!!!!!  So hot that the last thing I want to do is to turn on the stove.  So we’ve adapted, I’ve been marinating meat in the morning for my husband to grill in the evening when things start to cool down a bit.  This marinade is super simple, and if you’ve ever had grilled Peruvian chicken you know how yummy and it can be.  The vinegar in this really gives this chicken a yummy tang and kick.  I’ve tried this with Rice vinegar and white wine, both are yummy, but plain white distilled vinegar is just as yummy.

 

Pin It!

Pin It!

 

 

 

Here’s what you need:

Ingredients

1 lb of boneless skinless organic chicken thighs

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

3 cloves of garlic grated

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar–can sub with white vinegar or rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of olive oil–can sub with oil of your choice

sea salt to taste

Directions: Generously season the chicken with sea salt and set aside.  Add the cumin powder, paprika, garlic, oil, and vinegar to a pan or a bowl big enough to marinate you chicken in.

Mix well,

Then add chicken,

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

Toss to coat the chicken in the marinade.

Processed with VSCOcam with s3 preset

Cover with foil, refrigerate until you’re ready to grill.  Cook chicken on a hot grill for 15-20 minutes, or in an oven set on 425F  15-20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!  I served this with a delicious Avocado and cilantro crema,  I’ll post the recipe for that soon–sooo yummy!  This chicken also makes for great chicken taco’s!

Processed with VSCOcam with s3 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with s3 preset

 

Grilled Cumin Spiced Chicken Kabobs

 

Grilled Cumin Spiced Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Cumin Spiced Chicken Kabobs

I made these chicken kabobs over the fourth of July weekend, and everyone loved them.  They were super easy to make and didn’t require a lot of time or effort to marinate. They’re a perfect quick fix dinner item, so I’m giving you the recipe.  My husband is still raving about these.  It just goes to show that a great meal doesn’t require a lot of time or ingredients.

Logo Pinterest-01

Pin it!

 

 

 

Prep time:10 minutes

Cook time:15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb of boneless skinless organic chicken thighs–cubed

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of paprika

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt to taste

Directions:  In a large bowl mix the ingredients for the chicken kabobs together,

image

then place the chicken on skewers.

image

Grill chicken on a hot grill until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

image

Serve and enjoy!

Smokey Paprika and Lime Chicken Kabobos

 

Smokey Paprika and Lime Chicken Kabobs

Smokey Paprika and Lime Chicken Kabobs

I think that there is definitely an art to marinades. I’m still learning that particular art. I recently purchased the highly acclaimed Modernist Cuisine book set. It’s massive and filled with information–extremely useful information. I’m only on the second book about 1000 pages into this probably 7000 page set, and the information that I’ve learned has completely changed the way that I view cooking.  This set is amazing! If you’re interested in the how’s and why’s of cooking, from a scientific perspective—then you want this set. If you can save the $550 plus dollars it costs to buy this book set then I highly recommend it.  Or just stay tuned to my blog, lot’s of changes are coming.  Not to mention appliances. One is the immersion circulator that I’ve been wanting for years.  Another is a vacuum chamber sealer.  I returned my Food saver in preparation for this machine.  This machine makes marination super easy, and effective.  It sucks out all of the air in the chamber and compresses everything in it. Thus making pickles in a matter of minutes, and  infusing steak or chicken and fish with marinades in minutes. Long gone will be my days of marinating anything over night.  I’m really excited for my vacuum chamber to arrive. Not having my Food Saver or a vacuum machine has been torture, but life goes on.  This particular marinade is a mixture of dry and wet ingredients.  It’s really delicious, and so flavorful, that it doesn’t need more than a few minutes to flavor the chicken–gotta love a quick marinade with no fancy equipment.

Pin It!

Pin It!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1 lb of skinless boneless chicken thighs, cubed into one inch pieces

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

Directions: Add the onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, olive oil and lime juice to a small bowl and mix well.

image

Season the chicken generously with sea salt and black pepper, add it to a large bowl.  Add the marinade paste to the chicken then toss well to cover the chicken with the marinade.

image

Place chicken on skewers and grill cooking until chicken is cooked through about 10-12 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

image

Grilled Greek Chicken Salad

Grilled Greek Chicken Salad

Grilled Greek Chicken Salad

One my favorite salads, besides Caesar salad is Greek salad. I could eat one every day, and when I was pregnant I did. While most pregnant women crave chocolate or some other weird concoction of things, I craved the crisp freshness of salad. I loved romaine lettuce with an almost unhealthy passion. It’s crunchy and crisp texture was comforting to me, paired with the tanginess of my favorite Feta cheese, I was in heaven. I often made Greek salad for dinner when I was pregnant, because it was soothing to my unending nausea. I would eat it without chicken, because meat just wasn’t my friend when I was pregnant. However, my husband needed something more substantial so I would grill chicken for him, and add it to the salad, which made it a satisfying meal for us both. Now that I don’t have a meat aversion, this Greek salad with grilled chicken is one of my favorite meals. It’s light, but filling, and oh so satisfying.

Pin It!

Pin It!

 

 

 

 

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups of organic romaine lettuce, chopped and washed
1/2 cup of organic cherrie tomatoes
1/2 cup of Feta cheese, crumbled or cubed
1/2 cup of kalmata olives
1/2 cup of organic Persian cucumbers cubed
1/4 cup of sliced bell pepper
4 organic boneless skinless chicken thighs, or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinade for chicken
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/3 cup of lemon juice
1 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium clove of garlic grated
2 Tablespoons of organic full fat Greek yogurt
Sea salt to taste

Ingredients for Salad dressing:
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Mix the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a small bowl, then pour it over both sides of the chicken. Meanwhile preheat your grill pan, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, it should be nice and hot–smoking before your chicken goes on, so that you get nice grill marks. Place your chicken on the grill and cook without turning on one side for 5 minutes, then flip it on the other side for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest while you assemble the ingredients for the salad.

Place all of the ingredients for the salad dressing in a mason jar, seal it and give it a good shake. If you don’t have a mason jar, just put the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.

Place all the ingredients for the salad, save for the resting grilled chicken, in a bowl and toss well. Assemble the salad on plates and top with the chicken, I slice the chicken just before adding it to the salad. Drizzle a few tablespoons the salad dressing over each plate and enjoy!