Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa Salad

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa Salad

Posted by Tina / 27 comments » / *Recipes, Chicken/Poultry, Gluten-Free, Healthy, Main Courses

I finally have another recipe for ya’ll! 🙂 Thanks for being patient with me the past 2 weeks with everything going on! You, friends, are THE. BEST.

Okay, so It is getting FLIPPING H.O.T. here in South Florida. Like, walk outside and it feels like a daggum sauna hit you in the face! For Real.

That means it’s time to turn the ol’ oven OFF & get back to doing the majority of our cooking on the grill! I don’t mind though, I happen to be a huge fan of the grill! So be expecting lots of grilled delights coming up on here!

Let’s talk quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah). It’s hugely popular right now being that it’s filled with nutrients and is naturally gluten free!

Can I be honest with you guys? I’ve made it before and I’ve just never been a huge fan (GASP). However, I’ve recently tried versions that friends have made where they are more like a “pasta salad” sans the pasta but coated in a delicious dressing and lots of chopped herbs and veggies in them. Now THIS I can get down with.

Hubs? Still a little skeptical. Some friends from church recommended this southwestern style recipe from All Recipes and you know me, I can never follow those things to a “T”! This is my version ramped up with a little garlic and the rest of the seasonings tweaked to my taste preference. Plus I marinaded & kabob-ed some chicken to make one kickin’ dish!

Hubs’ response? “OH. MY. GOSH. Babe. This KEE-No is like crack!” (yes I laughed out loud at his pronunciation bahaha)

So, go get yo KEE-no on, ya’ll!

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Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa Salad

Yield: 4-5 servings

A healthy (naturally) gluten-free dinner option that tastes DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

For the Cilantro Lime Chicken:
2 pounds (about) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into 1 1/2" cubes
1 cup loosely packed cilantro
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 limes juices (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup extra light olive oil (or other mild flavored oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

For the Southwestern Quinoa Salad:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well in a mesh strainer
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
2 limes, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
1 small clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 green onions (scallions), finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

For the Cilantro Lime Chicken:
Place cubed chicken in a large ziplock bag. Add remaining ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until well combined. Pour mixture over chicken and press air out of bag and seal well. Push the marinade around a bit to make sure the chicken is coated on all sides. Allow to marinade for at least 2 hours (can do this the night before if desired).

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Place chicken cubes on wooden skewers being careful not to overcrowd them. Note: it's a good idea to soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes or so to help prevent them from burning on the grill. When grill is nice and hot, spray it with a little non-stick cooking spray and add the chicken skewers. Grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, making sure that the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 165ºF. Serve hot over the Southwestern quinoa salad.

For the Southwestern Quinoa Salad:
Bring quinoa and broth to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to cook until all the liquid is absorbed (12-18 minutes). allow to cool and then fluff with a fork.

Mix together oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and cayenne in a glass mixing cup with a spout. Add quinoa to a bowl with black beans, tomatoes and scallions. Pour dressing mixture over them and gently toss to combine. Last, stir in the cilantro and serve. Great served at room temperature (east make-ahead) - or you can refrigerate and serve cold!

Quinoa adapted from: All Recipes

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27 comments

27 Responses to “Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa Salad”

1

philomena — April 16, 2013 @ 1:45 pm

This is one I can try. Cheers Tina 🙂
2

Marie @ Little Kitchie — April 16, 2013 @ 2:50 pm

This looks fantastic! Pinning to try!
3

Bree {Skinny Mommy} — April 16, 2013 @ 3:06 pm

Jealous that it is hot there! I wish I was in florida! My sister lives there too and is always posting pool pictures. Meanwhile it was snowing here two days ago! I agree with you about quinoa but this one looks great!
4

tracy {pale yellow} — April 16, 2013 @ 4:03 pm

I’m jealous of your heat too! We’re still shivering a bit here in New York. This looks like a lovely, healthful dinner.
5

Alaina @ Fabtastic Eats — April 16, 2013 @ 4:53 pm

Love these flavors! Ive been really trying to eat more kee-no (:P) lately too!
6

Jessica - The Novice Chef — April 16, 2013 @ 9:13 pm

GIRL. Tell me about it! Yesterday I got in my car and it said it is as 93 outside. Umm, it’s still April right?

This sounds like the perfect dinner to grill outside. I can’t wait to try the Cilantro Lime Chicken one night soon — and I love that it is healthy! 🙂
7

Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts — April 16, 2013 @ 10:47 pm

Oh yeah, this is my kind of quinoa. I am always looking for great new ways to get my husband on board, and this looks like it!
8

Ali | Gimme Some Oven — April 17, 2013 @ 9:28 am

Aw, I love that he calls it kee-no! 🙂 Too cute.

So glad you’re back. This looks absolutely incredible!!! Love all things cilantro lime!
9

mom — April 17, 2013 @ 10:02 am

Love lime and cilantro! Sounds and looks good! 🙂
10

Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking — April 17, 2013 @ 10:14 am

So scrumptious! This whole dish is just calling my name!
11

Jessica@AKitchenAddiction — April 17, 2013 @ 2:20 pm

Love the southwestern flavors! Looks incredible!
12

Megan — April 19, 2013 @ 12:24 pm

Try a poached egg over the leftover “kee-no”. Delicious!
13

Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. — April 19, 2013 @ 4:55 pm

This looks sooo freakin’ good! I love the southwestern flavors!
14

Nutmeg Nanny — April 20, 2013 @ 10:14 am

This cilantro lime chicken has stolen my heart! I have to make this soon, it looks delicious 🙂
15

Megan {Country Cleaver} — April 21, 2013 @ 12:14 am

I’ve always been a littl skeptical of quinoa too. It is like rice, like pasta, like still crunchy? It boggles my mind and scares me - but if the hubs likes the Kee-no, I think I can give it a shot. And with all that cilantro and lime - sooo there!
16

Stella — April 21, 2013 @ 6:49 am

I made this dish this weekend. My hubs loved it and asked when we can have it again! Easy and fast to prepare. Thank you Tina.
17

Christa — April 21, 2013 @ 8:16 am

This looks delicious! think we are gonna try this this week!
18

Cassie | Bake Your Day — April 21, 2013 @ 8:38 am

We will take some of the heat you are having! Our heater is still running here! But it is supposed to be near 70 today. I love this chicken & quinoa…right up my alley!
19

Aubree — April 21, 2013 @ 11:03 am

I made this last night. It was SOOOOO good! My husband also called it kee-no 🙂 I think I might make it again this week. Thanks for the great recipe!
20

Nico — April 22, 2013 @ 3:25 pm

I made this last night and it was delicious!! My first time making quinoa and my fiance actually ate it (he is as fickle as they come) and went back for seconds. Thank you! 🙂
21

Katie — April 23, 2013 @ 8:09 am

Oh man, it’s only 8am and I am definitely craving this dish. The husband and I have recently become quinoa addicts, and I’m always looking for new ways to serve it up. I like the idea of serving it cold like a pasta salad…must try this!
22

Ashley @ Chasing Capers — April 26, 2013 @ 6:00 pm

This was so, so good!

I feel like I’ve made variations of this quinoa salad a dozen times, but this was exactly what I had been looking for. We absolutely loved it, and the leftovers were just as good!
23

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa – all things bright and beautiful — September 17, 2013 @ 11:07 pm

[…] Cilantro Lime Chicken with Southwestern Quinoa (from My Life as a Mrs) […]
24

Nico — March 17, 2014 @ 1:56 pm

Hiii! I just felt the need to thank you. My fiance and I make this ALL the time! It’s so delicious and it got my fiance to eat something besides steak and white rice! But seriously, he eats like a 5 year old, which means I don’t include the tomatoes and chives from this recipe, but with these omissions, it’s still incredibly delicious. So, thanks! 🙂
- Nico replied: — March 17th, 2014 @ 2:05 pm
  
  HAH! Apparently I commented back in April too - goes to show we’ve been making it regularly for quite some time now 😉
  - Tina replied: — March 18th, 2014 @ 9:49 am
    
    haha! Glad you have enjoyed it so much!! 🙂
25

CG — June 17, 2015 @ 11:55 am

I’ve made this dish frequently since you first posted it and I love it!! Though I haven’t actually made the chicken part yet…

Btw, this tastes amazing when served cold with lots of steamed shrimp.