Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken - Dinner Tonight is Served!

Alright, as promised, its time for something a little more fun!  Last night I tested out a new recipe that I found.  It was fairly healthy to begin with, but I modified it so it was even better for you, and I seriously doubt it changed the flavor much at all.

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Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

(modified from original found on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

-3/4 tsp Garlic Salt

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

-1/8 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/8 tsp onion powder

-1/4 tsp dried thyme

-1/4 tsp dried parsley

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

-1/2 Tbsp butter

-1 Tbsp Olive Oil

-1-2 tsp Garlic Powder

-Juice from 1-2 limes (or 3 Tbsp lime juice)

Mix all the spices (except last 1-2 tsp of Garlic Powder) together in a bowl.  Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both halves of chicken breasts.  Depending on the size and how much flavor you like, you may have to double the amounts above.

Heat butter and olive oilin a large heavy skilletover medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown. (Mine needed about  6 minutes each side) When you have about 3 minutes left, sprinkle chicken with 1-2 tsp garlic powder and lime juice. When they are done, remove from the skillet and drizzle JUST A LITTLE of the lime butter sauce left in the pan onto the chicken.

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I served this with a huge helping of broccoli and quinoa.  I flavored the quinoa with a sprinkle of the same spices used in the recipe.  It was fantastic.  If you've never had quinoa before, it takes a little getting used to, but is one of the healthiest whole grains out there.  It took me forever to find, but finally I discovered a huge bag at Target of all places.  We have been using it in place of white rice lately and are loving experimenting with flavors for it.  Here is Sam's plate all ready to be eaten!

Notes on this recipe: The original called for 2 Tbsp of butter instead of just the 1/2.  By cutting out almost all of it, I eliminated a large amount of cholesterol and extra calories while leaving enough in to add the flavor.  Also, I found out mid recipe that I was out of Thyme and Parsley, so I threw in a bunch of Oregano instead.  It worked wonderfully.  In fact, I might keep that switch for next time. This recipe has a mild spice but if you preer no kick to it, don't add the cayenne. :)

So there you go!  Dinner is served.  If you make it, let me know how you like it and if you made any modifications of your own!