Honey-Lime Baked Chicken

I haven’t been able to update as often as I’d like lately due to my summer class. For those of you who don’t know, I’m taking one last class to complete my biology degree – organic chemistry, yuck! The work is quite challenging and I am struggling to say the least, but I only have one week left.

This chicken dish is inspired by a recipe I found on foodnetwork.com a few years ago. I was looking for a summery marinade for chicken and found one that included honey and lime  juice. I remember it being really tasty, so I decided to re-create it and elaborate on the ingredients a bit.

The chicken is marinated in a sweet, tangy sauce and then topped off with a refreshing pineapple and avocado relish. I would call it a Mexican-inspired dish with an Asian twist? If that makes sense…

Baking the chicken in the oven makes it incredibly tender and juicy. Or you could throw it on the grill and serve at a cookout or party!

Honey-Lime Baked Chicken (with Pineapple-Avocado relish)
serves 3-4

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each sliced in half (the long way, so each piece is thinner)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp minced ginger (optional)
• cayenne pepper and/or chili powder
• salt and pepper

your ingredients (forgot to put garlic and ginger in the picture)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken breasts and salt/pepper. Whisk until well-combined.
3. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place into a lightly greased 8×8 baking dish.
4. Pour honey-lime mixture over chicken, making sure each piece is as well-coated with marinade as possible. (If desired, let chicken marinate in fridge for 1-3 hours.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping chicken once halfway through.
6. After removing from oven, let chicken sit for a minute or two and top with pineapple-avocado relish (see  recipe below).

combine olive oil, soy sauce, honey, and lime juice

Add cumin, garlic, ginger, and sprinkle of chili powder. Whisk until well-combined.

Season chicken breasts with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Pour sauce over chicken and cover. Let marinate if desired, or cook immediately.

Bake chicken at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes, or until it is golden-brown and cooked all the way through. Notice how the chicken has plumped up and soaked up all of the marinade? Mmm.

Pineapple-Avocado Relish
makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup diced avocado (or about half an avocado)
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients: Stir well and serve with honey-lime chicken. (Or add some diced tomatoes to make it salsa!)

tangy and refreshing.

Serve on top of chicken:

I also made some pearled couscous to go with this and poured the extra chicken marinade on top:

Mmmm!

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