Mango-Ginger Chicken with Cranberry-Onion Salsa

Last night I had the opportunity to cook again. I have been on the tour bus for just over a month and came home the 13th for a short break. Of course, one of the things I want to do while home is cook as much as possible. The only bad news is that I wasn’t able to bring my video cameras with me (due to space limitations), so this recipe does not yet have a companion video. Be that as it may, this recipe was a total experiment that went well enough that I want to tell you about it.

SIDE NOTE: This recipe relies on a salad dressing as the main ingredient. Don’t be surprised; there are a ton of recipes like this, and most of them are very easy to prepare. (I’ll add more of these in the future.)

So… let’s get started.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts (boneless, skinned)
Mango-Ginger Vinaigrette
Brown sugar
Salt
Olive oil

For Salsa:
More vinaigrette
More brown sugar
Craisins
Onions (chopped)
Salt

Getting it Done:

1. In a small bowl, combine vinaigrette with brown sugar – approximately 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar per cup of vinaigrette. Add a pinch of salt. Feel free to adjust these measurements.

2. Place chicken breasts and vinaigrette in plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible, then seal. Marinate for at least one hour.

3. Combine craisins (you could use fresh cranberries if available) and chopped onion (ratio approximately 1:1) in small slow cooker. (I used the “dip” size, mini-crockpot.) Add enough vinaigrette to cover. Add brown sugar and salt. Let simmer until serving.

4. When ready to prepare chicken, heat oven to 350. Heat pan to medium-low heat and add olive oil. Sear chicken on one side (top) for two minutes. Turn to sear second side and place in oven to finish. How long you bake the chicken will depend on the size of each breast.

To Serve:

1. Using a strainer and bowl, separate sauce from cranberries and onions.

2. Dress plate with side dishes (I served a new rice pilaf and peas with a touch of lime juice). Add a pool of strained sauce.

3. Place chicken breasts on top of sauce.

4. Spoon cranberries and onions over chicken.

That’s all there is to this one. The hardest part of the entire recipe is chopping the onions. The easy preparation makes this an excellent choice for times when you want to impress someone with an interesting dish, but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Until next time… play with your food!

Lane

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

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