Skillet Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce

Dinner tonight was chicken breast in a cream sauce, asian dressed green beans, salad, fried okra and rice.

Skillet Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce

yield: SERVES 4 prep time: 30 MINUTES total time: 40 MINUTES

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One skillet and 40 minutes is all it takes to transform chicken into a flavor-packed meal!

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chicken broth (I recommend reduced sodium)

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice (I use closer to 1.5 Tbsp)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes1

3 Tablespoons heavy cream2

2 Tablespoons butter, cubed

optional: lime wedges and more cilantro for garnish, steamed asparagus for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

If the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them down so they're all even. This way all the breasts will cook through similtaneously. Sprinkle each with salt and pepper.

In a large oven-proof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, turning once. You want the chicken nice and browned on the outside. (It doesn't have to be cooked all the way through yet.) Set chicken on a plate and cover tightly with foil until step 5.

Remove skillet from heat and add the broth, lime juice, onion, cilantro, and red pepper. Return to heat. Cook and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to around 1/4 cup. (During this time you can steam some veggies to have on the side, like asparagus.) Reduce heat to medium-low, then add the cream and butter. Stir until butter has melted.

Return chicken to the skillet and place in the preheated oven. Bake until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.

Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top and any of the listed optional garnishes. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat to your liking.

Additional Notes:

1. Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes to your liking. This amount made the chicken mildly spicy. The cream in the sauce mellows out the spice.

2. You can use whole milk instead, but for the thickest, richest sauce I highly recommend heavy cream.

Using SparkRecipes calculator, this gluten free chicken dish comes out to about 300 calories, 14g fat, 2g carbs, and 33g protein per serving. That includes all the extra sauce too! If your chicken breasts are smaller than 6 ounces each (about what mine were), these numbers will be lower.

Asian Green Beans

Author: Liz Berg

Garden green beans sauteed with garlic, soy and sherry for a simple

side dish

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic, crushed with skins removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1­1½ pounds fresh green beans

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon dry sherry

Instructions 

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add crushed garlic and cook a minute or so till fragrant. Add green beans

and add to pan. Stir, then cook for a couple minutes before adding the soy sauce and sugar. Stir and cook for

2 more minutes. Add sherry, decrease heat and cook uncovered for 10 minutes or till soft and wilted.

Recipe by That Skinny Chick Can Bake at http://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com