Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Cumin Spiced Chicken with Green Tomatillo Sauce

I apologize for my MIA status from both my blog and your blog, but life has been overwhelming lately! I know there are many of you with kids, a job, a mortgage, a hobby, a dog, a cat, and a life. Seriously, I do not know how you do it!

This June, hubby is finishing his Masters degree and I'm throwing him a bash! I've been looking forward to planning and cooking for his party until I realized how quickly June is approaching. What am I making? I have no freakin' clue!

I'm hoping you could all help me. Send me you favorite party recipes & ideas to newlywedcook at gmail dot com! If I end up using of one of your recipes, I just might have a prize for you! I wish I were organized enough to tell you in advance, but I promise not to let you down.


Green Tomatillo Chicken

Meanwhile, here's a fancy looking dinner I threw together when I could actually remember what day of the week it was. Chicken breasts are spiced with cumin and marinated in olive oil and garlic and then grilled & topped with a fresh tomatillo sauce. Though I love salsa verde, I've never made anything with tomatillos.


Green Tomatillo ChickenI guess I had never really seen a tomatillo before either, because I was pleasantly surprised at how cute they were. Leave it to me to think a fruit is cute.

Cumin Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce
We served the birds with one of our favorite side dishes - Summer Black Bean Quinoa Salad - which made for a nice and hearty protein filled dinner, perfect for Cinco de Mayo. Oh, too bad it's Cinco de Seis. Told you I didn't know what day it was.

I promise I will be back to my old self soon & sorry for this rambling post. I think we all get a freebie every now and again, right?!

Cumin Spiced Chicken with Green Tomatillo Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light 5/09

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (6-ounce) skinless,boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 pound fresh tomatillos
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (I admit, we skipped this - we're wimps)

Cooking spray


1. Prepare grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.

2. In a small bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Mix well and place chicken and marinade in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and let stand for 15 minutes.

3. Discard husks and stems from tomatillos. Combine tomatillos and broth in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cover and cook 8 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Combine tomatillos, cilantro, green onions, lime juice, sugar, salt and jalapeño (if using) in a food processor; process until smooth.

4. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with a dash of salt. Place on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Serve with tomatillo sauce.

24 comments:

Pearl said...

i love cumin everything!
hmm sharon, how many people will be at the bash? is there a theme you're hoping to center on?

Dewi said...

Amazing!
The dish looks so beautiful, I also like that you serve this with quinoa salad.

Meghan said...

I'm so glad you posted this recipe! I saw some tomatillos at the store this past weekend and wanted to buy some (the cuteness factor!) but I didn't have a recipe. This chicken dish looks great. I will also check out the quinoa salad. I've never used quinoa before and I'm a little scared! :)

kat said...

Love cumin spiced things & tomatillo salsa is so good!

Ana Powell said...

I just love your cooking, your photos, your dish looks absolutely gorgeous and delicious x.

Laura said...

I promise to forgive you if you promise not to forget I exist after this coming month. ;) I still haven't decided if I should try to post while gone for 2 weeks or just shut the blog down. Such a pain when life intrudes--and as you know from reading my shrimp post I am panicking about a party in June right now too. Although I bet your party and therefore panic :) will be bigger.

Anyhoo, this looks fantastic! I love tomatillos--and the side dish is perfect. Definitely bookmarking this...

Leslie said...

Dont worry girl..we all get overwhelmed with our blogs and fall way behind. We all understand!
What a yummy fresh and healthy dinner

Pam said...

What a tasty chicken dish, especially the sauce. The quinoa salad looks great too.

Fearless Kitchen said...

This looks so tasty! Cumin is one of my favorite flavors, and I just love tomatillos.

Dana Fallentine said...

Looks delicious!

Esi said...

Hope you can catch up soon! This looks like a great, easy meal though. I have made that quinoa recipe many, many times. Love it!

Chef Fresco said...

Yum! I love cumin too - I'm definitely going to make this. P.S. I don't know how all those ppl do it either!

Melissa said...

Cumin and Tomatillos, you just can't go wrong. I'll be thinking of some recipes for you.

Unknown said...

i've had tomatilla salsa, but not actually made it myself! this looks awesome :) Mmm, quinoa!

grace said...

not only does this look fancy, but it also looks extremely, extraordinarily delicious--all my favorite flavors combined. the sauce is stellar. also, yum. :)

pigpigscorner said...

What a fancy and healthy meal!

Katrina said...

That is a great looking chicken meal, Sharon!

Unknown said...

Hi Pearl, we'll have about 25-30 people...no theme (yet!) We were thinking about doing lots of different snacks/appetizers. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

It's hard to do it all but you cameback with a wonderful recipe.

Kerstin said...

Welcome back! What a lovely chicken dish - I love cumin and all the layers of flavor! The quinoa salad looks yummy too, I just bought my first box at Trader Joe's and I'm looking forward to using it :)

Maris said...

The tomatillo sauce looks so fresh - YUM!

Bunny said...

This looks very good, I like the colors Sharon! I'll have to see what Carol and I can come up with for your bash!!

Bren said...

love it "the bird". nice looking din din here girly. i just might email yo some ideas.. there is sooo much you can do! will you be in DC any time soon...

oh and cumin is one of my staples! i add it to just about all of my protein...

Jeff said...

You can never go wrong with cumin and tomatillos are a beautiful thing. So much flavor in the little buggers.

Good luck on the party planning and I second the whole how everyone else does it.