Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I saw this on Pinterest not long ago and thought it looked like a good (and quick) meal to make.  Then last night was the perfect opportunity.  We had been hiking all day.  I needed something quick. I had corn in the crockpot (I have decided that IS the way to cook it) and rolls rising.  And I had chicken in the fridge, needing to be cooked. Perfect.

So when I got home, I started the rice, then turned my attention to the chicken.

And in 30 minutes or so, I had a complete meal.

And a good one.

This will be going into our rotation...

I loved my son's perspective on it.

He said it was "Masian" food.  He said it was like Mexican and Asian food combined in one.

And in a way he is correct, though I don't think the original recipe had that intention.  But I changed out one of the ingredients which did indeed give it a Mexican flair. :)

Lots of flavor, a short cooking time, the perfect combination for me.

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (the original recipe called for 2, I used five.  And this recipe will be based upon that; I doubled the recipe.  I actually cut mine into smaller pieces like tenderloins...next time I will just BUY tenderloins which will cook even a little faster!)

2 tsp Kosher salt

2 tsp paprika (we can't/don't do paprika right now due to a child's food sensitivities, so I did cumin instead which is probably where the Mexican taste came from :)

2 Tbsp sugar (granulated) 

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried parsley

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

(I doubled the butter and olive oil, but I think next time, I would stick with 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil...we had MORE than enough for the skillet)

the juice of one lemon

Directions:
Flatten the chicken with mallet for even sizes.  I put mine in a large ziplock bag to do this.

Combine all of the spices/herbs (salt, paprika/cumin, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley).  Coat chicken with mixture.  (I dumped the spices/herbs into the ziplock bag with the chicken and just gave it a few shakes...it was covered :)

Heat the butter/oil in a large skillet on medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the chicken to the skillet.  The original recipe calls for letting it cook about 6 minutes per side.  I just eye it and always check the inside of a chicken piece to make sure. I think mine took a little longer because it was still fairly thick even after using the mallet on it.

Partway through cooking, squirt the juice from the lemon over the chicken.

Cook until done.

We ate ours with basmati rice, Rhodes rolls, and corn on the cob.  (I also had a salad that was wonderful :)

It was good stuff.  Easy and good.

Happy cooking!

Reba