450 cal Recipe! Zesty, grilled, cilantro lime chicken breast with mint.

Two words: MAD MEX! Mad Mex is a muy delicioso, hip, Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh that I adore! They have a cilantro dressing that I rave about every time I get a salad. So... I decided to recreate it and marinade some chicken breasts, in lieu of leafy greens. I paired it with wild rice, avocado and DRAGON TONGUE beans from my garden. This recipe is so stinking easy, fresh, yumtastic and low calorie.  Feel free to marinade/pair whatever your heart desires- fish, steak, pork. I make extra and refrigerate it for it's original purpose, salad dressing. 



Serves: 2-4
Prep time: 5m/ 25m with rice and beans



What Yinz Need: 


Grill
Food processor


Recipe: 


2 large chicken breasts 
2 handfulls of cilantro- you should cut most of the thicker bottom stem from the leaves. A little stem is perfectly fine. Too much can be bitter. 
*4-5 mint leaves (these were my idea. You can omit them, but it adds such a nice, bright taste to the marinade)
1 large lime- juiced and zested (for later)
1/2 cup of Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar. 
1/4 ExtraVirgin Olive Oil
3 TBSP ground Parmesan cheese. Or a 1/4 of a chunk of Queso Blanco (a moist, crumbly Mexican cheese- like a denser chunk of feta. I didn't have it so I went Parm. Mad Mex uses Queso Blanco... and so will I the next time!) 
2 garlic cloves
2 TSP Salt and fresh, cracked Pepper 
*Avocado


In a food processor, add your cilantro, mint, lime juice, garlic and cheese. Blend until everything is well chopped/ mush. Next add the salt and pepper. Blend. Add vinegar. Blend and keep the little top hole of the food processor open to drizzle in the Olive Oil while blending. This helps thicken the mixture. And... Done. Make sure to taste the dressing. Add more salt and pepper, if needed. 

So many folks forget to TASTE their food, first. Don't be "those" folks! Adjust the taste to your YOUR buds- no matter the recipe! 

Butterfly your chicken breasts to make four pieces. If there's only two of you... just use one large breast and butterfly that piece. Salt and Pepper the breasts and add half of your prepared marinade to coat the chicken. Let that sit together for a few minutes before grilling. 


Grill on med/high for 8-10 minutes and serve with whatever side you wish. I added sliced avocado and plain greek yogurt. (An excellent substitute for Sour Cream) Add the zest of your lime as a garnish. If you're on a health kick, do what I did and prepare some wild rice (you can use a box, just don't use the spice packet) and a veggie of your choosing. Here's a link to my DRAGON TONGUE BEANS info and recipe. They are in-season and super tasty!  If you love the dressing, double your batch, put it in an air tight container and store it in the fridge for later. It stores for up to 1 week. 






<---Oh, and do yourself a favor and slice an extra lime... 


 Enjoy!