Chicken with Onions

I've been trying to scale back on the grocery budget. It's been successful the past two months with Mr. Sideline Chef working out on the road. When he's not home I don't have to worry about putting together a "meat and potatoes with a side of veggies" kinda meal. I normally will just grab this or that and call it good. That also means that the fridge and pantry haven't been as well stocked as normal when he's around.

I came across a recipe for Chicken with Onions and after a quick look in the fridge and pantry I realized I had everything I needed. That was a shocker since it almost looks as if there is nothing available to eat in the house.

Chicken and thinly sliced onions are marinated in spices and lime juice for a couple of hours, browned in a Dutch oven, and then finish baking in the oven. The Chicken and Onions are then served over rice. I did make a few changes to the recipe. Rather than using fresh onions since I didn't have any on hand I used up some onion powder that was pushing it's limit for freshness. I also chose not to finish baking these in the oven. Instead I sauteed them in the olive oil until they were fully cooked. The temperature in my house was not compromised because of that wise decision and I stayed nice and cool.

The flavor of the chicken is stellar. It has a slightly tangy bite with some heat from the red pepper flakes. Serving the Chicken and Onions over rice helps cut the heat a bit. I think the marinade would be great with pork as well. This is a repeat worthy meal.

Chicken With Onions

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, January 1996

Makes 8 Servings (Serving size = 1 chicken breast half, 1/2 cup rice, and 1/2 cup onion mixture)

Stars of the Show:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 8 cups thinly sliced onion (about 4 large) - I used onion powder.
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided - I used spicy garlic olive oil from Sotto Voce.
• 4 cups cooked long-grain rice (cooked without salt or fat) - I used brown rice.

And Action:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is well coated. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove chicken and onion from marinade, discarding marinade. Set aside.

Coat an ovenproof Dutch oven with cooking spray; add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 chicken breast halves to Dutch oven; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and 4 chicken breast halves.

Remove Dutch oven from heat; add marinated onion slices. Return chicken breasts to Dutch oven, nestling them into onion slices. Bake, uncovered, at 450° for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; stir onion slices, scraping bottom of Dutch oven to loosen browned bits. Return chicken to Dutch oven; reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 15 additional minutes.

Spoon rice evenly onto individual serving plates, and top evenly with chicken and onion mixture.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

Calories: 303
Calories from fat: 10%
Fat: 3.5g
Saturated fat: 0.6g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.0g
Protein: 29.8g
Carbohydrate: 36.9g
Fiber: 2.7g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Iron: 2mg
Sodium: 371mg
Calcium: 53mg