Post 4th of July holiday (read: post ribs, corn with butter, and rootbeer floats), I am ready for a light and quick meal. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with baking chicken breasts that have been spiced up and marinated for at least an hour. They are quick and easy, in that prep time takes about ten minutes, I can wander off and read for an hour and drink a glass of wine, and then can throw the chicken breast (marinade and all) in the oven for another half hour and dinner is then served. This latest variation, chipotle chicken breasts, can be sliced up and added to a salad or tossed into a tortilla with cheese to make an easy quesadilla.
I’ve also become slightly obsessed with ground chipotle chili as a spice. I found it at Whole Foods in a cute little spice box and have been adding it to the marinade for these chicken breasts, as well as in barbecue sauce, as a rub for meat, and in eggs. It’s smokier than regular chili powder and brightens up everything.
Chipotle Chicken
Serves 2, but could easily be doubled
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 shallot, minced
Juice from one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Combine all the ingredients from the smoked paprika to the olive oil in an oven safe baking dish. Add the chicken and coat with the marinade. Cover and let marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When the chicken breasts are marinated, place in the oven and bake for twenty minutes (to 170 degrees on a meat thermometer).
