Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Chicken Skewers over Citrus Mashed Potatoes

Main Dishes

I love planning parties. My perfectionist and organizational sides enjoy thinking about all the details and watching everything come together. We may not have kids yet, but I already know I’ll be one of those moms attempting to throw picture perfect birthday parties for them! I’m also intrigued by the white parties that seem to be popular with celebrities – you know, the ones everyone is required to white from head to toe (not that I recently saw one of these on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or anything…). I have no idea what I’d wear if I was invited to one, but after making this meal, I certainly know what I’d serve if I was hosting – there’s barely any color at all in this dish (thank goodness for the oregano!). Yeah, so it may not be the most attractive chicken dish I’ve ever seen, but don’t let that stop you from making it because it’s pretty tasty. Plus, I bet you could get more color on the chicken if you used a grill pan!

These chicken skewers have a Latin twist. I marinated the chicken in Greek yogurt with garlic, oregano, lime juice, cumin, and cayenne pepper, and broiled them to perfection. They turned out really juicy! Then I served them over citrus mashed potatoes. I used lime and clementine zest, which we really enjoyed, but I think a variety of zests would be tasty.

Chicken Skewers over Citrus Mashed Potatoes
Printable Recipe

Chicken Skewers:
6 ounces plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks that fit the skewers

Citrus Mashed Potatoes:
2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into chunks
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon of your favorite citrus zest (I used half clementine and half lime)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix yogurt, garlic, oregano, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in chicken and marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator. Soak skewers in water.

Meanwhile, make the mashed potatoes by placing potato chunks in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well and return to pot. Mash potatoes and mix in butter, milk, citrus zest, and salt until smooth.

Heat oven broiler. Thread marinated chicken pieces onto skewers. Hang skewers across the top of a 13×9-inch pan and broil for 3 minutes per side or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Serve skewers over mashed potatoes. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 566 calories, 15.6g fat, 3.8g fiber, 64.1g protein per serving
Cost: $2.49 per serving

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese Sauce

This pasta has Apolinaras’ name written all over it. I guess you could call him my muse from time to time. He looooves mushrooms and was so happy when I encouraged him to go ahead and put the pricey fresh shitakes in the grocery cart the other day. When I told him I...

Caramelized Shallot Apricot Chicken Pizza

Shannon and I went on a shopping mission a couple months ago in search of mini-cheesecake pans from the Williams Sonoma outlet. We couldn’t find the pans, but the trip wasn’t a complete loss because Shannon scored a gorgeous stainless steel sauté pan and I scooped up...

Greek Meatball Lasagna with Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini

Back in February, our friend Catherine invited us to stay at her family’s house by the Berkshire East Ski Resort. It was only my third time skiing, having grown up in the flat Midwest, and I’m a bit of a klutz, so I was cautiously looking forward to it. Catherine’s...

Walnut Chicken Strips with Rosemary Cider Sauce

I was a really picky eater growing up, like sort of embarrassingly picky looking back...but I was always up for chicken strips or nuggets. In fact, even if they weren’t on the menu, I’d do my best to find a way to order them. At Chinese restaurants, for example, I...

Walnut Crusted Pineapple Chicken

The last part of our trip was spent on the Lithuanian coast in several resort towns by the Baltic Sea. We were there pretty early in the season so it was still a bit chilly at the beach and I just got my feet wet, although Apolinaras actually swam a couple of days! We...

Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa

I was super excited when my good friend Eva asked if we would like to use her family’s farm share while they visit her parents in Austria for the next few weeks. Eva is inspirational because she works full time as a pulmonary pediatrician and is raising the two...

Gruyere Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms

I apologize if you had trouble with my blog earlier this week. I tried to upgrade my WordPress account and the theme completely crashed – ugh. Luckily, my better half is a computer whiz and very supportive of my blogging. He stayed up until 5am – yes, 5am – to fix it...

Avocado Chicken Cakes

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Ours was very relaxing. I finally found our ice cream maker and whipped up a yummy strawberry-mango sorbet. We also had a date at Costco (Am I the only one that considers going to Costco together a date?), and came home...