SRC: Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Cilantro Couscous

My blog assignment this month for SRC was Shelby's blog The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch. While I had heard of GHB (as she calls it) before, Shelby's blog was still relatively new to me. I can honestly tell you that I loved it. She has a great list of recipes, and her stories in each post really can't be beat. 

While I still really want to make this banana bread, the recipe I picked for SRC is her Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Cilantro Couscous. The hubs and I love anything remotely "southwest" flavored, so I was confident it would be a hit. I did end up using the "puspus" as Shelby indicates Grumpy calls it. Rice would work great too, but you just can't beat the 5 minute cook time of couscous!

I followed her recipe pretty close, subbing only brown sugar for the white sugar and adding a little lime juice to the couscous as well. I also left my chicken breasts whole, mostly because I felt like it that day. If you leave them whole, be sure to pound them a bit with a meat tenderizer. Chicken just seems to cook so much more evenly that way! As for the dried pepper flakes, I added just 1/2 teaspoon, and there was a fair amount of heat in the dish. My only advice would be to add slowly. Once the spice is in, you won't get it out (I have learned this the hard way in the past...).

Enjoy the dish and be sure to stop by GHB to say hello! 

(Printable Recipe)

Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Cilantro Couscous
Adapted from The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, pounded even with meat tenderizer
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp. red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1 lime

Cilantro Couscous:
1-1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup whole wheat couscous
3-4 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Warm the oil in the skillet. Pound the chicken breasts until even. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in the pre-heated skillet until cooked through. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, lime juice, and lime zest in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. When the chicken is finished cooking, pour into the hot skillet and bring to a boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce is beginning to reduce. Return the chicken to the pan, cooking for 2-3 more minutes and turning the chicken breasts to coat.

For the couscous, bring the broth to a boil in medium saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the couscous, and place the lid on the pan. Let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve with the chicken.