MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - GARLIC-GINGER CHICKEN WITH SESAME GREEN BEANS AND CARROT-GINGER RICE

I found this meal over at For The Love Of Cooking hosted by Pam. You can see the original chicken recipe here, and the Carrot-Ginger Rice here and the Sesame-Green Beans here.

Garlic-Ginger Chicken

2 teaspoons olive oil

5 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat

1/4 cup red onion, sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (I used 2 oranges)

Zest of 1 orange

Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Combine the chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, orange juice and orange zest in a large Ziploc bag. Place in refrigerator for 1-24 hours.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat with the olive oil. Once the pan is hot add chicken thighs. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Set on a platter, let the meat rest for five minutes before serving. Enjoy.

Sesame Green Beans

1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2-3 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to the boil over a high heat. Add the green beans and cook 4-5 minutes or until just tender. Drain the water.

While the beans are cooking combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds together and mix until well combined. Add the mixture to the cooked and drained green beans and toss to coat evenly. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Carrot-Ginger Rice

1 cup of Basmati rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Dash cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine the rice and chicken broth together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid and steam for 20 minutes. Remove lid and let sit for five minutes before fluffing with a fork.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until tender. Add the carrot, ginger and garlic to the onions. Cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice to the mixture along with the cilantro, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and dash of cayenne pepper. Stir gently so that all the ingredients are combined. Serve immediately.

Added note: I had to cook the chicken a little longer because the first time I checked it wasn't cooked all the way through. When I first marinated the chicken I had forgotten the fresh ginger on my last trip to the store, and used a teaspoon of ginger powder that I already had. The next day I picked up fresh ginger for the rice dish. I thought the rice was just about the best one I had ever tasted, and I also enjoyed the green beans. I usually use low-sodium soy sauce.

I marinated the chicken the day before, and the day I served up the meal I measured out all my ingredients and prepared the vegetables several hours earlier, covering everything and refrigerating what I needed to. Things go quickly and more smoothly when fixing this meal with everything all laid out beforehand.

We both gave this meal a big thumb's up and will be serving it again. We had enough rice left over for another meal and are having it with tomorrow's dinner. There is coconut shrimp in the freezer and I will probably toss a green salad together.

Thanks for looking and

have a great day!