When leans means yummy

Every once in awhile Yanni gets the idea into his head that he’s getting fat or needs to do something about his cholesterol, general health or whatever and decides to do something about it! Usually these episodes last for about month during which time he’s no fun at all, going without alcohol, red meat, dairy products, and sweets, to mention only a few. Like most men, he quickly and effortlessly drops five pounds overnight (at least that’s the way it seems) and spends the rest of the time being infuriatingly superior.

During one of his past health kick he decided the only meat he’d eat would be the occasional piece of skinless chicken and since I’m such an amazingly fabulous wife, I try to humor him during these episodes (largely because I’ve found he reverts quicker that way) so I had to learn how to make the wretched chicken edible.

My first attempt was not good. I dropped a piece by accident and I swear it bounced. I ended up giving it to the cats and even they had difficulty eating it.

So I tried a few (actually several) different ways and eventually came up with this foolproof recipe for tender, low fat, easy, quick, skinless chicken. Even when Yanni’s back to normal, we still make this super delicious, grilled dish for a quick lunch or dinner.

Grilled Chicken Strips

Skinless boneless chicken breasts. (Allow at least 1/2 a breast per person.)

Prepare chicken breasts by cutting in half. Pound with a meat hammer only until the breast is of uniform thickness ( don’t overbeat chicken into mush). Cut into strips about 1 inch wide widthwise across the breast. Immerse strips in marinade and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1-2 hours before starting the grill. Grill over a hot charcoal, wood or gas fire turning once until done (approx. 5 minutes each side).

Marinade 1

for 2 whole chicken breasts (4 people)

2 cups water

2 Tbls sugar

1 Tbls salt

Mix together and immerse chicken in marinade for a minimum of 2 hours up to 24 hours. Remove chicken, pat dry with a paper towel, brush with vegetable oil and sprinkle with coarse ground pepper before grilling.

Marinade 2

for 2 whole chicken breasts

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

4 tsps minced garlic

2 tsps salt

1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup olive oil

Mix together all ingredients.

Marinade chicken several hours or overnight.