Sesame Garlic Chicken Over Zucchini Quinoa: Day 100

I think I mentioned this dish a few weeks ago. I am mildly obsessed. I have already prepared it three times, and we all love it. I found this Sesame Garlic Chicken recipe on the Semi-Sweet Online blog when I followed a link in a tweet from @semisweetonline.

It’s my new favorite recipe.

Tahini Sauce

Perhaps I should say that the tahini sauce is my new favorite recipe. It’s a key ingredient in the Triple K Quinoa slaw I now make every week as well. I am beginning to think I can add tahini sauce to just about anything to make it irresistible.

Kale

I replaced the spinach with kale because I like the sweetness and volume of kale. Of course, nothing beats spinach for convenience. When I made this Sesame Garlic Chicken with spinach, one pound was sufficient, in my opinion.

Grated Zucchini

I like to add grated zucchini to the quinoa in this dish. I think it looks even more appetizing, and I am always seeking ways to add another vegetable to my plate. I cut back the water by a half cup when I add squash so the quinoa is able to absorb any water given up by the squash.

For those who count carbs, adding a cup of grated veggies to quinoa is one way to cut back on the carbs in a serving without changing the serving size.

Chicken Strips

I cut the chicken breast in strips because the packaged chicken breasts at my grocer average over eight ounces each. I pack about 1.8 pounds of chicken into my 8′ square pan, and it takes thirty minutes to cook. If the strips were spread out on a larger pan, it would only take about twenty minutes for the chicken to cook. That would change the timeline a bit and require prepping all veggies ahead of time.

This is so pretty on the plate; I cannot recommend it enough. The first time you make it, you might want to prep your quinoa saucepan and kale before you start the chicken, so everything goes smoothly. That’s what I did the night Mom came to dinner, and we enjoyed a low stress, tasty, and beautiful family meal.

Sesame Garlic Chicken Over Zucchini Quinoa

serves 4

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1-1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 low-sodium chicken bouillon packet
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 small zucchini squash
• 4 cups chopped kale
• 6 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts
• Tahini Dressing

Tahini Dressing

• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 1 tablespoon apple juice

Prepare the Tahini dressing and set out at room temperature.

Heat a skillet and toast the sesame seeds until browned, about 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the chicken into strips approximately 3-4 ounces each. Cut a small slit in the top of each strip, without cutting all the way through the chicken. Chop the garlic cloves and stuff the chicken strips with chopped garlic.

Arrange chicken in 8″ x 8″ baking dish, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, and place in preheated oven.

Set timer for 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a fine mesh sieve until water runs clear. Add quinoa to a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of water and the chicken bouillon. Turn up the heat under the quinoa when you have 20 minutes left on the timer. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is ready.

While quinoa and chicken are cooking, clean the kale, cut out the hard spines, and chop to bite-size pieces. Place in a steamer basket in saucepan with ¼ inch of water. Turn up the heat under the kale when the countdown timer is at five minutes. Allow to boil one minute then remove from heat but keep covered.

Wash a zucchini and cut off each end. Grate the whole zucchini, including the skin, using a cheese grater. Chop the peanuts.

When the chicken is ready, remove it from the oven. Stir the zucchini and peanuts into the cooked quinoa. Mound a portion of quinoa in the center of a dinner plate. Arrange the kale around the quinoa. Drizzle with tahini sauce, then place a serving of chicken on the quinoa.

Serve Sesame Garlic Chicken Over Zucchini Quinoa with the rest of the tahini sauce available for those who find themselves addicted to this sauce. Or hide the tahini sauce in the back of the fridge for clandestine finger vegetable dipping tomorrow.

Enjoy!

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