Avocado Smothered Chicken -- a #recipe for a quick, fun dinner

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Sometimes dinner starts with a recipe. Sometimes it starts by staring in the fridge and wondering what you can do with what you have. And sometimes it’s a bit of both.

I knew we had chicken, left over from the Great Defrosting Debacle, and I knew we had two giant avocados that weren’t ripe when we bought them but probably were by now. Into Google that went. Up came a recipe that I revised so extensively that its originator probably wouldn’t recognize it. But it’s a keeper at our house.

You could easily serve this with fresh bread or tortillas, depending on your preference—and what’s in your fridge. It might also be yummy served on a bed of wilted spinach. 

We suggest pounding the chicken breasts a bit—not thin, you’re not rolling them---just enough so they cook evenly. We had no idea avocados would bake so nicely—they maintain their texture, color, and flavor. 

The astute among you may notice that I call for a red onion but used white. Hey, it’s what we had and I will never report you to the Recipe Police for making a substitution, but I do think the pungency of a red onion would be an improvement. If you are cilantro-averse, use parsley and add a squeeze or two of lime. Heck, add the lime anyway—it’s always brilliant with avocados. 

Prep will take 10-15 minutes, baking 30-40. Just right to pop in the oven and bake while you watch Jeopardy!

Avocado Smothered Chicken

For the chicken:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast 

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

For the topping:

2 large avocados 

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped 

2 Tablespoons red onion, diced

2 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded 

For the sauce: 

2 tablespoons chili sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1-1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, plain or toasted

1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped

additional cilantro, chopped, for garnish (optional) 

squirt of lime juice (optional) 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Lay chicken breasts in a large baking dish. Season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork, leaving some chunks. Stir in the sundried tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and ½ teaspoon salt. Spread avocado mixture on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake 30-35 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 5 minutes. Cut with a knife to make sure the chicken is cooked through; if not, continue cooking. (Replace the foil if the cheese is browned before the chicken is thoroughly cooked. 

While the chicken is baking, make the sauce. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. 

Place chickens on a platter or individual plates, and drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with extra chopped cilantro and a squirt of lime juice. (optional). 

Serves 6. 

How have you discovered or created your latest "keeper"? Do tell! 

BETWEEN A WOK AND A DEAD PLACE: A Spice Shop Mystery (July 2023, Seventh St. Books)

From the cover: 

It's the Lunar New Year, and fortunes are about to change. 

 

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, loves a good festival, especially one serving up tasty treats. So what could be more fun than a food walk in the city's Chinatown–International District, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit?

 

But when her friend Roxanne stumbles across a man's body in the Gold Rush, a long-closed residential hotel, questions leap out. Who was he? What was he doing in the dust-encrusted herbal pharmacy in the hotel's basement? Why was the pharmacy closed up—and why are the owners so reluctant to talk? 

 

With each new discovery, Pepper find herself asking new questions and facing more brick walls. 

 

Then questions arise about Roxanne and her relationship to Pepper's boyfriend Nate, away fishing in Alaska. Between her worries and her struggle to hire staff at the Spice Shop, Pepper has her hands and her heart full. Still, she can't resist the lure of the Gold Rush and its tangled history of secrets and lies stretching back nearly a century. 

 

But the killer is on her tail, driven by hidden demons and desires. As Pepper begins to expose the long-concealed truth, a bigger question emerges: Can she uncover the secrets of the Gold Rush Hotel without being pushed from the wok into the fire?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Between a Wok and a Dead Place, the 7th Spice Shop mystery, will appear in July 2023. 

A past president of Sisters in Crime and national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.