CHIPOTLE CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH CREAMY DIPPING SAUCE

YIELD:  6-8 SERVINGS

 

PREP TIME:  25 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME:  8 MINUTES

 

ADDITIONAL TIME:  27 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME:  1 HOUR

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN SKEWERS:

•  2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-5 medium chicken breasts)
•  1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
•  2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
•  1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (scrape out the seeds before mincing to reduce spiciness)
•  2 teaspoons adobo sauce
•  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•  1/2 teaspoon chili powder
•  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  12 bamboo or metal skewers

CREAMY DIPPING SAUCE:

•  3/4 cup lowfat sour cream
•  1/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
•  1/4 cup lime juice, from 2-3 limes
•  1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
•  2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced
•  2 green onions, finely chopped
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice the chicken breasts into long, thin strips, about 1/2-inch thick. You should have right around 30 strips. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cilantro, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss the chicken with the brown sugar mixture coating all the pieces evenly. Cover the chicken (or place in a ziploc bag) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
2. For the dipping sauce, in a bowl, stir all the ingredients together. Cover the mixture and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes until the flavors combine. Alternately, you can make the dipping sauce in advance and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Be sure to season the dipping sauce with additional lime juice, salt and pepper to taste before serving.
3. 30 minutes before grilling, cover the bamboo skewers with water and soak. Skip this step if using metal skewers.
4. Preheat an oven broiler or gas/charcoal grill. Weave two strips of chicken onto each skewer. Broil or grill the chicken for 5-8 minutes until cooked through, using nonstick cooking spray on a foil-lined pan if you are broiling. Serve immediately (if you broil, you may need to cook in batches) with the dipping sauce.

NOTES

Reduced Fat Ingredients: you could definitely use full-fat sour cream or mayo/yogurt, but I'll attest that the sauce was divinely yummy made with reduced fat ingredients. 

Spiciness: chipotle chiles in adobo sauce can be quite spicy so if you want to knock the spice down a bit, scrape the seeds out of the chile and discard before mincing the chile for the marinade/dry rub.

HTTPS://WWW.MELSKITCHENCAFE.COM/CHIPOTLE-CHICKEN-SKEWERS-WITH-CREAMY-DIPPING-SAUCE/