Citrus-Chili Chicken

Have you ever have one of those weeks that was just a little 'off''?  Last week was one of those weeks.  Nothing Earth-shatteringly bad, just a little wonky.  It started early Monday; I got peed on before I even got off the couch (which I had been "sleeping" on since 2am with a restless toddler -- Oddly enough, that was not the child that peed on me).  Then, on the way to a routine checkup for the boy's ears, someone puked in the back seat.  I could have been thoroughly irritated, but it ended up meaning I got to take the day off of work and spend it with my munchkins - so I took it as a win.  We scheduled a tonsilectomy, which we hope will cure the sleeplessness (his tonsils block his airway when he lies down, so he wakes up gasping for air and we end up sleeping upright on the sofa for the night).  So only a few more sleepless nights, and finally (or at least what I hope is the "finally" in a string of non-stop excitement at our house), Bug jumped/fell off a dining room chair that she wasn't supposed to be standing on Thursday night (while I was trying to cook dinner) and lacerated her eyelid.  It looked really bad at first, so everyone got in the car and we headed to the urgent care center.  Alas, no stitches were needed (yay to no needles!) and it was fine by morning.

In the middle of that weird week, I cooked up a little something new.  I can't help it, it's my therapy.  You see, I've had this little jar of THAI Red Chili Pepper Paste staring at me from the pantry for a little while.  It was intimidating me every time I went in there to get gummies (What?  You don't hide in the pantry to eat snacks without the kids seeing you?).  I haven't really cooked much with Asian flavors, and I was scared.  I finally decided to jump right in, and the results were great.  I grabbed some citrus and ginger and some chow mein noodles that were also mean-mugging me from the pantry shelf.  There are some things I'll do differently next time (I'll tell you about that at the end), but overall, we really enjoyed it.

***Here's the printable***

Gather up this stuff (minus the coconut milk...it didn't make its way in there, maybe next time?).

1 - 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless thighs
1 cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tbsp Roasted Red Chili Paste
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp salt
2 tsp orange zest (zest from 1 orange)
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth

Trim up your chicken first.  I'm a little OCD about the chicken fat, people.  I really can't stand it.  I trimmed it all off and cut the chicken in to little bite-sized pieces.  I'm sorry, there's really no way to make raw chicken look yummy, but I wanted you to see that it's in pieces.

In a separate bowl put your yogurt, chili paste, ginger, salt, orange zest, lime juice and red pepper flakes.

Then wisk them until everything is all blended together,

and pour it over the chicken pieces.

Stir, stir, stir.

Get your pot nice and hot (sorry about the rhyming there, I didn't mean it), and throw in your yogurted chicken.

Cook them all the way, then pour in some chicken broth.  Stir again and reduce the heat to medium for 5 minutes to let the sauce thicken.

That's it!  Serve this over some noodles, and prepare to be adored!

Okay, so if you're eating this and wondering why I would change it because it's SOOOOOOO good the way it is....I want more heat.  I was a little timid with the Roasted Red Chili Paste because I had never used it before, and I had kids to think about.  Definitely would have liked more kick.  Also, I grated the ginger, which basically made it mush.... I think next time I'll mince in instead.  That's pretty much it.  I just wanted more heat.  If you make it hotter, please let me know what you did and how you liked it!


OH - and a June challenge update (I'm apparently not so good at the daily update) ~

Monday, June 6 - Breakfast for supper, remember?

Tuesday, June 7 - Citrus Chili Chicken - super yum!

Wednesday, June 8 - Pizza (we eat with our bible study group on Wednesdays)

Thursday, June 9 - I was in the middle of cooking when we took Bug to the urgent care place to get zero stitches....so we ate a combination of McDonald's and leftovers from mom's fridge

Friday, June 10 - Some crazy good pasta that I was making Thursday night when Bug smashed her eye.  I had to quit cooking mid-recipe, so I'll be re-cooking and sharing that one with you soon.  It had roma tomatoes, garlic and artichoke hearts....you'll love it!

Saturday, June 11 - frozen pizza (yea, I know....but I cleaned out the kids' rooms that day, so no time for cooking.

Sunday, June 12 - frozen popcorn chicken....more cleaning, less cooking this weekend.