Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

The older I get, the leaner and leaner I find I have to make my meals. I've got my advancing age and my parents to thank for my abysmal metabolic rate (the ONLY bad thing they passed on to me, those amazing, loving people!). The other day I had an epiphany of sorts. If I eat appetizers at restaurants as my main meal, then why not do so at home?

With this in mind, I turned to my favorite Cooks Illustrated book, The Best Light Recipe. You will find this recipe in there, under the Appetizers chapters. And at 160 calories per 3-skewer serving, you can eat almost as much as you want, with little to not guilt. And all the ingredients are tame and delicious.

Sometimes the best dinners come in smaller sizes. Enjoy, my friends...

Chipotle Chicken Skewers

Makes about 30 skewers, serving 10 as appetizer or 4 - 5 as a main dish. You willl need thirty 6- or 8-inch bamboo or wooden skewers. Make sure you soak the skewers in water before using; otherwise you risk a bit of a fire emergency.

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 medium), trimmed

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons minced, fresh cilantro leaves

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (this product is easily found in the Mexican food aisle of most supermarkets)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (if you do not have garlic powder, you may substitute a small cove of minced garlic, about 1/2 teaspoon)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Method:

Gather the ingredients for the chicken.

I didn't have 5 breasts so I used 4 chicken breasts with the attached tenderloin, which I separated from the breasts and treated as though they were already-sliced chicken.

Slice the chicken breasts against the grain, into 1/2-inch thick strips.

Chop the cilantro and the chipotle chile. If you are making the accompanying dipping sauce, chop an additional 2 tablespoons of cilantro so you don't have to repeat this step later. 

Place the brown sugar, cilantro, chopped chipotle chile, adobo sauce, salt, chili powder, garlic powder  and pepper in a bowl.

Mix well.

Add the chicken strips, toss until thoroughly coated, cover and refrigerate for about a half hour so the flavors can meld. You may leave the covered chicken in the refrigerator up to one day before cooking.

When ready to use, thread the chicken onto the bamboo skewers.

Prepare a broiler pan by lining the bottom with heavy duty aluminum foil as in the photo below (don't use regular foil, it will fuse to the pan and will be impossible to get off). Spray the top of the broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. At this point you should also feel free to have a Bloody Mary.

While the chicken is in the refrigerator, prepare the dipping sauce.

Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

3/4 cup of low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup reduced or low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup juice from 2 - 3 limes (I use less than 1/4 cup; I find the full amount to be a bit too tangy)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro leaves
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method:

Gather your ingredients. See note under the chicken preparation about chopping an extra 2 tablespoons of cilantro for use in this recipe.

Chop the cilantro (if you haven't already) and the scallions.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl.

Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature until the flavors meld, about 30 minutes. The dipping sauce can be covered and refrigerated up to two days. Season with additional lime juice, salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the top position and heat the broiler. Lay half the skewers on the broiler pan top and cover the skewer ends with foil, making sure not to cover the chicken. Broil until the meat is lightly browned and cooked through, 5 - 8 minutes total time, flipping the skewers half way through. Transfer the skewers to a serving platter and serve immediately with the dipping sauce. Repeat broiling the remaining skewers and serve with remaining dipping sauce.

You may serve this with the Jalapeño Corn Quinoa or the Tomato Scallions Couscous, both found on this blog. Here, I chose to serve it with a simple salad.