Sweet/spicy lentil sauce with chicken

I love it when dinners come together easily. Especially when I don’t feel like doing anything, like these past days. I don’t know if it is the summer, the fact that I want to go to the beach or just that I am lazy, but just the thought of spending hours in the kitchen cooking (or doing anything there for that matter) is not very appealing right now. That’s why last night’s dinner was a success in my book. I had some chicken, lentils that I had just cooked, and a can of pineapple. What can you do with those ingredients? I put them all in a big pot, say the magic words and this is what came out:

Grilled/baked chicken with sweet/spicy lentil sauce
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

For this recipe you will need:

2 chicken breasts, cleaned

2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup cooked lentils

1 14oz (200 gr) can pineapple chunks, drained

1 14oz (200 gr) can diced tomatoes

1 chipotle adobado pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp fresh parsley chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Season and slightly grill chicken breasts. Set apart in a baking sheet, they will go into the oven later.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC)

In a saucepan sautee onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.

Add lentils, pineapple, tomatoes, pepper and oregano. Bring to a boil. Stir constantly.

Reduce heat, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Pour lentil sauce over chicken breasts and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve chicken over white rice and enjoy.

About this recipe:

The recipe was easy, fast, very filling and tasty. The sweet and spicy flavors blended really well with the lentils, chicken and rice. I just love that combination of spicy and sweet foods.

With all those lentils, rice and fruit this was also a very nutritious and inexpensive dinner.

Now if you excuse me, I am going to lie down for a while. It’s hot, humid and the air very poluted here in central Ohio. I need another easy dinner for tonight.

¡Buen provecho!

Tagged as: Baking, Chicken, Easy recipes, Fruit, Healthy food, Legumes

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About Author

Ben

grew up around food. His family owned a restaurant in Mexico City and he spent a big deal of his childhood helping and learning after school the art of creating delicious dishes from simple ingredients. He created this blog to share his kitchen adventures with the world.

(17) Readers Comments

Christina
July 29, 2008 at 2:57 pm

This sounds great! Lentils are my favorite, so it’s nice to find different recipes for using them. The pineapple in the sauce is a great addition.

Reply
Peter
July 29, 2008 at 7:11 pm

Good use of that bag of lentils you had and you’re not alone…I’m extremely lazy of late.

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Peter G
July 29, 2008 at 8:36 pm

That’s the best way to cook sometimes Ben…throw it all in and hope for success! Seems to have worked for you amigo!

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Adam
July 29, 2008 at 8:41 pm

Awesome way to keep it simple and easy Ben. Life is too short to spend a year cooking in the heat. Sit back and have a brew with that chicken. Nice. Oh, and it’s time to get ready for your inaugural Baking Event. Get the game face on dude.

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Elly
July 29, 2008 at 8:50 pm

For a lazy throw together meal, this looks incredibly delicious! The flavors sound wonderful together.

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Kevin
July 29, 2008 at 9:42 pm

I have been wanting to try cooking with lentils and this sounds like a really tasty way to do so.

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[eatingclub] vancouver || js
July 29, 2008 at 10:48 pm

Lentils. . .so unexpected in a sauce, but it works. Great stuff.

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kittie
July 30, 2008 at 6:32 am

Lentil sauces get my vote – I’ve been meaning to cook more with them for some time now!

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Ivy
July 30, 2008 at 10:47 am

It’s nice to experiment, whatever the outcome. This looks great and it’s always good to have more recipes with lentils.

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courtney
July 30, 2008 at 7:38 pm

No DB’s? I need to strat using lentils moree.

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canarygirl
July 31, 2008 at 2:08 am

Ooooh! What a fantastic idea, Ben! Lentejas are one of my very favorite things.

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kat
July 31, 2008 at 9:14 am

oh that sounds like a good one!

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kellypea
August 2, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Hahahaha! Good to know there’s someone as lazy as me out there right now. The pineapple with that chipotle adobado sounds really good. I would never have thought of the lentils with that combo, but I can see how it would really work. YUM! We’re going out to eat tonight. NO COOKING.

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Elly
August 27, 2008 at 5:21 pm

Made a version of this a couple weeks ago and finally got around to blogging it. Thanks for the great dinner!

http://ellysaysopa.vox.com/library/post/sweet-spicy-chicken-and-lentil-stew.html

Reply
Elly
August 27, 2008 at 5:22 pm

I made a version of this a couple weeks ago and finally got around to blogging it. Thanks for the great dinner!

http://ellysaysopa.vox.com/library/post/sweet-spicy-chicken-and-lentil-stew.html

Reply
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