Pan-Grilled Chicken with Plum Salsa

We are trying out some new dishes at our house. I was ready for something new and different. I didn't want anything super complicated, and honestly I didn't want another casserole dish.

Thanks to my Southern Living magazine, I have tried two dishes with two more to go that calls for chicken cutlets. You could also use pork or turkey cutlets for a change of meat. I like the idea of the cutlet because the breasts are cut thinly, so they cook up quickly. I think if you properly prep for these meals, then they are very doable and cook quickly.

I will be posting them as we try them, but only if they are a success.

So far I have loved cooking these dishes, because they call for ingredients that I either don't use a lot or combinations of ingredients that I would have never thought to put together. Don't be afraid or intimidated by that and give these dishes a try. It was a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, if you have children in the house that you trust can safely use a chopping knife, then get them busy helping you prep and it will be special memories for all of you as you make this meal together. They may even decide to like it because they helped to fix it :)

Pan-Grilled Chicken with Plum Salsa
1 cup of chopped ripe plums (about 2 plums)
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. chopped red onion
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp. of salt, divided
2 tbsp. of brown sugar (I used sucanat)
1/2 tsp. of ground cumin
4 (4oz.) chicken breast cutlets
2 tsp. olive oil

Stir together plum, next 4 ingredients, and 1/4 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Stir together brown sugar, cumin, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Rub chicken with brown sugar mixture. Cook chicken in hot oil in a grill pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat 3 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with plum mixture.

Some cooking tips: Pat chicken dry before rubbing with brown sugar mixture and make sure pan is hot enough to give that nice brown caramelization on both sides of the chicken, but not so hot to burn it.
I also steamed some broccoli as our side vegetable, but the you could add anything you liked as a side.

It was very good and we will be doing it again.

Thankful for new meal ideas that are a success,


Nichole