AT THE WATER’S EDGE:

Sometimes I go to the grocery store with all of my meals planned out for the week and an organized list of ingredients that I need.  This week’s grocery shopping trip was not one of those times.  I had a vague idea of what I had in the pantry, but not really any clue what I wanted to make.  When I go shopping without a plan, sometimes something I spot at the store will inspire me.  This week it was mangoes.  Fresh mangoes were on sale, so I figured I’d buy one.  But, what to do with it?  I remembered making mango-jalapeno shrimp tacos before, and decided that I’d better pick up a jalapeno as a complimentary ingredient.  I was thinking mango-jalapeno salsa, and decided to use it as a topping for chicken.  For a side, I thought I’d do couscous for a change.  I’ve had some in the pantry for quite some time, but I hardly ever think to make it!  After some time looking up similar recipes for inspiration, here’s what I came up with for tonight’s dinner:



Chicken with Mango-Jalapeno Salsa
Ingredients:


– Boneless, skinless chicken breast
– 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
– ½ cup green pepper, diced
– ¼ cup red onion, diced
– ½ jalapeno, seeded and minced
– 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
– Olive oil
– Garlic powder
– Cumin
– Salt
– Pepper
– Lime Juice
– Lemon Juice


Directions:


Make a marinade for the chicken with olive oil, a bit of lemon & lime juices and seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder.  I also added in a bit of cilantro and red onion.  Marinade the chicken for at least 30 minutes, then grill until thoroughly cooked.  While chicken is cooking, start on the salsa.  Apparently, I need to re-learn how to peel and pit a mango.  This was challenging for me!  But to make the salsa, combine your mango, green pepper, red onion, jalapeno and cilantro.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and cumin.  Squirt a little bit of lime juice over top and mix well.  Top chicken with a heap of the salsa before serving.


Couscous


For the couscous, I decided to keep things simple and use basically the same ingredients as above.  I cooked ¾ cup of couscous according to package directions, then added the following in after it was cooked:


– 1 Tbsp. cilantro
– 2 Tbsp. green pepper, minced
– 1 Tbsp. red onion, minced
– 1 tsp. olive oil
– Cumin and salt to taste


Overall, Tom and I both really liked how this meal turned out.  Apparently the jalapeno I purchased had zero heat to it, though.  It didn’t taste spicy at all.  So, if you like it hot, you may want to add more jalapeno!