Grilled Peanut Chicken and Broccolini by The Pioneer Woman

I made this Saturday after throwing a fit (to myself, always to myself, ha) that because I’ve had a trip to the grocery store planned for this week, I had nothing to cook.

But I was hungry. And by golly, I was going to figure something out! Thank goodness for pantry staples. And that bag of broccolini that was languishing in my produce drawer.

Here’s how to make this plate of wonder.

 
First, make a special sauce/marinade! In a bowl, add olive oil…

 
 
Peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, whatever you have in yer pantry)…

 
 
Soy sauce…

(Yum.)

 
 
Honey…

(Sweet!)

 
 
Barbecue sauce…

(A little smoky.)

 
 
A few dashes of Worcestershire…

(Flavah.)

 
 
Lemon juice…

(If I’d had limes, I woulda used them.)

 
 
Cayenne…

(I need spice in my life. Chili paste would also be good.)

 
 
And garlic!

Whew. My arm is tired!

 
 
Whisk all of this together and then—this is important—give it a taste! Peanut sauce is kinda individual and you’ll want to adjust it to your liking. Add more soy, add more honey, add more cayenne, add more lemon—whatever floats your boat.

Now, before you do anything: Pour off 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the sauce into a container and reserve it in the fridge. You’ll need it for the noodles later.

 
 
Put the chicken breasts into the rest of the marinade…

 
 
Turning them to coat. (Note that I only used 2 chicken breasts when I made this Saturday, but you can use 4 if need be! There’s enough marinade.) Place the chicken in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 2 hours. (Note that I did not do this because I was very impatient and hungry. Bad combination…)

Then, when you’re ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge and heat up a grill pan over medium heat.

Things are about to get delicious up in here.

 
 
Drizzle olive oil on the broccolini…

 
 
Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss it to coat.

 
 
Slice an onion really thick. This is going on the grill, too!

 
 
And finally, cook and drain some thin spaghetti or angel hair.

You’re ready for the big leagues now!

 
 
Drizzle the grill pan with oil, then arrange the chicken and broccolini all over the surface.

 
 
I ran out of room on the long grill pan, so had to put the onions in a small square one. You can grill things in whatever combo or order you’d like! Chicken first, then veggies…or everything all together if you can fit it. (Or you can use the outdoor grill!) Lotsa options.

 
 
Grill the onions until they’re soft and brown. Yum!

 
 
And the important thing about cooking the broccolini is that you want to turn it regularly and check the color. You definitely want the broccolini to get nice and grilled with some brown/blackish areas, but you don’t want it to char. So don’t be afraid to pull it off while the chicken is still cooking to avoid burning it; or, you can wait until the chicken is halfway cooked before you put the broccolini on the grill pan.

 
 
Anyway…here’s what it should look like when everything’s cooked. Glorious!

(I am a HUGE fan of grilled or roasted broccolini. It is tremendously tasty.)

 
 
Chicken has great color, broccolini is bright green and gorgeous.

 
 
But before you serve: heat that reserved sauce in a little skillet until it’s just starting to bubble and caramelize.

 
 
Toss in the pasta. Gosh! Delicious.

 
 
Then serve the pasta on a plate…

 
 
With a piece of chicken…

 
 
The broccolini and grilled onion…

 
 
And some cilantro leaves!

 
 
Serve it with a little extra soy, and/or some lime wedges if you have ’em.

Happy Monday!