Intro

Blog #80: I made a cilantro sauce marinated in chicken and mixed the sauce into a corn orzo salad. Cilantro by far is my favorite herb. I use it on just about every dish. If a dish calls for basil or parsley I end up using cilantro. Why? Because I always have it stocked. I can’t live without it. Three things I always have in my kitchen is cilantro, lemons or limes and fresh parmesan cheese. Must haves, to make any dish!

Cilantro Sauce

There are many different cilantro sauces I make. Pesto sauce and chimichurri sauce are two of my favorites. Anything cilantro is heaven for me. I wish cilantro would keep growing like, green onions and parsley. I would then have an ongoing supply of fresh herbs growing in my own kitchen!

Cilantro has many benefits for our health. It helps with anxiety, has great antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, treats mouth ulcers and many more benefits! An even better reason to incorporate cilantro into your next dish! If you’ve never had cilantro definitely give it a try. It is easily found at your local grocery store next to parsley. Most people have had it. It is in many Latin and Caribbean dishes. Chipotle has cilantro rice as a choice. Regardless, cilantro is inexpensive costing about $1.29 for a large bunch. If you don’t use it often buy it in dried form and will last forever. Just make sure to store it in a cabinet or pantry where it is dark.

To make cilantro last the whole week, I remove the metal wrapping and wrap it with a large paper towel and store it in a large zip lock bag. Make sure to push out as much air out of the bag as possible for prolonged freshness. As soon as you see leaves turning brown remove them immediately, as this will spoil the rest of your fresh cilantro. This rule applies to any fruit or vegetable.

This cilantro sauce is simple and does not require many ingredients. If you don’t like cilantro you can substitute it for parsley or even basil!

Cilantro Sauce Chicken and Corn Orzo Salad

Recipe by Azilde ElizabethCourse: Lunch/DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

Delicious summer cilantro chicken and corn orzo salad. Filling but freshing!

Ingredients

• Cilantro Sauce

• 1 cup of fresh cilantro, stems removed

• 1 1/2 tbsp of parmesan, shredded

• 1 lemon or 2 limes, freshly squeezed

• 1/2-1 cup of olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves or 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder

• Salt

• Pepper

• Orzo Corn Salad

• 1 cup of orzo

• 1/4 cup of cilantro sauce

• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 corns, cobbed

• 1/4 cup of red onion, diced

• drizzle of olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Chicken

• 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast, diced

• Salt

• Pepper

• 3/4 cup of cilantro sauce

• 1-2 tbps of Olive oil

Directions

• Rinse and pat dry cilantro. Add cilantro and the rest of cilantro ingredients into a blender until fully blended; set aside.
• Boil corn; once done remove from water and let corn cool for a few minutes. Slice the kernels off the cob using a knife; set aside.
• Heat a skillet on MED HI and add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the chicken and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup of cilantro sauce for the orzo salad and pour the rest onto the chicken. Cook and stir occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes.* Chicken will be done once the liquid evaporates.
• Cook orzo per box instructions. Once cooked, drain and mix in all the ingredients for the corn orzo salad.
• Serve!

Recipe Video

Notes

• *If chicken is cooking to fast, lower the heat and return to a higher heat to brown the chicken at the end.

Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!