Ah, the summer.  The time where we try to eat healthier, don’t want to heat up the entire kitchen while cooking, and always looking for something quick to make.  I’m always on the look-out for new things to try–I mean, what foodie/food blogger/etc wants to have the same thing all the time?

One Saturday afternoon, while annihilating my foes on Warcraft watching TV, I turned to my clever boyfriend and said, “Any suggestions for dinner?”  I had to go to the store anyway…  He picks up his iPad and starts tooling through his collection of recipes by his favorite chef–Gordon Ramsay.  While I admit he’s not my favorite chef, he does have some very clever recipes.  Said clever boyfriend shows me the picture from his iPad and I was sold.  I admit, after seeing the ingredients initially, I was a little intimidated by the amount of cayenne powder and chili pepper (I’m not a HUGE fan of spicy food)–but this is not as bad as I first anticipated.

I made a few changes to Gordon Ramsay’s recipe, I prefer my own guacamole in this–and even that is slightly modified to go with this.  Enjoy!

Chili Marinated Chicken with Lime Guacamole

Adapted and modified from Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

• 4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp clear honey
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 large red chili, diced

For the Guacamole:

• 2 ripe avacados
• 1-2 plum or roma tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

To serve:

• Boston butter lettuce, baby gem lettuce, or romaine
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

For the Marinade, combine zest and juice of 1 lime, and remaining marinade ingredients minus the chicken in a bowl, stir to combine.  Cut the chicken into strips or chunks (personal preference here) and combine with marinade.  Let sit while making the guacamole.

For the Guacamole, mash your avocado with a fork until only subtle chunks remain.  (If you prefer your guacamole creamy, then mash it all the way.)  Cut and dice your tomatoes and onions, add to mashed avocado.  Mix with garlic salt, lime juice and cilantro, and set aside. 

In large frying pan, drizzle a little olive oil in the pan.  Once hot, add the chicken and cook through.  Add any excess marinade if the chicken starts to dry out.  Once cooked through, turn off fire, and set aside. 

To serve, wash individual lettuce leaves, set on a plate, and scoop a small amount of guacamole onto the leaf.  Put one or two pieces of chicken on the guacamole and enjoy!  You can eat this similar to a taco or lettuce wrap, but be warned if you got REALLY excited with the guacamole like I did, you may need a napkin or 5…and a fork and knife.