Date night in our house is very important! We happened upon “Thursday nights” one week when we’d gotten home from work, gone to the gym, headed back home and realized that we were NOT in the mood to stay in and do our usual cook at home in pj’s. This, my fine friends, was the birth of date night! From that point forward EVERY THURSDAY we do something special but that doesn’t always mean going out. Since we’re trying to keep a closer budget (thank you new couch which will arrive in 8 weeks!!) and we both love to cook so much the past month or so we’ve been doing date night at home. I also have SO many recipes to cook through that this is a way to assure that I cook through at least one a week!
This date night was really one that made the memory books! I wanted to do something special and as you may have read in my previous post, our “honey do” lists for the house are pretty different…
his= house updates & open jars I can’t man handle open
hers= various dishes and meals he’d like me to cook
Well, I decided to really out do myself this week and built an entire meal around his favorite drink, the Moscow Mule . It’s a vodka based drink traditionally served in Copper serving Mugs and it has the most refreshing blend of ginger beer, mint and lime! We added a little twist to ours, the Sherpa Twist, and you’ll just have to read about it in the Moscow Mule with a Sherpa Twist post!
It took a few iterations of the menu but I finally gathered a few favorites and decided on cilantro chicken lime skewers and a game day favorite, baked potato skins. These usually have cheese so I tired out a new dairy-free cheese (review here) and was quite pleased with it! You can find Galaxy Rice cheese and their other various produces at Whole Foods. We grilled the chicken skewers as opposed to baking them because I have a wonderful grill master that’s willing to brave the cold for me. But if you don’t have access to a grill or it’s too cold, you can bake the chicken in the oven (as a full breast) or grill up in a pan (slice chicken as directed in recipe).
Enjoy this meal with some delicious Moscow Mule with a Sherpa Twist and you’re ready to party!!
Cilantro Lime Chicken Skewers & Baked Red Potato Skins
(For the chicken)
2 1/2 limes,fresh juice
drizzle olive oil
4tbsp minced garlic
Fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts
Fresh Cilantro
(for the potato skins)
Small red potatoes
Milk (Soy Milk for me, half and half if you don’t have allergies)
Fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
1.5 slices of Apple wood smoked bacon per person
Cheese (I used rice for mine, and regular Tillamook cheddar for my master griller skins)
Garnish Options: Cilantro, chives, salsa, sour cream, salt & pepper to taste
Marinate/Night before
- Combine lime juice, oil and garlic and fresh chopped cilantro in a large ziplock
- Rinse chicken and slice into 1in thick strips, season to taste with salt and pepper
- Add to bag and mix around all the juices and spices mix
- Marinate chicken overnight, turning once or twice to mix up the juices and spices
- Wash the potatoes and pat them dry for tomorrow skins and cook up the bacon for the skins
For the Meal
- Remove chicken from bag and thread onto metal skewers .
- Make a small batch of the marinade and brush onto skewers while they grill. Start grilling/heat up the grill judging by how long the potatoes take. Chicken should take about 10-15 minutes to grill so once the potatoes go in the oven, send the chicken to the grill.
- Meanwhile, place potatoes in a zip lock and microwave until soft (depends on potato but I’d judge about 45 seconds per potato just to be sure that they don’t get mushy).
- Lay potatoes out to cool down, then half and scoop out into a bowl. Splash with soy/milk and season to taste with salt and pepper mix together and crumble in the bacon. (optional add ins: Broccoli, cheese, grilled onions). Scoop the mixture back into the skins, careful to not
- Pre-heat oven to 400 & send the chicken to the grill
- Bake the potato skins for 8-11 minutes. Top with cheese to melt and bake 3-5 min more
