I love using mint in the kitchen. I have 4 different kinds of it growing in our yard. One thing I find very cool about mint plants is the square stems. If you’ve never felt the stem of a mint plant, you should. Roll in between two fingers or look at it under a magnifying glass, and you will see that it has a square stem. Perfectly square. My science geek side finds that fascinating!
But growing mint plants can be a hassle. “If you’re feeling kind, you can call mint plants aggressive. If you don’t like thugs taking over your garden, you will consider mint invasive,” says Deb Wiley on bhg.com. It is so true! Mint does spread, a lot. And quickly. I had Gilbert pick a bunch of mint for me a few weeks ago. I sent him out to pick more this past weekend and he was pretty skeptical about there being enough out there. He was shocked at how much had grown back, and that was before he learned that I had been heavily raiding the mint patch over the last few days, too. There was still an overabundance of it in the area he was harvesting. Mint plants literally spread like wildfire. I know that it is best to plant it in pots for containment, but I don’t. I just try to use lots of it in cooking & baking!
Garlic & Mint Chicken (adapted from bhg.com) Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds total
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, from about 10 stems
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- additional fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Directions:
In the cup of a wand blender, combine the 1/2 cup mint leaves, the lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, garlic, chili powder and pepper. Blend it until smooth and set it aside while you prepare the chicken.
Don’t worry, the wand blender will be able to handle it!
Rinse the chicken and pound it to about a 1/2-inch thickness between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Reserving 1/4 cup of the marinade for serving, pour the rest of the marinade in the bag with the chicken, sealing the bag and turning it to coat the chicken. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 24 hours.
The longer you marinate the chicken the more flavorful it will be, but even 15 minutes gives it good flavor!
Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade in the bag. Place the chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat. Grill the breasts for 10 to 12 minutes until no longer pink and it reaches an internal temperature of 170°, turning once halfway through the cooking time. Put the chicken on a serving platter with the 1/4 cup reserved marinade and mint leaves for garnish. Serve with couscous or rice, if desired.
With so much mint growing, we’ll be able to eat this dish often!
I can supply the mint when you try out this dish! ~Linda
Garlic & Mint Chicken (adapted from bhg.com) Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds total
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, from about 10 stems
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- additional fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Directions:
In the cup of a wand blender, combine the 1/2 cup mint leaves, the lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, and pepper. Blend it until smooth and set it aside while you prepare the chicken.
Rinse the chicken and pound it to about a 1/2-inch thickness between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Reserving 1/4 cup of the marinade for serving, pour the rest of the marinade in the bag with the chicken, sealing the bag and turning it to coat the chicken. Marinate the chicken in refrigerator for 15 minutes to 24 hours.
Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade in the bag. Place the chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat. Grill the breasts for 10 to 12 minutes until no longer pink and it reaches an internal temperature of 170°, turning once halfway through the cooking time. Put the chicken on a serving platter with the 1/4 cup reserved marinade and mint leaves for garnish. Serve with couscous or rice, if desired.