A bed of quinoa with marinated and grilled chicken breast topped with a fresh and healthy mango salsa. (Photos updated 1/13/15)
So my husband and I both graduated college together. In fact we got to walk together which was pretty cool! 🙂 Granted he was graduating with a Master’s degree and I got my Bachelor’s, but it was still really fun to graduate with him.
The funny thing is, the husband keeps getting emails from a high school English class. These emails range from homework assignments to extra credit opportunities to grade updates.
Apparently someone missed the memo that not only did he graduate high school, he also completed two degrees at college.
At first, the husband was worried someone was missing out on these emails and he was being mistaken for a student in the class. He sent email after email that he was not registered for the class. He even spammed the emails after continuing to receive them.
But they keep coming. And the teacher is convinced he is indeed in the class. Regardless of all that he says otherwise to her.
We recently decided that if this winter does not in fact turn to Spring and continues to limit our weekend activities, that perhaps doing a few extra credit assignments wouldn’t hurt.
You know, maybe we could still learn a thing or two and can pretend we didn’t in fact graduate.
Like the good old times – sitting on the couch doing homework together. Except for the fact that I wouldn’t necessarily consider those the good old times… Homework was rarely considered a fun activity in my mind. Important, yes? Fun, no – not really.
But the more we’ve discussed it, the funnier it gets – the idea of doing one of the assignments and submitting it. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated on our grades in 11th grade English. Wish us luck!
But let’s move on and talk about these quinoa chicken bowls with a mango salsa. I’m pretty obsessed with them. They are pretty dang delicious and the perfect Spring slash Summer meal. (If it can’t be warm outside, I’ll pretend it is in the food I’m cooking.)
Anyways, these are pretty simple to put together. I marinated the chicken in a simple marinade overnight. Then the chicken gets grilled while the quinoa cooks.
The mango salsa is a simple chopping up and adding ingredients together. Putting it together – the quinoa goes first, next the chicken, and finally, the mango salsa to top it all off!
And now, it’s time for me to help the husband on some extra credit. We are really wanting to impress his 11th grade English teacher… 😉
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup Sprite
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Optional: but DELICIOUS! Peri-peri sauce*
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup corn drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 mango peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup red pepper seeded and chopped
- 3 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Optional toppings: extra cilantro, an avocado, squeeze of fresh lime, 1 fresh jalapeno pepper (finely chopped and added to the salsa)
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Combine the Sprite, olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic powder, honey, and salt. Stir together. Submerge two large boneless skinless chicken breasts (fat removed) into the marinade and let sit covered in the fridge for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight or 8-10 hours.
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Remove from the marinade, pound to an even thickness, and then grill until completely cooked through.
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Meanwhile rinse and then cook the quinoa according to package directions.
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For the mango salsa, prepare all of the ingredients by draining, rinsing, and chopping them as explained in the ingredient list.
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Stir all the ingredients together. Cover and allow to sit in the fridge and marinate for 20-30 minutes.
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Prepare four plates by placing one cup of quinoa on each plate. Top with 1/2 cooked chicken breast. Divide the salsa evenly among the four plates.
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Optionally garnish with cilantro and sliced avocado. Squeeze a wedge of fresh lime over the dish.
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Enjoy immediately.
*We tried Nando's peri-peri sauce while living in Australia and it is honestly the best sauce I've ever had (it's pretty famous there). We brush it on the last bit of grilling and then pour some on top of the grilled chicken and it is UNREAL with this salsa. Highly, highly recommended! (It's extremely spicy, so stick with mild if you are worried about spice!) Here's a link if you want to check it out online!
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That’s so funny, Chelsea! You better get on that extra credit 😉
And this bowl? Looks amazing. The marinade sounds so interesting and all the flavors in the salsa sound perfect. Can’t wait to try this!
This looks so fresh and healthy! I love mango salsa. And how crazy are those emails? That’s so odd!
Haha totally odd! Thanks Kelly 🙂
I’m loving this colourful salad bowl. Is there a particular reason for using sprite in the marinade?
Thanks Rochelle! So I used soda in the marinade because the citric acid in the soda really tenderizes the meat! I usually use soda in all my meat marinades and love the results!
What a funny story! That is my husband’s reoccurring nightmare though. He dreams that they take away his college degree because he forgot to go something in high school.
Sprite in the marinade, how fun! Mexican flavored foods are my family’s favorite. Yum!
Oh man I totally still have nightmares I didn’t finish school or forgot to submit a project! Thanks Jamie 🙂
Me and my mom love getting bowls like this! The mixture in this bowl looks so delicious.
Chicken, quinoa, avocado, and mangoes are some of my absolute favorite foods. Must try!
Thank you Graham! If you try it I hope you love it! 🙂
Oh yum! I love mangoes in pretty much anything and this salsa has my name written all over it!! This would be one delicious lunch or dinner… can’t wait to make it.
Oh, and good luck on going back to school, ha! I have no doubt that that teacher lady will be impressed 🙂
Haha we are hoping to impress her 😉 Thanks Kathi! 🙂
This looks AMAZING! I made a mango salsa last night with goat cheese and it was fabulous so I am obsessed now. Going to Pin this one to try. Thanks for the great recipe and good luck in English!
Haha thank you so much Wendy! Thanks for your sweet comment and the pin! 🙂
These look gorgeous, delicious and healthy! I actually have all these ingredients at home, so guess what’s for dinner tomorrow. Good luck with your homework assignments. Submitting something to the teacher ought to really confuse her. Have fun!
Haha we are hoping so! Thank you Lisa! 🙂 I hope you enjoy this meal!
Quinoa, chicken, and mango salsa! What a summery dish. And it’s so pretty with all those colors! That is hilarious that a teacher is still emailing your husband, haha! Y’all should totally do an assignment and send it in. Then let us know what grade you got. 🙂
Haha will do and I’ll keep you updated haha! Thank you Beth! 🙂
Haha – that is too funny! Why won’t they stop emailing him?! I am loving these quinoa bowls! Mangoes were on sale at Whole Foods the other day, so I have like 6 in my fridge. Definitely going to whip this up for dinner!!
Oh so jealous you found mangoes on sale!! I need to find a good sale and stock up! Thanks Cate 🙂
That’s hilarious! What’s he have to do, email his degrees and divers license to this teacher? Ha! Loving everything about these bowls, especially the mango!
Haha seriously! I guess so! Thanks Nicole 🙂
You might be the only two people who volunteer to do homework lol haha. You can do mine too if you wish ;–)
These salad bowls look incredibly yummy and the pics are gorgeous! xx
Haha!! This comment made me laugh!! Thanks Consuelo 🙂
Love everything about these quinoa bowls! So fresh and flavorful!
Thank you Jessica! 🙂
This looks so delicious. Perfect for Spring that really isn’t here yet. It’s snowing here.
Haha, too funny on the e-mails – good luck with the extra credit 🙂 These pretty quinoa bowls would surely get you an awesome grade – I love anything with mango 🙂 Everything looks so fresh and colorful – yum!
It’s been a little while since I’ve had mango salsa. Now I’m craving it again. These look like the perfect meal in a bowl. Pinning!
I love mango salsa! Thanks Melanie and thanks for pinning 🙂
How funny, I hope you guys get some extra credit! This chicken bowls look awesome! I think the mango salsa may be my favorite part. I love dinners like this!
Haha hoping we do 😉 Thanks so much Danae!
Love love love this combo!
Those emails are weird…I’d start to wonder if maybe I was back in school. 😉
Haha totally weird and random! Thanks Tina 🙂
Love this salad, that mango salsa looks delicious and perfect for Spring! Pinned 🙂
Thank you Jenn! And thanks for pinning 🙂
Bowls like this are my favorite! I love how you can get a little bit of everything in one bite. This looks delicious!
I totally agree! Thanks Mary 🙂
Haha! You two can submit one just for funsies! 😛
This looks amazing! I would love to try a bowl of this. Mango salsa would definitely complete this bowl.
I would love to see the teacher’s face when she tries to figure out who these assignments belong to, that would be awesome! Your salad is definitely awesome Chelsea, so gorgeous and healthy. 🙂
Haha definitely would be fun to see! Thanks so much Lisa! 🙂 hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend!
Hi!! I ran across this on Healthy Eating Planner and it looks wonderful!! I love the idea of the salsa and have always wanted to make one, however, I am not a fan of mango. What else would you recommend in place of it? Pineapple?
Thank you Darlene! Pineapple would make a fantastic substitute!
Alright….I’ll try that! Thanks! 🙂
I made this for dinner earlier this week, and it became an instant favorite with my family. The flavor of the chicken was amazing, and the salsa was fresh and delicious. We loved it so much, we are having again tonight! Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Yay!! So, so great to hear! Thanks for the comment Vicki! 🙂