I Finally Used the Frozen Mango!

I've been trying to find the ideal recipe for the frozen mango that has been living in my freezer since last summer, and I think I have perfected a winning recipe!

For some reason, I was drawn to the idea of making a chicken dish with mango in it. I found and made this recipe in the crock pot, but I think the long cooking time overcooked the chicken and the seasonings in the mango mixture were not enough to bring out the flavor of the mango (which was probably overcooked along with the chicken!) It was a decent enough meal, but I wanted to make it extra special since it is a part of my Once a Month Menu contest entry--2 more days left to submit your votes for your favoite menu!

Instead of cooking the chicken in the crockpot all day, I recommend using boneless skinless breasts so that the chicken can marinate in the mango mixture all day while defrosting, then cook up in under 30 minutes without overcooking the mango. Increasing the seasonings helps to enhance the sweet/tangy mango flavor.

Ingredients:

• 
  
  1 large mango (or 1 cup frozen mango chunks)
• 
  
  3 tsp lemon juice
• 
  
  2 tsp honey
• 
  
  4 garlic cloves minced
• 
  
  1/2 tsp paprika
• 
  
  1/2 tsp salt
• 
  
  1/4 tsp pepper
• 
  
  1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (reduced amount of chicken due to switching to boneless skinless chicken)
• 
  
  A drizzle of olive oil

To Prepare:

1. Cut up or defrost mango. Place in food processor and puree to desired consistency. (I like mine a little chunky).

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine mango and next 6 ingredients.

3. To freeze: Place chicken and mango mixture into a resealable freezer bag and freeze.

4. To cook: Defrost if frozen. Preheat to 375 degrees. Place chicken in baking dish, pour mango mixture over top of chicken and add drizzle of olive oil. Bake until chicken is fully cooked approximately 25 minutes.

This dish is wonderful (and fast!) served over whole wheat couscous, which I made with some of my bone soup so that it has a nice chickeny flavor. We ate it all. The mango flavor was preserved much better this way than in the crock pot; I highly recommend it!

I haven't had a chance to try the topping yet; maybe I'll have time to try it if I prep this meal on a freezer cooking day! ;)