Have you ever heard of Lawry's marinades? They can be super good marinaded with chicken or seafood during the Summer. Empty bottle into a ziplock bag a long with whatever choice of protein you used. Then grill it. The thing about those marinades is how much salt is in them. According to their website, 1 tablespoon has 350 mg of sodium! That is crazy.
The whole bottle probably has like 10,000 mg of sodium. I decided to give myself a challenge and make my own version of Lawry's Baja Marinade. Hardly any salt is used and your heart will thank you! Add the ingredients to a ziplock bag and then the chicken breast. It can marinate overnight or up to hours. The longer it sits the better the chicken gets.
Ingredients for Marinade:
- 2 teaspoon of olive oil
- ¼ cup of chicken stock fat-free
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ juice of 1 lime
Sometimes I leave the chicken whole as it is in the picture on top or I'll dice the chicken in strips.
Once the chicken is done cooking and the orzo pasta, place the chicken on top along with some queso cheese sauce. I really like Tostitos Medium Con Queso cheese sauce. 2 tablespoons is only 1 smart point on WW. Depending on whether or not I have the ingredients, I will make a pico de gallo to go on top. If not, just use whatever tomatoes you have on hand. This is one of the most delicious dinners I've ever made!
Queso Smothered Chicken
- Prep Time: 30min
- Cook Time: 20min
- Total Time: 50min
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Seasoned grilled chicken smothered in queso sauce and served with orzo
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- ¼ cup of chicken stock fat-free
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 medium chicken breasts split in half lengthwise
Orzo pasta
- 1 cup of orzo
- 1 tsp of olive oil
- 2 cups of low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tsp of Mrs Dash Chipotle Seasoning blend
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (no salt added)
Toppings
- 1 jar of Tostitos Medium Queso Cheese Sauce
- 2 or 3 medium scallions, chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced.
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a bowl or in a zip lock bag. Place the chicken inside the marinade and let it sit for 30 minutes or overnight.
- You can grill the chicken or cook the chicken in the oven. I cooked mine in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Then I let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. To grill the chicken, set your grill to high heat between 400 to 600 degrees and cook the chicken on each side for 5 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the orzo pasta. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add in the uncooked orzo. Stir the orzo around in the olive oil for a bit so that it gets toasted. Be careful not to let it burn. Pour in the chicken stock and let the chicken stock cook for 8 minutes. Add in tomato paste and seasoning. The water should be absorbed when the orzo is done.
- Serve the chicken with the orzo and top with scallions, diced Roma tomatoes, and queso dip. Enjoy!
-  Serving Size: ½ cup orzo + chicken breast and 2 tablespoons of queso
Notes
MyWW points: Blue: 5; Green: 9; Purple: 5
 ½ cup orzo + chicken breast and 2 tablespoons of queso
Points are calculated with the WW recipe builder app and not using the nutrition info.Â
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 467
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 181mg
- Fat: 27
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Carbohydrates: 13G
- Fiber: 2G
- Protein: 45mg
Keywords: queso smothered chicken
Britt says
Can't remember the last recipe I found that I didn't modify (pickiest. Eaters. Ever! in my house). This was incredible. Absolutely phenomenal! I served with corn and my husband went for seconds. I prepared exactly as recommended, marinated for just an hour, and my favorite is that the veggies can be added last to make my life easier while appeasing the picky eaters. Thank you for such an easy, flavorful recipe that is perfect as is!
★★★★★
Jenna says
Thanks Kim, it's one of my favorite chicken recipes.
Kim says
We really enjoyed the chicken! I served it with some salsa rice, a green salad, and some orange slices. My husband said he would really like this chicken to make repeated appearances on our dinner table! Best dinner we've had in a while. Definitely a hit with us. Next time I'm going to make some pico de gallo to top it off. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kelly says
How much oil?
jgisvold says
I updated the recipe so it says 1 cup orzo. Thanks for that.
SalBug says
Sounds so yummy! Question - how much orzo? It's not listed in the ingredients. I usually cook it like pasta and drain the water out. It sounds like your liquid cooks down until all you do is fluff with a fork, so I want to be sure I use the right amount. Thanks!