Cajun Chicken with Pomegranate Quinoa Salad

Hi everyone! Spring is finally here, though wet and rainy at least where I am. I decided to celebrate the onset of this fabulously warm weather with a delicious, light spring dinner. The great thing about this dinner is that it's extremely quick to make, which makes it a wonderful weekday meal wiith some tasty left overs

Cajun Chicken (recipe courtesy of All Recipes http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cajun-Chicken/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients:
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
-1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
-1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions:
1. Use a meat hammer to hammer the chicken breasts until they are 1/2 inch thick.
2. Mix spices, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a bowl. Add chicken and coat it with the mixture. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a cooking tray and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Nutritional Information:
(per 1 serving): 242 calories, 16.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 23.5 grams of protein, 173 mg of sodium

Pomegranate Quinoa Salad (recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4545/quinoa-herb-and-pomegranate-salad)

Ingredients:
-1 cup of quinoa
-2 cups of water
-1 vegetable stock cube
-1/4 cup of pine nuts
-1 pomegranate, seeds removed
-a handful of mint, chopped
-a handful of cilantro, chopped
-1 lime, juiced
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

yields 4 servings, or 2 sides and 3 lunch servings

Directions:

1. Bring water in a small pot to a boil. Add quinoa and vegetable stock cube. Bring back to a boil, cover, and turn down the heat so that it simmers for 12 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all the water. remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and cover for 15 minutes. Let cool
2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Mix the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, mint, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil with the quinoa. Serve.

Nutritional information:
(per 1 serving): 360 calories, 17 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, 7 grams of protein, 10.25 grams of sugars