Beer marinated chicken tacos

These are seriously AMAZING!  What a find!  I think what makes them especially good is that the chicken is grilled on the bbq, or perhaps it's the guacamole, I don't know, but the whole thing is just so good.  I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand, so I had to improvise.  Here is my rendition of this recipe:

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the marinade
1 cup dark Mexican beer, such as Negra Modelo (I had to use gluten free beer and it was still fantastic)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups of your favorite guacamole
~ 8 taco size corn or whole wheat tortillas 


optional toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce

What you do:

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the marinade together in a small bowl. Place the chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours to overnight.

2. Remove chicken from the refrigerator while lighting the grill.  Grill chicken until fully cooked and browned on both sides. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut chicken into thin strips.

3. While the chicken is resting, warm tortillas on the grill until pliable, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. To assemble, pile with chicken slices, spread a heaping spoonful of guacamole along the middle, add sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. Enjoy the best tacos EVER! 

note: I forgot to take a picture, so I will replace this one the next time I make this awesome dish!  

Grilled Balsamic Chicken Sandwiches

This chicken is AMAZING! I was a bit weary at first because I thought the chicken would taste like balsamic vinegar, but it doesn't at all. I guess the vinegar taste gets cooked off.  Recipe courtesy of my mom:

Ingredients

• chicken breasts, cut in half
• tomato, sliced
• red capsicum (bell pepper), cut into rings
• red onions, cut into rings
• mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly 
• hard rolls 

Marinade:

• Balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• crushed garlic
• red onion, chopped
• oregano
• basil

What you do:

Mix up the marinade ingredients in a bowl.  Just eyeball it, there should be enough to cover the chicken.  Stab the chicken with a fork and marinate for at least 1 hour.

Throw everything on the BBQ and grill until done.  The tomato doesn't take as long, so put that on towards the end.  Towards the end, put sliced cheese on the chicken.

Load up the sandwiches on the buns: chicken with cheese, grilled onion rings, grilled capsicum rings, grilled tomato slices.      

Serve with a side of mixed salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and oil.  Enjoy! Yum!

Portuguese Chicken on the BBQ

 

We recently bought a BBQ and wow, it has changed my life!  This has expanded my recipe repertoire immensely!  Tonight we had portuguese chicken.  This recipe is incredibly easy and surprisingly tasty:

Ingredients:

• Lots of crushed garlic
• Olive oil (a lot of it)
• a few squirts of lemon juice
• A lot of Portuguese chicken rub (in the spice aisle)

What you do: 
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and brush onto chicken liberally.  Let marinate for a few hours (at least 1 hour).  Cook on a hot BBQ until juices run clear.

Serve with...

Mexican Rice

• olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup brown rice
• low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
• water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on the saltiness of the broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• frozen peas

In a pot, saute the olive oil, onion, and garlic.  Add rice, canned tomatoes, spices, chicken stock, and water (I never measure anything out, so you will just have to experiment.  Just keep adding water if it gets all absorbed and it's not done yet).  Adjust the spices to taste as you cook.   About half way through, add the peas. 

Corn on the cob

Shuck the corn. Put corn on a square of tin foil. Top with freshly ground salt and pepper and a large square of butter. Wrap the corn in the tin foil (1 corn per foil square). Grill for about 15-20 min or until done.