Tequila and Lime Chicken

Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken



3/4 cup of Tequila (make one that you would be willing to drink too, little "airplane" bottles are great for this dish)

5 limes

1/4 cup of diced onion

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

a splash of orange juice

a splash of Tapatio

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs



In a large non-reactive bowl mix tequila, onion, cilantro, orange juice, and Tapatio. Zest two of the limes and add zest to tequila marinade. Juice all five of the limes and add the juice to tequila marinade. Place chicken in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Heat the grill on high and when the temperature hits 350 degrees F, place chicken on grill, reserving the marinade, and cover. Cook for five minutes on one side, flip and continue cooking till done. While chicken is cook pour reserved marinade into a small pot and reduce till liquid slightly thickens. Remove chicken from grill and pour reduced marinade over the chicken, keeping the solids in the pot. Garnish with diced onion and cilantro, serve with lime wedge.



Katrina's Tequila Lime Chicken

Mexican Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salad

Like I said in the wine post, it was girls night so we decided to go south of the border for our flavors and attempt a recipe that my husband makes much better than I do. I will have to update this post after he makes it one night so I can figure out what he does differently with the marinade, but for now here is my version.

Mexican Grilled Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 bottle of Mexican Beer (I recommend Pacifico)

1 lime

1/4 cup of coarsely chopped onion

1/4 cup of Tapatio

In a large bowl combine beer, hot sauce, and onion. Cut lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into beer mixture and add the lime halves to the mix. Taste and if flavors are all present add chicken. Cover bowl and marinade overnight. Heat grill on high and cook chicken for around 10 minutes on each side. Serve with black bean salad.

Black Bean Salad

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup of frozen or fresh corn

1/2 cup of diced red onion

2 serrano peppers, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, diced

the juice from 2 limes

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate, serve when cool.

1 Steak 2 Meals

Last week was pretty crazy around here. I barley got a chance to cook what I was hoping to so instead of the promised salads, here is the first of one night of cooking equals two meals posts. This features a kid friendly steak and fries meal, plus a great summer salad that can be used in various ways.

Grilled Steak to Pita Pocket

When looking to feed just myself and my son, I like to make simple meals that appeal to a 5 year old, yet are fun for me to eat to. my son loves steak, so I fired up the grill, seasoned the steak and made a simple meal.

2 8oz. New York Strip

1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Heat grill on high. Cook steak for 3 minutes on each side. Let it rest, slice and serve half of one steak to each person. Reserve extra steak for meals the next day. Serve with Garlic Fries.

Garlic French Fries

1 package of frozen french fries or microwaveable fries (use enough to serve 2)

1 teaspoon of parsley leaves (fresh or dried)

1 to 3 pinches of garlic powder or 1/2 clove of diced fresh garlic

Salt and Pepper

Cook french fries according to package directions. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley. Mix well and optionally add some grated Parmesan cheese.

Left Over Steak Pita Pockets

2 Pitas, Sliced in half

1 steak, cut into thin slices

4 teaspoons of Mediterranean Humus (available at Trader Joe's)

1/4 cup of Greek Vegetable Salad (recipe follows)

Open 1 pita half and add 1/4 of humus to pita. Add steak and veggies. repeat until each pita is filled.

Greek Vegetable Salad

1 English Cucumber, peeled and sliced in to 1/4 inch thick slices

1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons

2 to 3 tomatoes, cut into large chunks

1/3 cup of Greek Salad Dressing (I like Kraft for this)

In a large bowl add all ingredients an mix well. Cover and place in fridge overnight. Serve with Crumbled Feta.

Thai Red Snapper

This is a super easy recipe, it came out great and had tons of flavor. If you do not have any Nuoc Nam use some soy instead. We had this for dinner last night and really enjoyed it.

Thai Snapper

3 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of Asian Fish Sauce Nuoc Nam
1 tablespoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of minced garlic
4 red snapper fillets (6oz. each)
1 carrot, but into 2 ¼ inch long thin strips
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup of fresh cilantro leaves


Mix lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Make a packet with tin foil large enough to hold one snapper fillet. Place snapper skin side down in packet and top with carrot, green onion, and cilantro. Pour lime juice mix over fish and vegetables. Grill over medium heat for 8 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from some grilling book that I checked out of the library.

Carne Asada Revisited

There are times when my husband really misses San Diego, that is probably every day, but I think part of why he misses it so much is the Mexican Food. We have tried a few Mexican restaurants here, but seriously, I have never had nachos covered in Enchilada Sauce before in my life, nor do I ever hope to be served something like that again. Trust me, if the menu had said there was a sauce on the nachos, I would not have even ordered them. That is just one of the experiences I have had. Another, I was being cussed at in Spanish because the waiter did not listen to my order. Seriously I lived in Southern California for close to 20 years, I know what is being said in Spanish, especially when it is negative. Needless to say that experiences like this have turned us off of going out for Mexican or at least what passes as Mexican here. So I made some yummy Baja style food for my man last night.

Easy Carne Asada

Flank Steak or other thin cut steak

1 cup of orange juice or enough to cover steak

2 green onions chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons of Tapitio

1 onion diced

1 bunch of chopped cilantro

corn tortillas

3 limes, sliced

Place OJ, green onions, and Tapitio in a dish, taste to see if you want more hot sauce, add steak and cover for 1 to 3 days. Heat grill on high and cook steak until just done about 6 minutes. Slice with a pizza cutter into strips. Serve with diced onion, chopped fresh cilantro, warm corn tortillas, and lime slices. Enjoy.

Grilled Pork Chops with Apricot Orange Glaze

So we eat a lot of pork here. I get bored with just cooking it in the typical ways so I am always experimenting with it. I had really wanted to do something with apricots and pork so I came up with this recipe. I served the chops with some stuffing and a salad with red onion, yellow bell pepper, and feta. If I wasn't having to feed John too I would have added some red pepper flakes to glaze to add some more flavor and a touch of heat.

Pork Loin Chops

Salt and Pepper to season

1/2 cup of Apricot Preserves

1/4 cup of Orange Juice

1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

In a small saucepan add apricot preserves, orange juice, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and then simmer until glaze becomes thick and is reduced by almost half. While glaze is reduce preheat grill on high. Season pork chops and set aside. When glaze is done place chops on grill, cover and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Using a silicone brush paint glaze on both sides of pork chops and cook for about 3-5 minutes more on each side. Remove from grill and serve.