Grilled Garlic-Lime Chicken

Grilled Garlic Lime Chicken with a Side of Smoky Black Beans

This chicken is so good! And it's a recipe we just kinda toss together. Nothing is measured. Hear that? Nothing. Don't ya love it? Enjoy!




Grilled Garlic Lime Chicken
~ pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
juice of 1 lime
splash of vodka or tequila (whatever's in the house)
squirt of canola or olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two
really healthy shakeshakeshake of garlic powder (NOT SALT!)


1. Fire up the grill if you are using charcoal.
We use charcoal, but suit yourself. In winter, I use a grill pan on my stove, so I don't fire up anything until about 3 minutes before I'm ready to cook. I 'spect if you use a gas grill, you wouldn't need to fire it up much in advance, either.

2. If you are like me, you buy big bags of chicken breasts from a mega-mart. Sometimes those breasts are all different sizes, so you need to cut them down, and maybe even flatten them a little so that each one when cooked will be about the size of a deck of cards / palm of your hand (4 oz).
4 oz is a serving of protein, friends. I'm honest enough to admit this: our dietitian has told us more than once that the foods we eat are not the problem; it's the serving size! I believe I've mentioned we are hogs. In any case, even if you plan to eat 4-5 cuts of chicken breast, you still need to make sure the cuts are all about the same size so that all will take about the same amount of time to grill. Moving on...

3. Wait: do you know how to flatten chicken breasts?
I have a tenderizer/meat-beating hammer thingy because I'm a serious cook (yeah, right. I don't even know what to call the danged thing). If you don't have one, just throw the breasts in a plastic zip-closure bag, let out all the extra air, seal the bag, and whack them a few times with a rolling pin or even a heavy frying pan. It doesn't require specialized equipment. You want them to be about an inch and a half thick, I guess, and only the thickest breasts will need to be flattened. Sometimes I'll butterfly a thick breast instead of flattening it. Butterflying is not difficult. Or if I'm not in the mood to butterfly, I'll just slice the thing in half like a hamburger bun! Shhh. Don't tell anyone.

4. After you've prepped your chicken breasts, throw all of the marinade ingredients in a bag with them. Let them sit awhile in the fridge.
How long? Well, if you are like me tonight, I decided at 5:40 that we were gonna do these, D fired up the grill, and 30 minutes later we were grilling. So... longer is probably better, but hey, you're not gonna ruin the meat by doing only a 5-minute soak. I know. I've done many a 5-minute soak.

5. Remove the breasts from the marinade and discard the marinade.

6. Grill breasts for probably LESS time than you think you need to.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts have almost no fat, and they dry out RIDICULOUSLY quickly on a grill. They are done the minute the juices run clear. To check doneness, just cut or poke into the thickest part of a breast and spread apart the flesh. If it's not bloody, you're good to go.

Notes:
1. Ok, I know I said I was not brand-loyal, but I guess I am a little because I use only McCormick California Style Garlic Powder with Parsley because the garlic granules are big and not powdery.
2. Do you know how to juice a lime? You might own a reamer or a juicer tool, but I just slice it in half through the middle, jab a fork into each half, and work the fork around while squeezing the half to get the juice out. You can do that with limes b/c they don't have seeds like lemons do.
3. Tonight, we served our chicken with a side of Smoky Black Beans. I do not buy canned black beans. Except for Kuner's brand, I cannot find any no-salt-added beans close by, and I'm not making a special 30-mile trip--one-way--to get Kuner's. Instead, I now buy dry black beans in bulk, pressure cook them, and freeze them in meal-sized portions.

Bonus recipe: 
Smoky Black Beans
Some cooked black beans, rinsed and drained if you got them from a can
~ 1 tsp dried cumin (probably my FAVE spice flavor)
~ 1 tsp chili powder (be careful! many of them have added salt)
garlic powder (I don't know how much. I just put some in. Be brave. Go for it.)

1. Toss beans with spices and zap in the microwave for a couple of minutes.


Notes:
1. Most cooks say cumin has a "smoky" flavor. I love it. Chili powders (all of them, I'm pretty sure) have cumin in them. Once you are familiar with the scent and flavor of cumin, it is unmistakable.
2. Any leftover chicken and beans make wonderful innards for chicken tacos on a subsequent evening. Just sayin...