Margarita Chicken

This margarita chicken is perfect for celebrating the end of summer. If you love margaritas, you have to try this marinade! It is incredibly flavorful! I whipped it up the day before our Labor Day cookout, and B enthusiastically approved the final product. My dad liked it so much that he made it again today. Long story short, this recipe is going straight into my recipe box!

It not only tastes awesome, but it's super quick and easy. The trip to the grocery store was probably the most difficult part of the whole process. You just put all the marinade ingredients into a blender, switch it on for a minute, and pour the very green marinade over your chicken breasts.

Instead of seeking out all of the separate margarita ingredients, I just used a bottled margarita mix (with the tequila and triple sec included!) that was leftover from some of our other summer adventures. I also used fresh lime juice; I just squeezed a couple of limes and threw the 'shells' into the marinade. Cilantro seems like a weird ingredient, but just trust me on this one! I marinated my chicken overnight (about 24 hours), and I think that was a perfect amount of time.

We (er...actually, my dad) just threw the chicken on the grill the next day and it had such a great flavor...definitely worth the trip to the grocery store and the 5 minutes it took to throw together! This is a perfect recipe for relishing these last couple weeks of warm grilling weather.

Best Grilled Margarita Chicken...Ever!
(from allrecipes.com)

2/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion salt
1/2 cup margarita mix
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons tequila
3 tablespoons triple sec
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup light olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1. Place cilantro, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in the bowl of a blender. Pour in margarita mix, lime juice, orange juice, tequila, triple sec, and honey. Puree on high speed until smooth, then reduce speed to medium-low, and slowly add the olive oil; blend until creamy. Place chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag or glass bowl; pour marinade overtop and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 5 hours.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.

3. Remove chicken from the marinade, shake off excess, and discard remaining marinade. Grill the chicken until tender and juices run clear, approximately 7 minutes per side.

4. Enjoy! :)