Posts in chicken
sweet citrus grilled chicken

this morning on my way home from yoga, i stopped at the store for a few ingredients for some cake recipes i am testing later this week. i walked out of the store with three of the four ingredients i went in for (of course i forgot the almond milk), bobby pins, a giant bag of blood oranges and a giant bag of pink zebra lemons. you know, just in case they run out before i get back in there again. 

the woman had to ask me what most of my items were (not uncommon). what i'm rambling on about is that i think i have a citrus addiction. i just can't get enough citrus in all it's many shapes, sizes and colors. lately, my favorite use is for meat marinades. this chicken marinade is quick to whip up and packs a lot of flavor. grilling the chicken is quick, easy, healthy and it adds even more delicious flavor. i'm usually in some sort of a hurry so i usually eat it over some sort of bed of greens with a dressing, but you could serve it over rice, roasted vegetable or mashed potatoes. whatever your little heart desires. 

sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving. 

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start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. 

then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. 

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whisk the marinade together. 

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drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). 

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place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). 

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once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. 

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if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. 

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serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction. 

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xo, a
sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving.
start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. whisk the marinade together. drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction.

chilaquiles verde

growing up two hours from the boarder pretty much demands that you develop a taste for great mexican food. no, not taco bell, johnny's taco hut or that tex-mex place down the street from you. true, this land actually used to be mexico, mexican food.

now, don't be alarmed. i am not going to go out of bounds and say that i have a high SKILL level or a deep culinary understanding of all the different types of mexican foods, but i do love it in all its shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. their sauces are pieces of art to be studied. and i'm pretty much in kindergarden. but it is the most delicious kindergarden ever. 

i usually have some homemade salsa on hand (because there are many that are easy to make and store for future use and snacking). salsa verde and pico de gallo are my go to salsas, but if you like something with more of a punch this fire roasted tomato salsa will be right up your alley.
and salsas are the perfect addition to pretty much any breakfast in my book. i recently had some extra salsa verde and pico on hand after making enchiladas for weekly delivery but lately, i've really only had time to whip up breakfast. 

enter the chilaquiles. they are meant to be a leftover dish so you could sub the chicken for another protein or you could sub the chips for some tortillas. basically use what you have on hand!

chilaquiles verde
serves: 2
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20-30 minutes
total time: 35 minutes
ingredients: 4 cups tortilla chips. 2 cups salsa verde. 1 cup shredded chicken (or other leftover protein). 1 cup mexican blend cheese. 2 eggs. handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped. .25 cup pico de gallo. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp fresh ground pepper. 

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start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. in a medium sized (oven safe) skillet, crush up your chips and make a nice even layer of chips. drizzle half the salsa verde over the chips and sprinkle with half the cheese. 

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sprinkle with the shredded chicken. 

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make two little nests. crack one egg into each nest and season hem well with salt and pepper. 

drizzle the remaining salsa verde around the eggs (not covering them) and top with the remaining cheese. bake until the cheese is melty and the eggs are set. about 20-30 minutes. 

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when the eggs are set and cheese is melty, remove from the oven. garnish with cilantro. 

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top with pico de gallo (or serve on the side if you prefer) and enjoy. 

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xo, a

chilaquiles verde
serves: 2
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 20-30 minutes
total time: 35 minutes
ingredients: 4 cups tortilla chips. 2 cups salsa verde. 1 cup shredded chicken (or other leftover protein). 1 cup mexican blend cheese. 2 eggs. handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped. .25 cup pico de gallo. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp fresh ground pepper.
start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. in a medium sized (oven safe) skillet, crush up your chips and make a nice even layer of chips. drizzle half the salsa verde over the chips and sprinkle with half the cheese.sprinkle with the shredded chicken. make two little nests. crack one egg into each nest and season hem well with salt and pepper. drizzle the remaining salsa verde around the eggs (not covering them) and top with the remaining cheese. bake until the cheese is melty and the eggs are set. about 20-30 minutes. when the eggs are set and cheese is melty, remove from the oven. garnish with cilantro. top with pico de gallo (or serve on the side if you prefer) and enjoy.