Marinades for Chicken and Salad recipies...

[liya]

ALl time search for yummy marinades to make chicken breasts less BORING!! LOL and cool salads that hide the fact that your eating the same lettuce every night!! LOL


TIA mamas

[mamahill]

Lame question - do you have McCormick's GrillMates marinades down there in PR? If so, check out their mesquite one - I buy loads of chicken breasts on sale, mix up several of those packages, divide the boobs by 2 in a ziplock back and pour in some marinade. Throw the whole thing in the freezer, and it makes it easy to just defrost and grill/bake.

I have also pounded the breasts flat, put a green chile and stick of monterey jack cheese on top, rolled the thing up and then rolled it in a bread-crumb/taco seasoning mix. Bake, and serve with salsa. YUM!

What else... salads? I am a total taco salad junkie. Tons of lettuce, a little taco meat (beef or chicken), cheese, olives, salsa, sour cream, and avocado over some crushed tortilla chips. YUM! Hmm... that gives me an idea for dinner... :)

[JulieL]

I love to load my salads with fruit. Some good pics are manderin oranges, apples, blueberries, dried cranberries, dried cherries. Also some toasted almonds, walnuts or pecans are really good.

[JulieL]

dumb question, how do you keep the chickens rolled up? Do you put that cooking twine around them? And what are you cooking them at degrees wise and for how long? I think I got a new reciepe!

[mamahill]

I actually tried it the first time out of my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and, on a whim, just went to their web site to see if it was there. I couldn't remember what it was called, but it was among the first few listed:

http://tinyurl.com/3glpw

It makes it look like more work that it is. I always have bread crumbs on hand, so I usually use those. If I'm lazy I skip the egg. And the other stuff is just extra. The key is the chicken, chili, and cheese! I usually just place the chicken seam side down, but I know my sister has secured it with toothpicks before. I bet it would be yummy with some enchilada sauce poured over it. Hmm...

[JulieL]

SOUNDS GOOD! Gotta try that out!:-)

[papal]

Are you grilling them?
You can marinate them in some yogurt (plain), cayenne, salt, minced ginger and garlic. After a couple of hours you can grill them... yummm...almost Tandoori like.
If you flatten out the chicken breasts then you get more surface area covered with flavour... plus you feel like you are eating more when you are actually not.

[JulieL]

How much of these ingrediants are you using? This one sounds really good too, gosh I am getting so hungry!

[papal]

Ack! I don't usually measure.. just eyeball it. Enough yogurt to cover the chicken breasts.. as much cayenne as you like (more if you like it spicy), and salt to taste. About a teaspoon/tablespoon of ginger paste and a little bit less of the garlic paste.

Gosh, that was not very helpful was it. Seriously.. you cannot go wrong if you put too much or too little..since it is grilled not that much 'sticks' to the chicken anyway. You can brush the marinade onto the chicken breasts while cooking if you like.

Here is what i usually do.
Once they are cooked.. i shred the chicken. I warm up some Wheat Pita Bread, stuff the pocket with chicken, top it with a mix of chopped tomatoes,onions,cilantro,lime juice and salt (salsa-ish). You can also top with sour cream/yogurt and/or grated cheese. This works with the Rotisserie Chicken you find in the supermarket too... DELISH. :)

[nitaghei]

Rashmi beat me to the tandoori marinade!! I always make a double batch of this chicken. In the summer, we grill it, in the winter, I broil the chicken. A couple of nights later I make a simple sauce (tomato sauce, a little garlic, cream and some salt and cayenne) and throw the chicken in - for a different dish. This is my variant of Butter Chicken.

Another marinade/chicken recipe:
olive oil, chili powder, cumin and cayenne (to taste). I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat a wok/skillet - throw the chicken in, add some garlic. Once the chicken is cooked (a few minutes), add a drained can of black beans. Top with finely chopped green onions and cilantro. Serve over rice, with salsa on the side. I can cook this meal in about 20-25 minutes, including prep time.

Sesame oil with garlic, chili paste and soy sauce is also a great marinade.

Italian salad dressing works well too!

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[liya]

YUMMMMM!!!!!!! K gotta try all of these....Sarah i am a total taco freak as well...LOL but i dont want to eat the carbs at night but sounds sooo good for lunch!!...Im doing that yogurt thing tonight!! LOL...

Now on to weird salads!! LOL(oh Julie if i only liked fruit!! LOL)

Keep em coming ladies im making a BBB cook book!! ha ha ha

[pritchettzoo]

Margarita Chicken

½ cup nonalcoholic margarita mix
3 T lime juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 to 3-1/2 pounds cut up broiler-fryer chicken (I used 6 boneless chicken breasts)
1 t coarse salt

1. Mix margarita mix, lime juice and garlic in resealable heavy-duty
plastic food storage bag. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat with marinade. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade.

2. Heat grill. Place chicken on grill. Brush with marinade; sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and grill 5 to 6 inches from medium heat 15 minutes; turn chicken. Brush with remaining marinade; sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and grill 20 to 40 minutes longer, turning occasionally, until done.

NOTE: I double the marinade and reserve about half of it to use while cooking. (I'm weird [yes - I admit it] about using a marinade that has had raw chicken in it.) And I don't follow the directions all that well--I've cooked it on the George Foreman grill and I use boneless, skinless breasts or bone-in breasts instead of the parts.

South of the Border Chopped Salad

Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette:
2 limes, juiced
2 teaspoons Spice Mix, recipe follows
1/3 cup good olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Chopped Salad:
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, shredded
1 can (15 ounce) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, diced
4 ounces queso fresco or feta, crumbled
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

To make the salad, preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each tortilla with vegetable oil on both sides, then sprinkle with salt. Stack tortillas and cut into thin strips. Scatter strips on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, to make the vinaigrette, stir together the lime juice and spice mix; pour in olive oil and whisk to blend. Stir in green onions.

To assemble the salad, put lettuce in a large bowl. Top with tortilla strips or lightly crushed chips, beans, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cheese, and cilantro. Add dressing and toss well.

Spice Mix:
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground chile powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

To make the spice mix, stir together salt and spices in a sealable plastic bag. Store up to 1 month.

Note: Just the dressing is really good. I don't always make the whole salad, but I like the dressing a lot!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

ETA: I didn't just pick these recipes because of your location! I realized it may seem a little tacky or rude and that's not my intent at all--I really like these recipes! Every time I take the salad somewhere I get asked for the recipe.

[liya]

tacky or rude!! girl what are you talking about they seem wonderfull.... Im going to try that sometime this week thank you!!

[pritchettzoo]

Like, "You're in Puerto Rico, so you must love South of the Border recipes!" :P

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[cma]

If you are on a special diet (like for gestational diabetes, I have all sorts of rubs that didn't use sugars).

But if not, here's something from Cooking Light.

Asian Barbecued Chicken
Serving Size : 4

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 (6 ounce) chicken thighs, skinned
cooking spray
lime wedges (optional)
green onion tops (optional)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag; reserving marinade. Place marinade in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.

Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 20 minutes or until done, turning and basting frequently with marinade. Garnish with lime wedges and green onion tops, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 thighs). 297 cal, 7.7g fat, 39.2g pro,
16.1g carb, 0.4g fiber, 161mg chol, 2.7mg iron, 706mg sod, 39mh calc.

[mamahill]

Oh my gosh, you're making me hungry. Note to self: add pita bread and yogurt to grocery list!

[mamahill]

Oh YUM! A question, though. For some reason my screen is interpretting the amount before
cup nonalcoholic margarita mix

as some weird symbol. I'm guessing it's 1/2 cup? Oh heavens, this all sounds so good. And that chopped salad? YUM! Are these SBD recipes? I've been ignoring my book lately, so I'm gonna feel stupid if they're in there and I didn't know it...

[pritchettzoo]

Yep, it's one half cup.

The chicken recipe is adapted from one my husband's old secretary (not that she's old, so former secretary...), and the second one I found on www.foodtv.com a couple of years ago.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)