Yesterday morning, as Nick and I were waiting for Madeline to wake up, we were catching up on a few Tivo’d episodes of Rachael Ray’s daytime talk show.
“Mmmm, that looks good,” he said as we watched her make a chicken recipe.
“It does. Do you want to make it for dinner tonight?” I asked.
“Yes!”
And so a plan was made, and I scribbled down the ingredients. In this house, grilled chicken is an easy sell. Nick is picky with sauces sometimes, so plain grilled chicken is always a sure thing, and it’s really easy for Madeline to pick at.
Want a 20 minute, super-healthy, fresh dinner that is kid-approved and family-friendly? This is it.
Nick happened to be asking about cous cous the other day … what is it? what does it taste like? … so I took this opportunity to introduce him to it. I served the chicken over the cous cous and put the salsa topping on the side since he doesn’t like onions. Well, actually, Rachael doesn’t call it a salsa topping, she has a ridiculous name for it – Tex-Mex Chimi-Chop. I’m as much a Rachael Ray fan as the next person, but could do without the cutesy names for everything, you know? For the topping, I nixed the mint (not a big fan of it in savory dishes) and added tomatoes. To me, it just screamed for fresh, ripe tomatoes. I used chicken tenderloins because they cook crazyfast and it’s easier to tell when they’re cooked through since they’re so thin.
This is a perfect light meal to celebrate Spring and Summer … between the fast cook time, the grilling aspect and the salsa topping, you’ve got all your bases covered – dig in!
P.S. You can check out a video and picture of her dish right here – I’m going to volunteer my services to Rachael’s crew, because mine looks way better. So there!
Tequila-Lime Chicken with Tex-Mex Chimi-Chop
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
1/2 cup tequila
Juice of 4 limes
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 bone-in, skin-off chicken breasts (I used one lb of chicken breast tenderloins)
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped (I skipped)
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I skipped)
1 plum tomato, chopped (my addition)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In a large bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice, hot sauce and vegetable or canola oil. Add the chicken to the mixture and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400ºF or grill to medium.
Shake the excess marinade off the meat and season the pieces with salt and pepper. Grill or roast the meat until cooked through, about 40 minutes in the oven or 8 minutes per side on the grill.
While the meat is cooking, stir together the herbs, red onion, jalapeño, red wine vinegar and EVOO in a medium-size bowl. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Serve the finished chicken topped with the Tex-Mex Chimi-Chop.
Wow, that looks delectable. I love the colors. It just screams fresh and tasty!
Sarah Carons last blog post..Sometimes We Just Need a Laugh
This looks great! I love the flavour of tequila in a savoury sauce.
Cathys last blog post..Huli Huli and a birthday present
I don’t know why but as soon as I saw the title I knew this was a Rachael Ray recipe, although that title shouldn’t have given me a clue. My psychic abilitites must be high today.
That looks good but it could be trouble if I buy a bottle of tequila. I love margaritas.
paulas last blog post..One of the easiest recipes I’ve made
this is going into my ‘to-make’ file. I just need the limes. Extra-virgin olive oil is a staple in my pantry. No cute-named sauce from my kitchen, though. Thanks for the ‘share.’
I am not a fan of tequila at all however, I always have a bottle floating around just for marinades. It adds such a great flavor and plays so well with everything.
Nicely done!
Jeffs last blog post..Pineapple marinated chicken with a shocking twist
Mmmm – chicken and tequila are a natural flavor combo! Yours does looks better! Thanks for stopping by my blog – hope to see you again!
Donalyns last blog post..My New Best Friend – and Crusty Italian Bread
This looks so fresh and healthy. Yum!
claires last blog post..O-reo, reoo-oh!
I was thiiiis close to making this last night after watching the same episode on my Tivo! However, I wasn’t interested in buying a bottle of tequila and wasn’t willing to bet on the fact that they would have those little bottles. Shopping is such a different experience with a one-year old.
Madelines last blog post..Free Tote Bag From Every Day with Rachael Ray
mmmm. tequila lime is one of the best flavors. this sounds so tasty :)
Heathers last blog post..Scrumptious Salmon
I feel like I can smell it from over here…yum!
oneshotbeyonds last blog post..Tasty Tuesday: Breaded Baked Chicken
I’m not a huge fan of drinking tequila, but I do think I’d love this chicken! I suppose we could always make margaritas with the leftover tequila :)
sharons last blog post..Lobster Mac and Cheese with a shot of protein
Your photo is mouth-watering! Looks like a great dish, and I agree wiith you on the cutsey names… I could do w/out them, but I do enjoy her recipes so I put up with them!
Patsy Kreitmans last blog post..Cooking Challenge: Homemade Pasta Part 2
Food pictures are sometimes hard to do well, but yours are stunning. So mouth-watering. The recipe sounds great! Thanks for sharing it!
Wow, I do not know tequila can be used as a cooking ingredient. Though I must amit I have used it instead of chinese cooking wine to marinade my meat due to run out of it at home. I still have 2 bottles of tequila sitting at home, I should use it to try out your recipe. Awesome !!!
This dish looks so beautiful and also sounds so yummy.
Selbas last blog post..Ketupat Sayur (Rice cake and vegetable in coconut milk)
This looks amazing! I don’t happen to have tequila on hand at the moment but I’m looking forward to going home since my parents have TONS of alcohol lying around.
And yes, I love Rachel but sometimes her cutesy names for things get to me. As does her affinity for adding a cup of oil to things and calling them healthy. But thats what substitutions are for I guess.
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This dish was awesome thanks for sharing can’t wait to make it again
I saw this recipe on the Rachel Ray show a while ago. I thought “Ewww.. Tequila and chicken…, I don’t know.”
I just so happened to have all the ingredients in my house. So I thought, why not? I tried it, and it was indeed delicious. I just made the chicken, I didn’t make the rest of the dinner, rather I served it with some steamed rice and asparagus.
It’s a relatively simple recipe which is made up of stuff I have around the house, and only has four main ingredients: Chicken, Limes, Teqilla, Hot Sauce.