Margarita Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

 Marinades are great ways to flavor meats. I've tried so many store bought varieties from powdered mixes to the ready to go bottled kind and they just never taste nearly as good as homemade marinades. This is one of my go to recipes. To make week night cooking easy, add your marinades to your chicken before freezing. The morning of the day you plan on grilling, transfer your chicken to the fridge and the chicken will be ready to throw on the grill at dinner time.

2 Butterflied Chicken Breast

For the Marinade
1/4 Cup of White Tequila (I normally use Jose Silver)
3/4 Cup of Lime Juice (if you're not using fresh a great substitute is Nelly & Joe's Key Lime Juice)
Zest From 1 Lime
1/4 Cup of Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
*optional ingredients for a more mexican flair.
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbs chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded & minced

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a ziplock bag and add your chicken. Let marinade for 1 - 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Heat your grill to 450 degrees, add your chicken to the grill, close the lid and reduce heat to medium (this just stops the grill from getting too hot). Let chicken cook for 3 - 4 minutes then uncover, flip and cook another minute or 2 more.
If you do not own a grill you can actually use a grill pan or a cast iron skillet. I 1st recommend a grill pan. I have found that marinades will burn onto flat pans before the chicken is cooked and leave a burnt flavor. It will also smoke up your home. This doesn't happen with grill pans. If you use a cast iron pan pat the chicken dry first.

I will type up a more in depth introduction to grilling in the future, promise! =)

Cilantro Lime Quinoa
2 Cups of Vegetable Broth (or 2 cups of water & 1 vegetable bouillon)
1 Cup of Quinoa, Rinsed
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
1/3 Cup of Fresh Minced Cilantro
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Cumin
Salt to taste

Before you cook your quinoa add the measured amount to a mesh colander and rinse well under running water before adding it to your pot. If you don't it will have a bitter soapy taste.

In a medium pot bring your vegetable broth to a boil. Stir in rinsed quinoa, cover, reduce heat to medium low (1/2 inch to an inch before medium) and simmer until water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.

Mix together garlic, lime juice, cilantro, sugar and cumin and stir into the cooked quinoa. Salt to taste. Cover to keep warm.

When you're chicken is cooked, spoon a cup of quinoa onto the center of your plate, place your chicken on top. I also served grilled baby bell peppers with this. I cut the pepper in 1/2, removed the seeds and added them to the grill with my chicken, turning them at the same time I turned my chicken.