Margarita Grilled Chicken.....yuuuuuuummmm!

As usual, I am slacking in adding recipe posts to the blog.  When times are busy (which they definitely have been at our house lately) I stick with what I know and what is familiar rather than venturing outside of my comfort zone much.  It’s just faster that way.  But I keep trying to push myself outside those boundaries because with familiarity comes boredom and with boredom comes….usually nothing good in my world.  It leads to laziness, overeating, etc.  No bueno. 

I am a person that if I like a meal I can eat it over and over again and it takes me a while to get bored with it.   And if I like it, as with everything else in my life, I tend to obsess about it and surround myself with it a lot (aka eat it often).  My hubby, however likes more variety than I.   So in an effort to keep us both happy, I try to find new recipes to introduce in to our meal plan.

A co-worker and friend of mine emailed me this recipe last week.  It had margarita in the name, so of course I was hooked!  And how can you have margarita without Mexican, another LOVE of mine!  Seriously I think I could eat Mexican food 7 days a week….mmmmm (yes, obsessed!).  So I decided to try it on Saturday and served it making my own copycat of Chili’s margarita grilled chicken – I served it over rice and black beans and topped with pico and tortilla strips….YUMMO!!!!  This will certainly be a regular in my menu planning!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Margarita Chicken

½ cup liquid non-alcoholic margarita mix – I use the Jose Cuervo (you are a friend of mine!) light – zero calories….bonus!!

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

3-3 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp coarse light salt

Mix margarita mix, lime juice and garlic in re-sealable heavy-duty Ziploc 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. Grill or broil chicken. Brush with marinade; sprinkle with ½-teaspoon salt. Continue grilling or broiling, turning chicken. Brush other side with remaining marinade; sprinkle with remaining salt. Continue cooking until no longer pink.

I served it over rice with black beans and topped with pico and tortilla strips (Fresh Gourmet found in the produce section with the salad toppings).  I am impressed with myself in that there is no cheese or sour cream in here….I would have never thought I would be doing meals without adding all the “extra” flavors that also add calories.  In my opinion, this dish certainly doesn’t need it!  I think you could also easily make a southwest salad out of it that would be great too!

My homemade pico…

     Tomatoes, diced (2)

     Cilantro, chopped (1 bunch)

     Red onion, diced (1/4)

     Lime juice (1/8 cup maybe?  I don’t measure this – just to taste)

     Salt

I don’t like spicy food or peppers, so I personally don’t add any jalapenos, but you could easily add some for your own personal taste.

A pic of my version....MISSING!
I am SUPER SAD to say at this time I can't find the memory card that I took the pic on :-(  So going to go ahead and post without it and hope I can find it soon.  Or worst case I will just have to make this dish again soon and take another pic!

Compared to the one I ordered at Chilli’s a few weeks ago.

The nutritional info on the Chilli's version was 550.  I am estimating mine at 557 calories so pretty darn close!

Chicken - 238 calories (6oz breast)

Rice - 134 calories for 1/2 cup (I used the skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Rice)

Black Beans - 120 calories for 1/2 cup

Pico - 30 calories for 1/2 cup (4 oz)

Tortilla strips - 35 calories for 2 Tblsp