Honey Chipotle Lime Chicken Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice

I found this recipe the other day and it sounded so fresh and summer-y!  We are loving grilled chicken right now (maybe because we don't have a kitchen...) and all the flavors in this bowl worked so well together.  It was delicious!

Honey Chipotle Chicken Marinade

by: melskitchencafe.com

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. chopped adobe peppers in chipotle sauce (get as much sauce as you can)

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. minced garlic

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

pinch of black pepper

2 lbs thin cut chicken breasts

In a bowl, stir together all the ingredients and then add the chicken.  Marinate it for 2-24 hours.  I did mine for most of the day, and it was so tender!  Cook your chicken on the grill or in the oven, or however you prefer.  Slice it in strips.

Cilantro Lime Rice

adapted from: melskitchencafe.com

1 Tbsp. butter

1 1/4 c. rice

2 1/2 c. chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

juice and zest of 1 lime

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

I make my rice in a rice cooker, so I just added all these ingredients to my rice cooker, stirred them, and then cooked them as usual.  

Bowls

add to your bowl any of the following:

marinated chicken breast strips

cilantro lime rice

lettuce

sliced avocados

chopped tomatoes

lime wedges

creamy tomatillo dressing

My Favorite Chicken Marinade

I found this marinade recipe early in the summer, and it was so delicious that we have ended up using it multiple times this year.  We love it!  I have shared it with some of my sisters, and they felt the same.  It is now my go-to marinade for grilling.

Chicken Marinade
from: modernhoney.com

2 lbs. chicken breasts, tenders or thighs
1/3 c. olive oil
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

In a bowl, stir all the ingredients together, except for the chicken.  Poke the chicken with a fork all over it.  Place the chicken in the marinade, either in the bowl, or in a large ziploc bag, and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes in your refrigerator.  4-5 hours of marinading is best, however, I have done mine for about 30 minutes, and it was still very tender.  Cook it on your grill and enjoy what's left of your hot summer nights!

Smoky Grilled Pork Chops

It may be only nine degrees here, but that hasn't deterred me from using my grill.  Okay, maybe what I should say is that it hasn't deterred me from sending my husband out to grill!  Especially when I needed a quick meal idea and had all the ingredients for this amazing pork chop recipe.  This is really so easy.  Mix the spices, rub them on the pork chops and let them sit for 10 minutes before grilling.  And that is it.  So slip on your winter gear and get grilling!

Smoky Grilled Pork Chops
from: allrecipes.com

1 Tbsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke flavoring
4 pork chops

In a small bowl, mix together all the spices, Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke flavoring.  Rinse your pork chops and using your fingers, rub the mix on the front and back of each pork chop.  Massage it in a little.  Let it sit for 10 minutes.  Then heat up your grill and cook them over indirect heat until they are no longer pink inside.

Citrus Marinade

Lately, I haven't wanted to cook very much, unless it is on my grill.  I don't know if it is the heat, or just wanting to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  But because of that, I have been able to try out some new marinades.  This one was delicious.  A little citrus-y, a little mustard-y.  The recipe said to marinade it for eight hours.  I never remember to do that, so this got about 30 minutes.  And it still tasted great.  I marinaded chicken, but I bet this would be great with pork, too.  Sorry that the pictures aren't great.  I keep forgetting to take pictures until the last minute, or we've cleaned up dinner, or all I have clean is a Blue's Clues plate.  Don't let that deter you from this recipe.

Citrus Marinade
adapted from: food.com

1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. mustard
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 lime, juiced 
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. oil
pepper, to taste
chicken breasts or pork chops

In a shallow bowl, mix all the ingredients together.  Marinade your meat for up to eight hours.  Then grill it until it is cooked through.  

Easy Herbed Pork Chops

I wanted a quick and easy pork chop marinade that I could throw together on days when I'm too exhausted after work to make something time consuming, and with all this nice weather we've been getting I want to grill out all the time.  (Not to mention, when we grill, that usually means my husband is doing it:)

I found this recipe while randomly surfing the internet one day from grilling.com.  It was so easy and turned out really tender and tasty.  Why didn't I think of using Italian dressing before?  This has become my go-to, weeknight, pork chop grilling recipe.


Herbed Pork Chops


4 pork chops, 3/4-in. thick
1 c. reduced fat Italian dressing
4 tbsp. fresh herbs (combination of your choice, such as basil, oregano, chives, rosemary)

Marinate pork chops in bowl or plastic bag for at least 1 hour before grilling.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

If you don't like coconut, you probably haven't been too pleased with the recent recipes I have been adding. Apparently I am loving all things coconut right now. This recipe actually is supposed to have the chicken grilled, but my little grill wouldn't support the amount of chicken we were making. Instead, I fried the chicken on the stove and served it with rice. It got rave reviews this way, but I am sure it would be excellent grilled, too.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Adapted from: http://www.sweetluvininthekitchen.blogspot.com/

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 c. canned coconut milk

1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

Glaze

3/4 c. rice vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

Marinate chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes for at least an hour. I did mine all day, and the chicken was very tender and flavorful. Put a small amount of oil in your frying pan and fry the chicken until no pink remains. While mine was cooking, I had some of the marinade in with the chicken, but before I glazed it (see next step) I poured most of the marinade out.

While chicken is cooking, combine rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan and stir over medium-high heat, until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

When it really begins to thicken, take it off the heat and immediately glaze it on your cooked chicken (it will firm up pretty fast once it is off the heat).

Enjoy!

*Note: The original recipe calls for red pepper flakes in place of the chili powder. I have never used the red pepper flakes until the last time I made it. It adds A LOT of kick to this dish. If you like a lot of spice and a little sweet, use red pepper flakes. If you like a little spice and a lot of sweet, use chili powder.