Thursday, April 23, 2009

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Sauteed Veggies

As it gets hotter outside I am always looking for recipes that don't require me to turn on the oven. A lot of times that means that we grill. The best part about grilling is that the kitchen also stays relatively untouched, so clean up is a breeze. The part about grilling that can get old is that I can easily get stuck in a rut making the same kind of grilled chicken, or taking the really easy and grilling sausage. While those things are good, Austin has a really long grilling season (just about year-round), and pretty soon the chicken and sausage on the grill is pretty boring. So, I thought I would mix it up a little bit. This is what I came up with:


Grilled Chicken Tacos

3 chicken breast halves
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. dried ancho chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried onion flakes
lime zest
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl to make a paste. Spread the paste over the chicken and marinate at least an hour (or more if you have the time.) Grill chicken. Once the chicken has reached 165° remove from grill and let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. I put my chicken on flour tortillas from Central Market. I served the tacos with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo (also from Central Market), and shredded pepper jack cheese.





The sauteed veggies are very straightforward. I just cut up squash and zucchini and red bell pepper. I put them in a heated skillet with some olive oil and seasoned them with sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and a little bit of seasoned salt. That is always a quick, easy, and healthy side dish!



Just in case you are worried, the ancho chili powder is not hot at all and these tacos are kid approved! Max kept saying "Mmmm, these are really good!"



Bon Appetit!
Jen

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE it! I can't wait to look at this many times during the week :) My favorite part (besides the great recipes, of course!) is the picture diary. It helps me to know what it is supposed to look like (a big plus for a novice like me). And I think that people will really be able to relate to the personal images of your family enjoying the meal at the end of the blog. (I can see this blog being a big hit, nationwide...by the way!) And, I must say, very artistic images!! Not too shabby, sista...
    -Claire

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  2. And KiKi said, "FoodNetwork, here she comes!"

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