Southwestern Chicken Marinade
"This is a great way to prepare chicken for company -- but it's so easy and quick, it's also a perfect entree for "gotta-make-a-quick-dinner" nights!"
- Ready In:
- 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Yields:
-
4 chicken breasts
- Serves:
- 4
ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
-
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
directions
- Mix together marinade ingredients.
- Coat chicken in marinade.
- (Optional: allow chicken to marinate 1-2 hours. On evenings when I don't have time to let it sit, though, it still tastes good when it goes straight to the grill!).
- Grill chicken.
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Reviews
-
This was a really tasty marinade. Smoky without being spicy. Gives a real aroma and flavor of the Southwest, reminiscent of mesquite grilling. It definitely needs salt, as the other reviewers have said. I do not like balsamic vinegar generally, especially balsamic reduction - but it is undetectable in this dish and serves as a hearty backbone to the spices. -
I usually don't review a recipe w/changes but I can't seem to add a private note (which I usually can). The only change I made was to double everything and swap out the vinegar for lime juice, and added about a TBSP extra EVOO and a splash of water to thin it a bit. Smells delicious, can't wait to try the finished product (it is marinating right now). Smells very authentic. I used about 1/2 tsp each S & P. THANKS! -
This was super, super easy and absolutely delicious. I left the marinade on all day and the chicken breasts were to die for.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I am a native Californian, and a zealous fruit and vegetable gardener. Most of the produce I eat comes from my back yard. I'm very grateful for a climate that allows for a year-round harvest! <br /> <br />Quality of life is the primary yardstick by which I measure the choices in my life -- the question is always at the forefront of my mind: which option here will bring us (and anyone else involved) the most happiness and fun?! <br /> <br />Generally (not always!), I try to stay away from processed foods -- particularly hydrogenated fats & high fructose corn syrup. I find I feel best when I follow the Zone diet, and I also aim for half my food intake to be vegetables (even at breakfast! I love a good egg-and-veggie scramble with onions, sweet and hot peppers, and summer squash!). No fanaticism however -- a little decadence is the spice of life... so I rationalize that indulging in two rich meals a week only makes up 10% of my total! ;-) <br /> <br />For me, investing in high-quality basics yields great rewards -- so naturally, good cooking ingredients are a big priority, e.g. freshly picked organic produce and high quality spices. And I am just thrilled that since consumer demand is steadily increasing for free-range poultry, grass-fed beef, and the like, these items are becoming more available. (I don't think it's a coincidence that when animals are treated kindly during their lives, given room to roam, fed the food their bodies were designed to eat, and killed humanely, the result is better quality meat. Makes sense to me!) <br /> <br />I love to travel the world and the U.S., and make an effort to take at least one international and one domestic trip every year.</p>