Summer is coming… but the warm weather is already here! Time to fire up the grill!
I love when I can find recipes that are almost all done on the grill so I can keep the kitchen cool during hot months. I may also love recipes like this because it means I do the easy prep work and then the hubby does all the hard work out in the heat at the grill while I stay cool inside with a margarita. It’s all about team work, right? 😉
Okay, onto the dish. Each of these components is delicious on it’s own but when brought together you get some amazing tacos! You have the grilled chili lime chicken which is so tender and has so much flavor, a little zest from the lime paired up with all those delicious seasonings and a tad of heat. Then you have this delicious chunky salsa made up of a sweet caramelized pineapple with a nice smoky flavor from the grilled red pepper and jalapeño. And is if that isn’t enough, (yes, it gets better!) then you add this refreshing avocado crema. Just give me a bag of tortilla chips and I will go to town on that sauce!
Another thing I love about this recipe is how pretty it is! Look at all those amazing colors! I truly love everything about this recipe! I hope you will too.
Note: If you want to cut down on the amount of preparation at dinner time, you can marinade the chicken for as long as 24 hours in advance and the crema can be made up to four hours in advance. Having a chunk of the leg work done in advance makes this a perfect recipe to make for dinner guests. All you have to do is grill the chicken, pineapple, and peppers, and warm up some tortillas.
CHILI LIME CHICKEN INGREDIENTS
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
PINEAPPLE SALSA INGREDIENTS
20 oz can pineapple slices
1/2 red onion, sliced
red bell pepper, deseeded and quartered
jalapeno, deseeded and halved
olive oil
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
AVOCADO CREMA INGREDIENTS
1 avocado
1/2 c sour cream
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
OTHER INGREDIENTS
tortillas
pepperjack cheese, shredded
lime, cut into wedges
STEPS
- Place the chicken breasts in a large Pyrex dish.
- Whisk together all the additional chili lime chicken ingredients in a small bowl and slather all over both sides of the chicken breasts.
- Cover the Pyrex with plastic wrap and set aside to marinade for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, begin preparing items for the salsa. Skewer the red onions and then drizzle them, the bell pepper, and jalapeño with olive oil and set aside with the pineapple.
- Preheat your grill to 375–425º.
- Grill the chicken for 8–10 minutes on one side and then flip.
- Add the pineapple and peppers to the grill and cook for 4–5 minutes before flipping and then continue to grill them for another 4–5 minutes.
- Continue to cook the chicken until a thermometer reads 160º when inserted into the thickest part of the meat, the pineapple until it is nicely caramelized, and the veggies until they have some nice grill marks.
- Transfer everything from the grill to a cutting board and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
- While all the grilled items are resting get started on the avocado cream. Add all the crema ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth and well blended, set aside.
- Chop up the pineapple, onion, and peppers and place them in a bowl.
- Add the cilantro, lime juice, ginger, cumin, salt, and pepper to the bowl and stir.
- Chop up the chicken and set aside.
- Everything is finally ready! Time to assemble the tacos!
- Heat up your tortillas and top each one with meat, cheese, pineapple salsa, and avocado crema.
- Devour!
Recipe adapted from Carlsbad Cravings.
divadicucina.com 