Chipotle Grilled Chicken

So I have been really dropping the ball on this whole food blog thing lately...

Turns out grad school is difficult.

Who knew?

Anyways... This chicken is delicious. I love spicy food.

I originally made this chicken to go on a salad, but after I cooked it I decided that it can stand alone just great as well. It really exceeded my expectations.

Kind of like grad school!

You will need: 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 ginormous chicken breast (or 3 smaller ones), 1 lime, 1 chipotle pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and some salt and pepper.

First roughly chop the 2 cloves of garlic...

Sprinkle on a little salt...

Then smush the garlic with the side of your knife while you pull the knife towards you a few times until you get a sort of garlic paste. Throw the garlic into a bowl big enough for the chicken.

Next, grab a chipotle pepper from the can and mince it finely.

Toss it in with the garlic.

Next squeeze in the juice of a lime.

Now sprinkle in some salt and pepper. About 1/2 tsp each.

Finally stir in about two tablespoons of olive oil.

Stir to combine.

Now, if your chicken breast is ginormous, slice it into thinner strips for more even cooking/ more surface area for marinade! If you're feeling particularly ambitious, you can also trim away some excess fat.

Now put your chicken in the marinade...

Squish it around a bit so you can be sure everything is nice and coated. Cover the bowl and allow the chicken to marinade for up to 2 hours.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter to a grill pan over medium heat.

Throw on the chicken! Allow it to cook for 7-8 minutes on this side, or until the edges begin to look white and opaque.

Now flip it over! Allow to cook on the other side until chicken is cooked through.

Public Service Announcement:
This chicken has a spicy marinade so the fumes from cooking it might cause you to hack up a lung. I recommend turning your stove fan on and maybe opening a few windows.

However, I promise it is worth it.

Once your chicken has finished cooking, remove it from the pan and DO NOT CUT INTO IT YET, despite the fact that this might be the most beautiful chicken you have ever made.

Cover the chicken in foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

After the chicken has rested, you are free to slice it up for salads, tacos, on the side of rice and beans, where ever the wind takes you! (I went the salad route. Stay tuned for Southwest Salad with Chipotle Ranch!)

This chicken is juicy on the inside and has a nice spicy crust on the outside.

Enjoy!

Chipotle Grilled Chicken

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast (or 3 smaller ones), sliced into thinner breasts and trimmed of excess fat
• 2 Tbsp olive oil for marinade, plus 1 for cooking
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 chipotle pepper, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced and smashed into a paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp of olive oil plus next 5 ingredients. Place the chicken into the bowl with the marinade, turning to coat. Cover the bowl and allow to marinade for up to 2 hours.
2. After chicken has marinated, place 1 Tbsp each of olive oil and butter into a grill pan over medium heat.
3. Place the chicken in the pan and allow to cook for 7-8 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
4. Remove chicken from the pan and cover with tin foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Slice chicken for salads or serve on it's own!