Tequila Lime Chicken

adapted from The Pioneer Woman on FoodNetwork

INGREDIENTS
4 limes
Zest of two limes
1 cup tequila
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño, sliced
1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
12 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups grated Monterey Jack

DIRECTIONS
Slice open the limes and squeeze the juice into a food processor or blender. Add the tequila, olive oil, salt, garlic, jalapenos, lime zest, and cilantro. Blend the mixture until totally combined. Add the chicken to a large plastic bag and pour in the lime-tequila mixture. Seal the bag and marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Remove the chicken from the bag and grill it over medium-high heat. Rotate the chicken 45-degrees on both sides to create nice grill marks, and continue grilling until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Melt the Monterey Jack over the top of the chicken breasts.

I watched this episode of The Pioneer Woman, and knew that I had to make this chicken. How can you go wrong with tequila, limes, jalapeños, and cheese? Well friendos, you can't because this chicken is amazeballs. I'm like 99% sure that the tequila made all the difference. Because I have a crazy love affair with limes, I decided to add lime zest to the recipe, to give it just a little bit more intense lime flavor. I served it with black beans, spanish rice, and corn tortillas. My entire family loved it, which is a rare, so you should definitely add this to your recipe list!

Grilled Salsa

INGREDIENTS
7 tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 large white onion, cut into quarters
2 jalapeños, sliced in half, remove tops and bottom
4 cloves garlic
1 lime, juice
small handful of cilantro
salt, pepper, cumin to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Toss tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños in a large bowl with vegetable oil.
Sprinkle with salt, peper, and cumin.
Heat grill to medium heat, and grill the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños until you get a nice char on them.
Squeeze excess water out of the tomatoes, because no one likes runny salsa.
Purée each ingredient separately, until you get the consistency you like. I puréed my cilantro with some of the tomatoes, because I hate chopping herbs. Then I grated in the garlic raw, because I like that bite.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, then salt and pepper to taste.

I've been thinking of making my own salsa for awhile now, store bought salsa just doesn't cut it.
I'm not a fan of raw salsas, or chunks, I'm also not a fan of that kind of weird can taste you get from canned tomatoes. So, I decided to use all fresh ingredients, and grill them, because you can't go wrong when you grill something. I used two good sized jalapeños, and left the seeds and ribs in, because I am pretty hard core, and love me some heat! But you lightweights out there can definitely cut down on the amount of jalapeño, and even remove the seeds and ribs to make it even more mild.