Adventures of an AFWingMom: Grilled Taco-Barbecue Chicken

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Grilled Taco-Barbecue Chicken

One of the things that I really enjoy is trying new recipes. It brings up so many questions…will they like it? Will I like it? Will it turn out? How badly can I mess it up? Sometimes the outcome is a success and sometimes it’s more like a culinary experiment. And if a recipe doesn’t turn out I don’t blame the recipe, typically I’ve “tweaked” the recipe just a bit to help it along.

The recipe I tried on Saturday was called Grilled Taco-Barbecue Chicken. It’s from a Betty Crocker e-newsletter that I subscribe to. It looked easy enough and I had the necessary ingredients on hand.

Here’s what you’ll need to make 4 servings:

2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lb

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 chili sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

Now here’s how you put it all together:

1. Heat oven to 375F. Line shallow baking pan with foil or spray with cooking spray.

2. In shallow bowl, mix taco seasoning mix and oregano. Brush chicken with oil, coat with taco seasoning mixture. Place coated chicken in pan.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut.

Now anytime I’m cooking I must restate my disclaimer. I have been known to not necessarily follow the recipe exactly as given. So let me explain the things I changed.

I used 2 whole packages of taco seasoning mix and I used 4 large chicken breasts and I feel confident they weighed more than 1 1/4 lb. I cut the chicken into strips and placed it in a 9X13 pan and baked it at 375F for 30 minutes and it turned out wonderfully. The chicken was moist and tender and it definitely was not too spicy.

Here’s how it all turned out…..