It’s easy to get into a recipe rut – making the same thing over and over again because it’s what you know. You know which ingredients are needed and keep them stocked – or can grab them quickly at the store without a list.  You know you can crank it out quickly – say, before soccer practice or a lacrosse game. And, you know how it will turn out and that everyone in the family will eat it. This Garlic-Lime Chicken is at the top of my rut list – a weekly regular during grilling season, and often a winter guest star via the grill pan or broiler.

Usually I’ll grill double the amount of chicken we’ll need for dinner; the leftovers will get sliced up the next day and added to a Mexican chopped salad or quesadillas. While chicken breasts are my go-to, this marinade works equally well with bone-in chicken, pork tenderloin, flank steak and portabella mushroom caps.  What are your go-to recipes??

Garlic-Lime Grilled Chicken   

Serves 6

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2  teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied/cut in half lengthwise or pounded even

Butterflying or pounding the chicken helps the chicken breasts cook quickly and evenly; otherwise the outsides gets tough before the centers are cooked through.

Fold out the top of a large plastic freezer bag. Add garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt, sugar and cumin.

This citrus press is handy for juicing limes. (The juice doesn’t need to be strained.)

Keep the papery garlic clove skins on when using a press; the skins will lift right out afterwards.

Add chicken and seal bag, squeezing out air as you zip.  Massage marinade around the chicken.

Place bag on a large plate (in case bag leaks) and refrigerate until ready to grill – at least one hour  or up to 8 hours.

Heat gas grill to medium-high.  Right before grilling chicken, oil grill grates using vegetable oil-soaked paper towels and tongs. Remove chicken from bag and place on grill. Cover and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Loosen and flip chicken using a spatula, since the marinade may cause it to stick a little.

At this point the chicken is almost done.  Cover grill and turn off heat. Cook 3 minutes more and remove chicken from grill.  Check for doneness if you’re concerned, or if the breasts are thick – but don’t overcook. (Temperature should be just shy of 160F.) Serve right away, or let rest a few minutes before slicing. Clean grill with a brush so it’s ready for next time.

Same marinade on grilled pork tenderloins.