Mojo Chicken

Before I made this I had never had mojo sauce before, but looking at the ingredients I didn't see how I could go wrong. It's a cuban marinade and is great on pork or chicken. I'm lucky enough to have a garden growing cilantro, mint, and oregano! Getting fresh ingredients from my backyard always makes me love a recipe even more. The orange juice adds a delicious sweetness and caramelizes when grilled, making all the flavors take on a wonderful sweet smokey flavor! YUM! You might notice that I always cook chicken tenders. There are a few reasons for this. One, they are so easy and quick. I have gotten to where I never over cook them, so they are never dry and can be cooked in a matter of 10-15 minutes. Two, I like the taste and texture better than chicken breasts. I feel like the tenders take on the flavors of spices and marinades better than thick breasts. Three, my husband gets creeped out by chicken on the bone. I do love a good roasted whole chicken, but for everyday cooking tenders are my favorite! That being said, you can use this marinade for any cut of chicken you prefer or pork...I bet it would even be great on steak. Served with a bunch of tasty sides this dish is going to be added to the list of summer regulars over here at our house! Thank you to The Food Charlatan for this marinade recipe! She used it on pork and it looks AMAZING. I'll be trying it next week.

Ingredients

1lb chicken tenders

Marinade

3/4 cups olive oil/avocado oil (I use half and half)

1 TBSP orange zest

3/4 cups orange juice

1 cup cilantro

1/4 cup mint

1 TBSP oregano

8 cloves of garlic

2 tsp cumin

Sea salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Sides

1 can organic black beans

Purple onion

1-2 more cloves of garlic for beans

Lime

Cayenne pepper

White rice

Avocado

Lemon pepper

Sea salt

Garlic powder

Cilantro

Directions

Put all of the marinade ingredients in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Put meat and marinade together and refrigerate for at least two hrs or overnight.

Heat grill and let the grate get nice and hot before adding meat.

Grill each side for 5-6 minutes making sure you get some light char and good grill marks.

As the first side is grilling add a little more of the marinade to the chicken with a brush.

When done grilling, season with a little extra sea salt.

Serve with grilled corn, black beans, avocado rice and a lime wedge for extra flavoring.

Beans- Cook beans about 10 minutes on medium with purple onion, garlic, lime juice, sea salt, lemon pepper and cayenne pepper. The goal is to get them hot and allow the onion and garlic to cook until soft.

Avocado rice- Cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups water. In a bowl smash 1/2-1 avocado. Add sea salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, 1/2 juice of lime, and cilantro to taste and mix well. Add 1 tsp of butter or olive oil to cooked rice and stir in avocado mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

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