BBQ MARGARITA CHICKEN TOSTADAS WITH SWEET JALAPEÑO SALSA

WWIII almost broke out in my house last week.

I am forever defending my purchase of organic chicken (to the tune of $12/lb) and wouldn’t you know I let $15 worth of chicken expire in my fridge? Oops. My husband went ballistic and swore off anything but conventional chicken and at that, “You need to pay closer attention, Nicole!”

I knowwwww. But chicken juice is so ick and so I keep my chicken in a plastic bag in the fridge and if the particular recipe gets pushed back in the weekly menu for one reason or another…yeah.

What he doesn’t know is that I also allowed for some Italian turkey sausage to expire that same week and fearing his wrath, I risked food borne illness for us all, cooked the daylights out of it, and never told him otherwise. A week later, we’re all here and well. Crisis #2 in the meat department…averted.

In my heated defense during the above, I offered up meal planning and execution, as well as shopping. “Fine, YOU do it.” I threw at him. My point was quickly received but the topic didn’t die without further banter.

Truth be told, I would never relinquish control of the weekly menu to my husband. Shea ate mac and cheese 3 meals in a row…along with the expired and well-cooked turkey sausage while I was away. Thankfully, there were peas to accompany that sub-optimal meal, but let’s face it – he’d never go through the effort I do in planning for, shopping for, and preparing killer meals (I like to think I put out killer meals, but that might be a stretch some days).

But this recipe? Killer. We typically give a thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs neutral to recipes, but this one left us chatting. We loved the heat, the tang, the char, the mango, the textures, the creamy avocado. It was just a party in every bite and well-worth the effort on a Tuesday night.

So, just trust…don’t get too overwhelmed with the ingredient list. And, enjoy! Oh, and don’t let your chicken expire if you make plans to create this masterpiece – it’d truly be war-worthy to do such a thing.

Prep time:  25 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  40 mins

Serves: 5 servings (2 tostadas each)

 

INGREDIENTS

BBQ Margarita Chicken:

• ¾ cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Sweet Jalapeno Salsa:

• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• ¾ cup mango, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 lime, juiced
• ⅛ tsp salt

For serving:

• 2 avocados
• ¼ tsp garlic salt
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro
• 10 tostadas
• 2 oz cotija cheese, crumbed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the chicken. In a medium bowl mix together the BBQ sauce, lime zest, orange zest, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, salt and pepper. In a second bowl combine the chicken, olive oil, and ¼ cup of the BBQ Margarita sauce; toss well.
3. Grill chicken for 6 to 7 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from the grill and allow to rest five minutes; dice or shred and toss with remaining BBQ Sauce. Keep warm.
4. While the chicken is grilling, prepare the salsa by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl; mix well.
5. Mash the avocado using the back side of a fork against the side of a small bowl. Add the garlic salt and cilantro; mix well.
6. To serve, spread avocado over each tostada before topping with prepared chicken and salsa. Finish with a pinch of cojita cheese and serve immediately.