EL Pollo Loco Chicken

El Pollo Loco Chicken

1 cup White wine vinegar
1 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup White wine
1 tbls. Oregano
1 teas. Thyme
3 tbls. Salt
10 Garlic cloves; minced
1 1/2 teas. Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients and marinate two whole chicken which have been cut in
half. Marinate several hours in refrigerator. Grill chickens slowly until
done.


My comments:

To make this taste like real El Pollo Loco chicken I have to doctor the recipe slightly. This recipe is a GREAT jumping off point. It works great as is. Again, I have served this at many functions with people begging for the recipe. It also helps that Jason is great on the grill. Don't over cook these.

I usually add citrus to the recipe because I think that is what I like best about El Pollo Loco's chicken. I will add the juice of a lemon, lime, and a clementine(you can use an orange, just have these a lot cause kids love them). Along with most of the rind grated fine. I use my microplane and attack the skin(avoid the bitter white pulp), then slice and juice the fruit. I just use what ever citrus I have on hand and it works.

Usually don't have white wine around and will either leave it out of replace with chicken broth or white grape juice, if I have it.

Dried herbs work great.

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am really particular about the type I use. I search for natural meat that has not been injected with the 10-15% of water and salt that many stores carry. I think it does not allow the chicken to absorb marinades well and I also think when they process the chicken so much it makes it really rubbery. I know it is much harder to find minimally processed chicken, but it makes a HUGE difference to me. Ok, I'll let it go.

Cowboy Bake

COYBOY BAKE from Parenting Magazine September 2008

Prep: 20 min

Bake: 30 min

6 servings

cooking spray

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tbs olive oil

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cubed

1 (10 oz) can tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Pinch chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese

For topping: 1 (8.5 oz) package corn-muffin mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil for 2 minutes.

2. Add chicken and brown, then add tomatoes, corn, chili powder, salt, and pepper to skillet and cook 10 min, stirring occasionally.

Pour into pie pan, and top with grated cheese.

3. In a mixing bowl, prepare muffin mix according to package directions. Spread evenly over chicken mixture, and bake for 30 minutes, or until corn-muffin topping is lightly browned and filling is bubbling.

Lime Chicken with Rice Soup

This should really be called a casserole. With a hint of lime it tastes like chicken and rice with a twist! Something about the blend of flavors makes you keep coming back for more. I think I'd try a different long grain rice (this was Basmati) to see if it would hold it's shape a little better, but despite that, it's a delicious dinner recipe. I doubled it and had lots of leftovers!

Ingredients:
2 cans vegetable or chicken broth
1 rib celery, sliced into ½ inch pieces
2 carrots, sliced ½ inch thick
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup long-grain rice
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried lemon thyme

1. Combine the broth, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf, and chicken in the crockery pot. Cover and cook on Low just until the chicken is almost cooked through, 4 to 5 hours on Low.
2. Stir in the rice, cover and cook on Low until the rice is tender, 1 ½ to 3 hours.
3. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lime juice and peel, black pepper, and thyme. Cover and cook for 5 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Gladys Wolf's Chicken Casserole

I had to start with my favorite dish.

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 c mayo (I've substituted this with 1 can of cream of chicken, which worked just fine and was pretty flavorful)
1 small diced onion
2 cups diced celery
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts (optional)
1-2 cups cooked rice
1 cube margarine
1 bag Mrs. Cubbison's dressing/stuffing mix

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I start with cooking the chicken and the rice, and then chopping up the chicken and vegetables.


Cook the onions and celery together, until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat. Add the mayo, the cream of mushroom soup, the rice, (water chestnuts), and chicken and mix together. Put the mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Melt the margarine and mix with the bag of dressing until wet. Spread the dressing on top of the casserole and bake for about 30 minutes.