A Really Good Chicken Sandwich...

Of course you do not need a recipe for this ~ it's just a suggestion. But it's one of our favorites, change out whatever you like!

Here are the ingredients.

(Minus the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Monterey Jack Cheese slices, and the whole grain bread.) The spread in the little bowl is Best Foods/Hellman's Olive Oil Mayonnaise ~to which I've added a little fresh minced garlic; a quickie aioli. :)

I slice the chicken breast (halves) in half vertically so they fit on the bread more easily. And then slice them horizontally to make each breast portion thinner, so they marinate and cook faster.

It's the same marinade recipe I used for the SHRIMP I made for our Darling Bakers Cinco de Mayo event.

(Click to link to the marinade recipe)

The chicken can marinate for as little as 10 minutes, or up to an hour (longer than that the lime juice will begin to affect the texture of the chicken.)

This time I grilled the chicken on the stovetop *, after grilling I allow the chicken to rest (keeping it warm and loosely covered ~ while the bread toasts.

Then it is simply a matter of assembling the ingredients (in any order you choose.) :)

I had intended on including thinly sliced red onion and the avocado slices in the sandwich, but the chicken breasts were particularly large, so I served the avocado on the side and skipped the onion. Sometimes I swap out the baby spinach for arugula, fresh basil leaves, or almost other tender greens.

It's a FAST weeknight dinner, or a hearty lunch. :)

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Because of the abundant rainfall in the Pacific Northwest, outdoor grilling in the winter months can be a soggy experience :) But we still love grilled food all year round, so I've invested in a number of stovetop grills.

Here are a few of my favorites:

This is the one I reach for time and again for vegetables and small meals.




This one produces the most fabulous steaks, burgers and other meats. It's also very useful for grilling large quanitites of vegetables ~ we love grilled veggies, fabulous as side dishes, and as components in layered dishes, such as vegetarian lasagna for example. It's pre-seasoned, I love that ~ I've never had any problem with rusting. The only drawback is that it is rather heavy but it does produce the best char-grill marks = super flavor.




This compact grill pan, also by Lodge, produces the same great results as its big brother. It's also pre-seasoned, so its ready to use right out of the box (after a quick wash, of course!)






I like this one for its lighter weight, easy clean-up. The trade off between this version and the Lodge Cast Iron, above, is that searing ability is compromised because of the non-stick finish. I'm a bit hesitant to turn the heat up with this version ~ not a problem with the Lodge.