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Appleby's Tequila Lime Chicken

Grilled chicken breasts marinated in lime, teriyaki and tequila-flavored marinade, topped with Mexi-Ranch dressing, melted cheese and crisp tortilla strips.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 30 ingredients
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Why it works: Lime and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,621 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Appleby's Tequila Lime Chicken

four plates
Ovenhigh broil
Time3 to 5 minutes per side

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate and make the dressing

  1. Prepare the marinade by combining the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.

  2. Add the chicken to the bowl, cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours.

  3. Make the Mexi-Ranch dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well until smooth, then cover the dressing and chill it until needed.

Grill and broil the chicken

  1. When you are ready to prepare the entree, preheat the oven to high broil.

  2. Also, preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to high heat.

  3. When the grill is hot, cook the marinated chicken breasts for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until they're done.

  4. Arrange the cooked chicken in a baking pan.

  5. Spread a layer of Mexi-Ranch dressing over each piece of chicken (you'll have plenty left over), followed by 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese blend.

  6. Broil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted.

Make the tortilla strips

  1. Crumbling store-bought tortilla chips is the easy way to make the bed of crunchy chips that the tequila lime chicken rests on.

  2. But, you can make tortilla strips like those served at the restaurant by cutting a stack of eight 6-inch corn tortillas in half. Stack the halves on top of each other and slice the tortillas into thin strips.

  3. Fry the tortilla strips in 2 cups of oil preheated in a large skillet for 3-5 minutes or until crispy. Salt lightly and cool on paper towels to drain.

Assemble and serve

  1. Spread a bed of 1/2 cup of the tortilla strips or crumbled corn chips on each of four plates.

  2. Slide a chicken breast onto the chips on each plate and serve with your choice of rice and pico de gallo, or salsa.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1054Calories
87 gProtein
42 gFat
86 gCarbs

Counts 21 of 24 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 21 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Corn Chip1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Tabasco Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0
Smokenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lime + gingertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,621 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Lime + garlictop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,411 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breast fillets
Forms the main protein, which turns firm and cooked through during grilling.
Teriyaki sauce
Adds salty-sweet flavor to the marinade, and its sugars help the surface brown.
Mayonnaise
Provides fat and body, giving the dressing a smooth, creamy texture.
Sour cream
Adds tang and moisture, keeping the dressing creamy and lightly sharp.
Cheddar/monterrey jack cheese blend
Melts and browns under the broiler, forming a binding topping over the chicken.
Corn chips
Provides a crisp base that contrasts with the tender chicken.

The step that matters

Broil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted.. Under high broiler heat, cheese melts and browns within minutes. Leaving the chicken too long dries out the meat and can scorch the cheese, so watch it closely.

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, garlic, ginger, chicken, ranch, cream, milk):

  1. Avocadofits about as well
  2. Coconutfits about as well
  3. Lemonfits about as well
  4. Limethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, garlic, ginger, chicken, ranch, cream, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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