Tequila Lime Chicken

Tequila Lime Chicken

A long long time ago, when I was in high school, I was on the Dance Team so we had to be at every football game.  After games, we always ended up at Applebees, and for awhile they had this amazing Tequila Lime Chicken on the menu.  But a few years later I went off to a college where there were no Applebees (and when I went home to visit, they had taken it off the menu) and so I had to find a recipe to help curb my cravings.  This recipe I found (and as usual, modified) actually was tastier than the one I loved!

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 cup water
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (Oy Vey's Veri Veri Teriyaki Marinade is my favorite)
2 tbl lime juice
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp gold tequila (I use Sauza Gold)

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Spanish rice
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
2 cups crumbled corn chips (or I found some tri-colored tortilla strips in the dressing aisle next to croutons that work perfect for this)
Salsa

Mexi-Ranch Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbl milk
2 tsp minced tomato
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp minced canned nacho  jalapeño slices
1 tsp minced onion
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried dill weed
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
Dash garlic powder
Dash ground black pepper

Prepare marinade by mixing together all the marinade ingredients.  
Pour over the chicken in a shallow bowl or in a ziploc bag and marinate for 3 hours to overnight.
Prepare the Mexi-Ranch dressing by mixing together all the dressing ingredients and chill  3 hours to overnight as well.
Preheat the grill and cook the chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side.
While the chicken is cooking, preheat the oven to Broil.
Arrange the cooked chicken in a baking pan.
Spread a layer of the dressing (there will be plenty left over for dipping) on top of the chicken, and then sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on top of each piece.
Broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
Spread a bed of corn/tortilla chips on a section of 4 plates.
Place a dollop of salsa on top of each chicken breast.
Slide a chicken breast on top each bed of chips and serve with yellow rice.