Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop & Smashed Taters

I am not a big sweets guy, but there is something down right magical about Sprite. I freakin' love that shit. Hot sweaty? Drink a Sprite. Need a drink before bed? Drink a Sprite. Hung over? Drink a Sprite. There is no social / nutritional / spiritual value but I can not help myself. So when I bought 36 Delicious Chicken Breast Recipes the other day and I saw a Sprite based recipe, I got on it! Sadly, it is only mediocre. That said it was super easy. So I have included one of my few potato recipes (more on why so few another day), so hopefully this post will be worth while.



Served with a smile!

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop (aka Sprite)

Resources:

 

4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup soy sauce

12 ounce can of Sprite

1/2 teaspoon horseradish

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, which I like to call rapeseed oil since it sounds HARD)

 

 

Method:

 

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for at least thirty minutes (I went about two hours).

 

Grill until cooked through, flipping once. Brush with sauce frequently (every 10-15 minutes).

 

Allow to rest a few minutes before eating (3-5 typically works for me).

 

Smashed Taters

Resources:

 

5-6 very small red potatoes per person (or more if hungry)

salt, coarse (sea salt, kosher, etc)

olive oil

 

Method:

 

Boil the potatoes 30-40 minutes (until tender when poked with a fork). Drain and cool them.

 

Move the over rack to a relatively high position in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

 

On a foil covered baking sheet spread out the potatoes and smash with a potato smasher until the potatoes are about half as thick as they originally were. Generously coat with olive oil and salt (make sure to completely coat the skin with oil). Bake until golden and the skins are starting to look crispy about 30 minutes.

 

Put the oven on broil for about 5 minutes, until the slightest bit of brown / black starts tto form on the edge of the skins.

 

Commentary:

 

As always make sure our chicken is cooked through. Breasts vary in size (giggle) enough cooking times are hard to generalize, but I used about 15 minutes a size for each ~10 ounce breast.

 

The smallest red potatoes are the best. I actually pay a small premium for Ruby Sensation potatoes because they are so small!

 

Here is my corporate plug of the day and I expect sponsorship damnit!

I just want one mouth full baby. No more. No less.

 

One use tools: the bane of a small kitchen. That said a potato smasher is absolutely a must in my opinion.

 

Ever smashed potatoes with a fork? It is time consuming. This baby smashes efficiently!

Conclusion:

 

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Soda Pop is a quick easy fix, but nothing special. It tasted like it was marinated in sugar and soy sauce. There was a little citrus, but not much.

 

As an aside, is there such a thing as marinated chicken breasts that is exceptional though? I have tried countless marinates and unless there something extra (a cream sauce, onions & peppers, a premeditated side dish, etc), I am never thrilled.

 

Smashed Taters is a keeper. I make it frequently.