Margarita chicken

I have lived in Southern California most of my life. In these parts Mexican food is everywhere, and I love it! The bold flavors,  and use of hot peppers has heavily influenced my cooking. Actually there is something amazing about the hot burn, yet cool almost refreshing flavor of a good salsa. That being said, at some point you want the flavors without having the same old taco.

 So, one day in the grocery store I saw a package of preseasoned chicken by a celebrity chef, called "Margarita Chicken". I thought, wow, what a great idea, a Mexican dish that's easy, and no taco.  What could be better than chicken marinated in the glory of a margarita!  Needless to say I bought it, threw it on the grill, and it was absolutely horrible! I said to myself, I can do way better than this. After a little trial and error,  here is the outcome. ENJOY!

         INGREDIENTS:
2  boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Margarita mix
4 slices of bacon
2 slices of pepper jack cheese
1 jar of  jalapenos
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp minced, chopped, or crushed garlic
1/2tsp black pepper
1 avocado
Fresh salsa (refrigerated not jarred)

     HARDWARE:
1 1 gallon zip top bag
Charcoal

  Place chicken in zip top baggie,  cover with margarita mix.  Add the cumin, garlic, pepper, and jalapenos. Add jalapenos to taste, if you don't like your food spicy 2 or 3 slices will do. I use about 10 slices, and about  2 tbsp of the juice. Let marinade 4 to 6 hours. Try not to let it marinade more than 6 hours, the citric acids in the margarita mix are trying to chemically cook the meat.

   When meat is marinated, prep your grill. Cook about 8 minutes a side, depending on the temperature of your grill and how thick your chicken is, until done. During the last minute or so of cooking, melt a piece of the pepper jack cheese on it. Remove from grill, cover, and let rest. While meat rests, cook bacon in frying pan until crispy. (Or bacon can be done ahead of time.) Slice avocado.

 Serve chicken with topped with two pieces of bacon, 3-4 slices of avocado, and a  spoon full of fresh salsa. Goes well with black beans and Spanish rice, or corn on the cob and a salad.