When Life Gives You Limes, Make Some Marinade

The last few weeks I’ve been uninspired with my meal planning.  On the weekends, I get all fired up and shop for good ingredients to cook during the week.  Since school has started they’ve mostly gone bad in the fridge because by the time I get home all I can manage is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Luckily, Jason gave me a bag of limes straight off his lime tree about a week ago.  I love cooking with lemons, but have never done much with limes.  They were a good excuse to do a little research and come up with some new yummy meals.  Both of these recipes use limes as the base of a marinade.

Zucchini Quesadillas
Ingredients
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lime – zest and juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 large flour tortillas
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1.  Combine oo, lime juice/zest, cumin, honey and chili flakes in a bowl with a whisk.
2.  Place zucchini slices in a zip lock bag and pour marinade mixture inside the bag.  Shake to cover all zucchini.
3.  Let marinate for about an hour, turning a time or two.
4.  Place zucchini slices on preheated grill.  Let cook for about 2 minutes on both sides, until tender. 
5.  Cut zucchini into small strips and add to 1/2 of each tortilla.  Add the cheese to both tortillas and fold over.
6.  Grill quesadilla on each side for another minute or two until slightly brown and crispy.  Cut into pieces and serve.

The tortillas I used were quite large so after cutting up the two quesadillas made, there was enough for four separate meals served with black beans and cilantro lime rice.
I really like zucchini, and this time of year it’s very good.  Cooking most of the meal on the BBQ also keeps the house from heating up too much in the dead of summer.  It was a nice light summer meal, and the leftovers were great for lunch during the rest of the week.

The second recipe comes straight from the GOODEness Gracious blog.  The Basil Lime Chicken was very good.
Ingredients
3 Limes (juice and zest) Divided
3 T Olive Oil
3 T Dijon Mustard
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
3 T Soy Sauce
6 Green Onions Chopped Divided
4 Cloves Garlic Minced Divided
1/8 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 T Chopped Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 lbs Chicken Breasts

1. Combine the zest and juice of 2 limes, Olive Oil, Mustard, Worcestershire, Soy, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Cut chicken into even cutlets and place in a gallon sized baggie.
3. Pour marinade over the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat grill.
5. Place chicken on grill and grill for 7 minutes.  Flip over and cook until cooked through.
   
6. Remove from grill and let meat rest.
   Next time I will stop right here and serve.  The flavor of the chicken with only the marinade was delicious – a really flavorful grilled chicken.
7. Meanwhile combine juice and zest of one lime with extra virgin olive oil, 3 chopped onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, and basil.
8. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces and pour sauce over top.

The chicken was served with grilled corn on the cob and a garden salad - Another light, but tasty, meal.

I liked cooking with limes.  Refreshing and tangy is a nice contrast when it’s a million degrees outside.