Grilled Mojo Chicken

This year we travelled out of town for 3 out of the 4 weekends in May.  What a great way to spend our Spring.  We started out in Valdosta, celebrating the graduation of our son and his beautiful fiance.  They each received the prestigious outstanding student award in their respective fields.  Ryan for exercise physiology and Holly for Early Childhood Education.  I could go on and on about all of their awards and accolades but I 'll leave that for another day.   Needless to say, they make me proud.  

The second weekend in May, we travelled to Wilmington, North Carolina.  Not because we HAD to but because we selfishly wanted to check out Ryan's new home for the summer and spend another weekend hanging out with him.  It didn't hurt that Wilmington is a BEAUTIFUL town with serene beaches, a bustling riverwalk and a stunning Historic District.  We took in all of those sights AND managed to paddleboat through an alligator infested lake without getting eaten.  

The last weekend in May we celebrated yet another momentous event - the 90th birthday of Bens grandmother.  Honoring a wonderful woman alongside her friends, children, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren was truly a privilege.  We are blessed to have had the opportunity to celebrate this birthday alongside her in Ohio.  

With so much traveling in our schedule lately, most of our meals have been prepared out of necessity instead of out of a desire for great food.  I haven't carved out the time to plan for healthy meals and our diets have suffered.  Quick and easy was the name of the game for May. 

I used the time on our long car rides to organize menu schedules for the next few weeks so that we can get back on track with our eating plan in June.  Grilled Mojo Chicken was one of the first things that I thought about when organizing healthy summer meals.  I love grilled chicken and this pineapple, orange and lime marinated chicken is perfect for summer cook outs. 

Grilled Mojo Chicken
1/3 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoon orange zest
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoon lime zest
1/3 cup lime juice (3 limes)
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon jalapeno
6 chicken leg quarters
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Heat oil and garlic in saucepan for 3-5 minutes.  Cool.  

Whisk together pineapple juice, mustard, orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice, cumin, oregano and 3/4 t. pepper.  

Slowly whisk in cooled garlic oil.  ​Transfer half of mixture to a small bowl.

Stir cilantro, jalapeno, 1 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper into reserved sauce. 

Whisk 1 T. salt into remaining sauce and transfer to a ziploc bag.  

Make 4 slashes in top of each chicken leg quarter.  

Place chicken in ziploc bag and marinate 1-24 hours. 

Grill chicken until leg thigh joint registers 175 degrees.

  Remove from grill and let rest.  

Drizzle with reserved sauce.

I have 2 words for you:  MAKE EXTRA.  You will want to have leftover MoJo chicken on hand for super easy summer lunches.  I made chicken tacos and added some shredded chicken to my salads last week and it was just as good as it was the night that I grilled this chicken.  I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  

Ciao!

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