Chicken. Everywhere. Seriously. Thanks to a couldn’t-pass-it-up sale at Rentown Store in Northern Indiana during a recent visit to see my mom, there are packages of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on nearly every shelf of the freezer in our garage. The day we got home, I cut the existing pieces in half (they were soooooo thick!), and then Joe packaged them, two per bag, in freezer bags. Next came the really fun part: “What am I going to do with all this chicken?”

We have some tried-and-true recipes that we’ve gathered from family and friends, but I decided yesterday to try something new and ended up creating a brand-new recipe. I’m tickled pink to share with you that it turned out to be intensely yummy—and easy! The meat was so tender and flavorful that I just had to give it a name and share it as an easy “Come on Over” recipe!

I put the chicken in the marinade late yesterday afternoon so that Joe could cook it on the grill today. However, it’s raining here, so I decided to throw it all in a fry pan on the stove and added just a little cooking spray and then spooned about one “ladle-full” of the marinade over the top of it while it was cooking. I did extra pieces so that I can slice them into small strips to put on salads later this week. Enjoy! Let me know how your batch turns out!

CJ’s (Captain Joe’s) “Come on Over” Chicken

Prep time: 10 minutes-ish
Cooking time: 20 minutes-ish, on the stovetop or on the grill
Serves: 6 (or makes multiple meals for two)
From the kitchen of Brenda Henderson

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning (we buy this at Sam’s Club) OR 1 tsp each of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place the raw (thawed) chicken breasts in a large bowl.
2. Mix the four liquids and the two seasoning elements in a 2-cup glass measuring cup or small bowl. Stir well.
3. Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken; cover with plastic wrap or lid.
4. Let marinate 3–24 hours (i.e., you can make it the same day you cook it if you want to!).
5. Grill on medium-high heat for 20 minutes, turning every five minutes. (Make sure center is cooked thoroughly.) You may also fry with light cooking spray on stovetop for the same amount of time.

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve with a small tossed salad, dinner rolls, and cooked vegetable(s) of your choice.
• Cut into strips and serve as the meat on your “Come on Over” Salad! (Click here for the recipe.)