Food Blog: Sun-dried Tomato Marinade

As promised, there is a marinade recipe that goes along with the post from this week's pasta dish.  As I had already made it and had the chicken soaking in the marinade, I didn't have any pictures, but I thought I would still go ahead and post the recipe.  Here's what I used:

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (you can also use balsamic vinegar, if you prefer)

4 chopped garlic cloves*

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (use 1 tsp if using dried)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (use 1 tsp if using dried)**

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Dash of red pepper flakes (if desired)

*If you hate chopping garlic cloves, you can use a prepacked minced garlic, as seen below:

**You can also substitute dried Italian seasoning if you don't have fresh on hand.

Tools needed:

George Foreman grill OR regular grill

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Medium-sized bowl for marinade

Plastic wrap to cover bowl

For this recipe, and most marinades, I enjoy creating with what I have handy in the kitchen. I'm a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes, and in this recipe, the fact that they are already packed in oil really adds a great flavor. The extra herbs and garlic just bring it up a few notches.  You can use regular, oil-free sun-dried tomatoes if you wish, but you may need to add more olive oil to the recipe to do so. 

Here are the tomatoes I use:

In order, for a visual representation of what thyme, oregano, and basil look like in the fresh herb section of your supermarket:

                                                                                  

                                                

                                              

                                          

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and combine with all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Using a whisk, whip the ingredients together so they combine and form a chunky marinade.  Add your chicken breasts to the marinade and ensure all of the meat is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. 

To cook, simply remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the liquid - place chicken on a preheated grill or George Foreman.  I used a George Foreman for this recipe and the total cook time for both breasts on the grill at the same time was about 9 minutes.  If you are using a regular grill, just make sure that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.  

I prefer grilling as the excess oil will drip off during the grilling process, but you don't lose the flavor.  You could also roast the chicken breasts, if preferred, in a 400 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes, depending on how your oven bakes.

Enjoy!