Household Priorities and Baja Chicken Sliders

Can you guess the very first thing we did when we got keys to the new house and access to a moving van?  Move the grill and the lawn furniture, of course.  We have a ton to do to get the new house move in ready: furniture to move, paint to have mixed, bins to pack, tiles to pick out, three rooms to paint, a bed and mattress set to buy… the list is truly endless.  But that will all have to wait until next weekend, because the first thing we had to do was have a little cookout to celebrate Courtney’s birthday and show off the new pad.

At about 4:30 on what had been a beautiful, sunny, Saturday afternoon, clouds rolled in, storm winds picked up, a torrential downpour ensued and our cookout quickly became a ‘cook-in’.  Thinking quick, we grabbed the George Foreman, a seat out of booty, and managed to get the groceries in while going through only one set of clothes.  We also introduced Lila and Jim to their new home, where they quickly made themselves useful streaking mud through the entire house.  You know, just so people wouldn’t feel pressure to take off their shoes. When the rain finally stopped, we all headed up onto the roof to discuss Courtney’s deck building dreams, just in time to find a rainbow and a setting sun.  We are pretty lucky kids.

Since Eric had promised to bring his custom ground dry-aged beef (hold your horses kids, you’ll be hearing about those too!), I decided I best avoid anything hamburger-related so as not to be put to shame.  I highly recommend these sliders if you’re looking for a non-beef cook-out alternative, although by the time I got done with them, they may have fit better on normal buns.

Baja Chicken Sliders

From the Cooking Bride

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 1/4 teaspoon lime juice

Slaw:

• 1 C broccoli coleslaw mix
• 2 T finely chopped sweet red pepper
• 2 T finely chopped sweet onion
• 2 T finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
• 2 t lime juice
• 1 t sugar

Sliders

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• Slider buns, lettuce, tomato, avocado

1. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, lime peel and lime juice.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the slaw ingredients. Chill both the sauce and the slaw until serving.
3. To make the sliders, cut each chicken breast in half widthwise then flatten to 1/2-in. thickness.
4. Mix together the cumin, chili powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Sprinkle each breast on both sides with seasonings.
5. Place chicken on a prepared gad or charcoal grill. Grill for 6-7 minutes per side. *Alternatively, should the rain make your cook-out a cook-IN, you can use a griddle. 
6. Place roll cut side down on the grill for 30-60 seconds until lightly toasted.
7. To assemble the sliders, place a small amount of lettuce, a slice of tomato and a slice of avocado on each roll.  Top with a chicken breast, cole slaw mix, then drizzle the top with the sauce.

Five hours later, we woke up to head to National Harbor for the Color Run.  I can’t tell you how glad I am that Courtney refused to give in when I rolled over to go back to sleep, putting our running cloths on the bed and saying “nope, we only live once.”  Otherwise we would have missed out on what truly is ‘the happiest race on Earth’…  and on dancing for hours in a mosh pit of paint.  I don’t think Courtney knows it, but his back is still green…

Johanna