Secured firmly between the propane tank under my grill and the gas line, you’ll find a little dial with a gas gauge on it.

Now there is, at least.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case a few weeks ago when I set out to make some grilled chicken sandwiches. I fired up the grill to preheat it, and after less than five minutes, there was a poof and then no flame. Initially, there was anger…mostly at myself for not having an extra gas tank on hand. Anger was quickly replaced by hunger, and a solution was needed. I decided to forego the grill for the evening as time was short and a trip to the store for a gas tank would take too long. I pulled out my iron skillet and decided to pan cook the chicken instead. The results were excellent, and even though it didn’t end up being the grilled chicken sandwich marinated in lime with guacamole that I wanted to post, I think you’ll enjoy this just as much. Needless to say, you could always make it on the grill just as easily.

Ingredients:

• chicken breasts, sliced thin
• juice of one lime
• ground cumin
• chili powder
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• tomato
• guacamole (avocado, lime juice, salt, pepper, 1 clove minced garlic)

Procedure:

Start by combining the chicken and lime juice in a gallon zip top bag with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin to taste – I didn’t measure, but I estimate I used about 6 good shakes each of cumin and chili powder, 5 or 6 grinds of pepper and a pinch of kosher salt.

Gently combine the seasonings and juice by squeezing the bag several time to evenly distribute and coat the meat. Let the chicken sit in the fridge in the bag for at least 15 minutes. If you season the chicken first, it can sit while you make the guacamole. I used a very basic guacamole for this sandwich consisting only of avocado, lime juice, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Mash with a fork to the desired consistency – I left mine fairly chunky, but it’s up to you.

Once the chicken has marinated, get a heavy iron skillet or grill pan nice and hot. Remove the chicken from the bag and let the excess marinate drip off, but do not wipe the chicken. Place into the pan and cook until brown on one side, for my pieces this took about 4-5 minutes.

Flip the chicken and cook until done, about another 5 minutes. If you’re having trouble determining when to flip, the chicken will start to release from the pan once the first side is done, so if it’s still firmly sticking to the pan, it likely needs another minute.

Place the chicken on a bun, roll or sandwich thin, and top with the guacamole and tomato. You could also add salsa, cheese or sour cream, but I liked this particular combination because the freshness of the avocado and the tomato really let the lime chicken flavor shine.

For smaller eaters, simply cut up the sandwich components into bite-sized pieces. Depending on the heat of your chili powder, you may need to adjust the level of spice for younger eaters, but I have found cumin to be an excellent flavor enhancer to minimize the amount of salt I use when cooking for our little guy. It gives a great earthy flavor to meats without adding heat or salt. Experiment with different flavors and find what you like best. As always, Enjoy!