Portuguese Chicken

Well, if you know me, you know how much I LOOOOVE to cook. Cooking is an outlet for me, and is often a ministry. I know that may sound silly, but through the CARES apartment ministry and now through our involvement in our Bible Fellowship Group (glorified way to say "Sunday School") I have been able to cook and bless the lives of the people we "do life with" every day. With that said, I am never shy to share a recipe and feel like everyone else should eat and enjoy the food that I cook. And must I say that a lot of what I make is a knock-off/redo/fixup/my own spin of some recipe I learned from either Food Network or friends. All that to say that I want to share with you a new favorite recipe of all my friends. Really, no lie, this might possibly be the most wonderful tasting chicken to cross my lips. And I've had lots of chicken, people. AND it's super duper easy.

This chicken has a story too. I got this recipe from a co-worker of mine, Sue, who is from New Mexico. She got the recipe from a cookbook put together by a bunch of Portuguese women who migrated to NM (and no I don't know why....) with their families. These Portuguese women would have an annual dinner for the community where they would showcase their food, and from this was born the book where I got this delicious recipe! Please cook, eat, enjoy and share this recipe. I like it plain, in fajitas, in a salad, in tacos, quesadillas and just about any way you can eat chicken. Just please, don't over cook and dry out the meat. It will still be delicious, but you'll have to eat it all right then and there because it will be too dry to save and reheat later. Well, without further ado... the recipe.

Portuguese Chicken
-2 T paprika (I use Hungarian, but they all work)
-1 T salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional, makes it spicy)
-2-3 crushed dried bay leaves
-2-3 minced fresh garlic cloves (not the jarred stuff, it doesn't taste the same)
-1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
-4 chicken breasts

Mix all the spices and olive oil together to form a paste. Brush the paste liberally on both sides of the chicken, let it marinade for at least 30 minutes and no more than 4 hours. Grill until done and enjoy! **You can also pan sear it or bake it in the oven, but it just isn't the same. It is still delicious, but it doesn't have that wonderful grill flavor.**

And if you love it please leave a comment not so I can toot my horn but so that people will really believe me when I say its one of the best, easy and delicious chicken recipes.