Grill Two Meals in One: BBQ Cola Chicken

Trying to clean out your fridge from the summer months? I Know I have been. There is still plenty of time for grilling and hopefully it’s cooling off a little where you live. I’ve had some leftover coca-cola in the fridge from when we had company and since I don’t drink the stuff, thought it would be perfect to incorporate into this BBQ sauce.

Since it’s back to school time and all the kid’s activities seem to have started up again, it’s great to cook-out one night with plans to have left over for the following lunch or dinner. I think grilled chicken works as the perfect leftover food because you can transform it into a completely different dinner the next night.

On the Menu: BBQ Cola Chicken, Potato Salad & Grilled Veggies

Three examples of leftover options for the next day:

1) BBQ Chicken Salad: combine shredded leftover chicken with romaine, tomato, cilantro, corn, black beans, cheese, crushed tortilla chips and dressing of choice.

2) BBQ Chicken Burritos: Sliced BBQ chicken, brown Rice, pinto Beans, cheese, lettuce & tomatoes wrapped in a large tortilla or wrap.

3) BBQ Chicken Sliders: shredded BBQ chicken, served on mini hamburger buns with extra sauce and coleslaw.

See how easy that is? By simply cooking extra chicken one night, you are on your way to your next meal. I am big on meal planning so if you’d like to get more organization into your week, join me at my blog Nutritious Eats for Meal Planning Monday where we plan out our menu for the week.

Grilled Cola Chicken

2 pounds chicken (can use breast or thighs)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated onion (I use the microplane)
1 garlic clove, grated
1 cup cola (such as coca-cola)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add grated onion and garlic to pan and saute for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in cola and next four ingredients (through chili powder); bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. While sauce is cooking, preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Once sauce is done, remove 1/3 cup of sauce to take out to the grill.

2. Combine sugar, paprika, salt and cumin. Rub spice mixture into both sides of chicken. Place chicken on grill coated with cooking spray; using the 1/3 cup of reserved sauce, baste chicken with ~3 Tablespoons of sauce and grill 5 minutes. Flip over, baste with 3 more Tablespoons of sauce and cook additional 5-7 minutes depending on thickness of chicken. Serve with reserved sauce (you’ll have about 1/2 cup left).  Yields: 5-6 breasts. Recipe modified from Cooking Light.

COOK’S NOTES: there will be enough BBQ sauce leftover if you want to throw some shrimp on the grill as well.