Barbecued Chicken

This was delicious and tasted like summer!!!  Found this gem in Better Homes and Garden magazine so had to make it up!!  It was yummy and didn't take long to make at all!!! 

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2/3 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons molasses

4lb meaty chicken pieces (bone in breasts, thighs, and/or drumsticks), skinned

For sauce, in a 2-qt saucepan melt butter over low.  Add onion, garlic, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.  Cook until onion is tender.  Stir in paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; cook and stir 1 minute.  Stir in 1 cup cold water, the cider vinegar, brown sugar, and worcestershire; bring to simmering.  Whisk in tomato paste and molases until smooth.  Return to simmer.  Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionaly, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare grill for indirect heat using a drip pan.  Place chicken, bone sides up, on greased rack ovre drip pan.

Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat until done (165 degrees), 50-60 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling and brushing with 1 cup sauce the last 15 miutes of grilling.  Heat and serve remaining sauce with chicken.

Ranch Bacon Pasta Salad with Veggies

This is such a great summer lunch idea -- you can eat it on the go and it makes enough for a couple days lunches!!!

Ingredients:

Cooked pasta 

Chopped veggies (bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes)

Cubed cheese

Pepperoni

Crumbled Bacon

Ranch dressing

Secret ingredient: McCormick Salad Supreme

Cook pasta and drain.

Cook bacon and crumble.

Toss everything in a bowl and let it chill in the fridge for a bit before serving.  Keeps all week!!!

Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken Skewers

These are delicious!!!  I love a meal I can prep and then cook time is under 20 minutes!!!  So happy it's back to yummy summer meals!!!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Skewers

• 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs, boneless, skinless trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 20- ounce pineapple chunks, canned, in 100% pineapple juice drained, juice reserved
• ¼ cup soy sauce low-sodium
• ½ cup sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 ½ limes divided
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 bunch green onions chopped

Peanut Sauce

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, freshly minced or ginger powder
• ¼ cup soy sauce low-sodium
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup peanut butter creamy
• ¼ teaspoon red Thai curry paste
• ½ cup coconut milk light is fine

Instructions

Marinate

• Place the chicken pieces in a large zip-top bag and set aside. Juice one of the limes and reserve the other lime for later.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, garlic, reserved lime juice, and ginger. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces, seal, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Grill

• When ready to cook, preheat grill over medium-high heat. Alternately thread the chicken pieces and pineapple onto skewers. Turn grill to medium, lightly oil the grates, and cook for 4 minutes. Turn the skewers and cook for another 4 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the peanut sauce. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Combine the remaining peanut sauce ingredients in the pan and heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
• Using a digital thermometer, cook chicken until it is a minimum temperature of 165°. However, you’ll want to aim for between 170-175° for improved flavor and texture.
• When the skewers are done, transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with reserved ¼ cup of marinade. Juice the remaining half lime over the skewers. If desired, drizzle the peanut sauce over the skewers; otherwise, you can serve it as a dipping sauce. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve immediately.

Notes

• If you'd like to serve these as appetizers, try preparing them on toothpicks or 6" skewers.

Cherry Tomato Salad

 Hosted Easter Vigil with Sodahls and wanted a new salad -- this was SO YUMMY!!!  I think it would be amazing in the summer too!!!  Just so delicious!!!

INGREDIENTS

• ▢4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes halved
• ▢2 cups fresh mozzarella balls halved
• ▢1/4 cup red onion minced
• ▢1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, chives, green onions, oregano
• ▢1/4 cup olive oil
• ▢1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢1/4 teaspoon sugar
• ▢1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Place the tomatoes, mozzarella balls, red onion and herbs in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the dressing over the tomato mixture and gently toss to coat evenly. Serve.

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

We were HOME on a weekend and wanted a fun summer treat!!!  This was delicious!!  We did honey instead of raspberry balsamic so the boys would gobble it up :)  SO yummy!!

Ingredients:

Ripe, but slightly firm peaches or nectarines

Blood Orange or Lemon Olive Oil

Vanilla ice cream

Raspberry Balsamic

Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan

Cut peaches in half and remove pits. Cut each half in half again so peach is cut into 4 pieces. Drizzle peaches with olive oil and rub in to cover all surfaces

Place peaches on grill for 1-2 minutes, turning just once, to create grill marks on all sides. Remove from grill and let rest while you scoop ice cream

Place a generous scoop of ice cream in each bowl and top with grilled peaches. Drizzle with Raspberry Balsamic to taste.

Grilled Caprese Zucchini

Um YUMMY!!!!  This was so delicious!!!  What a fun and yummy summer side dish!!!

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

2-3 plum tomatoes

fresh mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup pesto

Kosher salt and black pepper

EVOO

Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh basil

Preheat indoor grill pan or outdoor grill.

Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch slices.

Brush or toss lightly in olive oil and sprinkle both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Lay zucchini in a single layer on grill and cook for a few minutes on each side until grill marks appear and zucchini is slightly tender.

Remove from grill and place on serving plate. Spread a light layer of pesto on each slice. Layer cheese on top, followed by tomatoes.

Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and then sprinkle basil on top as desired.

Serve warm, room temp, or chilled

Corn and Tomato Salad

In the boundary waters, we were having a fish fry and I needed a yummy and easy side to go with it....this was DELICIOUS!!!  The 4 of us just gobbled it all right up -- SO good!!!

Ingredients:

2T olive oil

4 ears of corn or about 4 cups frozen corn, thawed

1/4 teaspoon salt

6oz cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced into small pieces

1T lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat oil until it starts to shimmer.  Add corn and salt.  Cook, without stirring, until corn begins to bron on bottom, about 3 minutes.  Stir and continue to cook, stirring once or twice until corn is slightly brown all over.  Transfer corn to a large bowl.

Stir in tomatoes, feta, basil, lemon juice, and pepper.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tortellini Salad

Ahhh such a refreshing and yummy summer salad!!  This was so good!!  It was quick to make too - so perfect for a summer / weeknight!!

Ingredients:
20 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cubed
1 cup pepperoni, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
2/3 cup Caesar salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.  Transfer to a large bowl - and add remaining ingredients.  Toss well.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Dinner tonight was courtesy of my hubby - and YUMMY!!  Even though he had a little fight with the skewers and the grill - these turned out amazing!!  We had this with Lime Cilantro Rice - perfect pair with this meal!  Super good!!

Makes 8-10 skewers or 24-30 Appetizers:  OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
8 oz bacon (not thick-sliced)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16 oz can pineapple chunks
1 recipe Teriyaki Sauce

Cut the bacon into thirds.  Count how many pieces you have and then keep that in mind when cutting up the chicken breasts.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces; you'll want roughly as many pieces of chicken as you have of bacon.

Drain the pineapple and place in a bowl.  Set up a workstation with skewers, chicken, bacon, and pineapple - plus a shallow dish or heavy-duty zip lock plastic bag for marinating the skewers.

Wrap a piece of bacon around a piece of chicken and secure with a toothpick.  If making larger skewers, thread the meat all the way to the bottom.  Top with a chunk of pineapple.  For skewers, repeat twice so there are three pieces of bacon-wrapped chicken on the skewer.  Repeat with remaining chicken, bacon, and pineapple.

Reserve 1/2 cup of Teriyaki sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the chicken.  Marinate for 4-8 hours.

If you choose to cook these on the grill, preheat the grill to medium-high heat (about 400).  Place skewers on grill and baste with reserve teriyaki sauce.  Cook for 7 minutes, turn, baste, and cook for another 7 minutes.

To cook these in the oven - preheat oven to 300 and place on foil-lined baking sheet.  Cook for 20 minutes, turning and basting once.