Pesto Chicken

I made a really yummy pesto chicken last week. I took pictures and had planned on putting them up later in the week and then I dropped my laptop. Bye bye all unpublished pictures. Oh well. You'll have to use your imagination for this one.

1 recipe of Dairy Free Nut Free Pesto
Chicken for grilling(I used some pounded boneless skinless chicken breasts and some legs and thighs)

Madinade the chicken in the pesto for several hours or overnight. Perheat grill to medium high heat. Grill to your liking. I grilled the boneless skinless breasts for about 3 minutes per side. The chicken with a bone was about 20 minutes per side.
Really good served with rice.

Spicy Grilled Chicken

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just began working full time out of the house and haven't had much time to cook or post. I made this grilled chicken recipe last week and we loved it. I didn't use the lime zest as we didn't have one. It had a slight kick to it but not overwhelming that the kids couldn't eat it.

1/3 C. vegetable oil
2 Tbls. lime juice
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into cubes

Mix the oil, lime juice, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Add chicken, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour, turning occasionally.
Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken for 6 to 8 minutes each side, or until juices run clear.

Crazy Chicken Marinade

I came across this chicken marinade and it sounded good so I figured I'd give it a try. It was really good. This one would go well in a pita with some homemade hummus. I found that there was not a lot of marinade left to boil so I skipped that step. Otherwise aside from cutting the chicken into cubes I stuck to the original recipe.

4 limes, juiced or 6 Tbls. lime juice
2 Tbls. Olive oil
2 Tbls. Chili powder
1 tsp. Sage, dried
1 tsp. Oregano, dried
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into chunks

Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, sage, oregano, and cumin together in a small bowl. Marinade the chicken, coating evenly and tossing every 30 minutes for a total of an hour and a half. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove the chicken to a platter and allow to come to room temperature. Grill the chicken on medium-high heat basting with the marinade remaining marinade until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant

I have mentioned before that I am not a huge eggplant fan. However my husband loves it-I'd even go as far as saying that prepared correctly it is his favorite food. I am happy to make it and will from time to time try it. On occasion I even like it. This was one of those times. I made honey garlic grilled eggplant with an eggplant I had sitting in the fridge. The only change I made was I didn't include the chili as I didn't have any.

1 eggplant (2 if using small Italian eggplants)
1 Tbls. Honey
2 Tbls. Olive oil
2 Garlic Cloves, mashed
2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper

Peel stripes of skin off the eggplant to create a zebra like pattern of skin and no-skin. This is not only decorative, but makes the skin easier to bite. Slice eggplant into ½ inch thick circles. Lay out a large sheet of paper towels. Sprinkle eggplant generously with salt on both sides and lay out on paper towels. The eggplant will release a lot of liquid. This will help get rid of bitterness (if any) and make the eggplant more succulent and less watery after it’s cooked. Let sit for 15 minutes, then dry both sides well with paper towels.
In a large bowl, mix honey, olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Dunk both sides of each eggplant slice into this marinade.
Preheat the grill to high. Grab a wad of paper towel with tongs, dip it in oil, and brush it on the grill.
Place the eggplant slices on the grill, cover, and turn down the heat to medium. Grill until marked, about 3 minutes. Turn 90 degrees to make cross-hatch grill marks. Grill until marked, about 3 more minutes.
Brush the slices with remaining marinade, flip and repeat the grilling procedure on the other side. Regulate heat so that the eggplant is browning, but not burning. Remove to a plate, and drizzle with olive oil.

Grilled Crispy Mustard Brussels Sprouts

I know that not everyone loves Brussels sprouts. I for one am a big fan and am always looking for new ways to prepare them(as I learned early on that boiling them is not a good way). I was really happy to find this recipe for Grilled Crispy Mustard Brussels Sprouts which uses mustard and cooks them on the grill rather than roasting them in the oven.

I used frozen sprouts which eliminated the first step. I also used a gas grill so that made things easier as well.

1 bag frozen Brussels sprouts, defrosted and sliced in half
1/4 C. Olive Oil
2 Tbls. Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour mustard sauce over sprouts and toss to thoroughly coat. Place Brussels sprouts on preheated grill, keeping the bowl nearby with the sauce reserved. Grill until browned and slightly charred on both sides, flipping half way through cooking, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove Brussels sprouts to the bowl with reserved mustard sauce. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately.

Baked Chicken Cutlets with Lemon and Mustard

I found this recipe for Baked Chicken Cutlets with Lemon and Mustard in the Amit Women Efrat cookbook.

The recipe called for 12 medium chicken breasts however I used 6 breasts and 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

12 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken
1 Onion, quartered
3/4 C. Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Tbls. Dry Mustard
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. White Pepper
1/4 C. Olive Oil

Combine all except chicken in food processor and blend until smooth. Pour sauce over chicken and marinade in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight turning once. Preheat over to 400. Place chicken and marinade in pan and bake for 10 minutes uncovered. Turn chicken and baste. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Do not overcook.

If using the thighs I would recommend cooking the chicken a little longer. I cooked the dark meat for 30 minutes total and the white meat for 20 minutes total. We really liked this one and I think it would also taste good on the grill.

Persian Chicken-Jujeh

I came across this recipe in Chefs' Confidential cookbook. The recipe called for boneless, skinless chicken thighs however we prefer the leaner breast so I substituted it. This recipe was also supposed to be made on skewers however I am not a huge fan of chicken on a stick so I decided to keep them off the stick. If you are putting them on and using wooden skewers please remember to soak the skewers for 30 minutes in water to prevent burning.

1 Large Onion, Quartered
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbls. Paprika
1 tsp. Turmeric
2 Tbls. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 C. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 C. Olive Oil
2 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, cubed

Combine onion, garlic, paprika, turmeric, oregano, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a food processor. Process until well combined. Add oil through feed tube. Toss chicken with marinade and coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Preheat grill or broiler. Grill or broil 5-7 minutes on each side or until meat is opaque throughout.

Steak Chicken

I found this recipe for chicken marinade a while back. It quickly became a staple and one of our favorite chicken recipes. We thought that the Worcestershire sauce gave the chicken a steak like taste so we have dubbed this recipe Steak Chicken. When making this recipe I use boneless skinless chicken breast that come already pounded from the butcher. I have made a few changes-when don't I? I have used canola in place of the olive oil on occasion. When making this recipe I use red wine vinegar as it was all I had the first time I went to make it. I have also made it both with and without the thyme and it is delicious either way.

I give you Steak Chicken:

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tbls. Full Fat Mayonnaise
1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbls. Poultry Seasoning
1 Tbls. Garlic Powder
1 Tbls. Sweet Paprika
1/2 Tbls. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Thyme (optional)

Put all ingredients in container with tight-fitting lid and shake well until all ingredients are combined not worrying if there are some beads of mayo that don't combine; they will dissolve when you're marinating.

Put the chicken in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour over just enough marinade to cover the chicken, then let it marinate in the fridge for 6-8 hours or longer.

Grill over medium to high heat making sure the chicken is fully cooked. When using the pounded chicken breasts it takes just a couple minutes on each side.

Enjoy!!!

Baby Steps

Generally speaking on Wednesday nights we eat hot dogs for dinner. It is one of the few meals that all the kids like and look forwards to. Granted some kids want their hot dogs boiled and one wants them grilled-still easier than making 3 different meals for 3 different kids. In thinking about what to serve for dinner tonight I decided that this is one dinner that we are going to need to ease out of or just make a little healthier-plus the only other option in the fridge was tofu and I thought that would be too big of a jump. So we had chicken hot dogs on whole wheat buns. They were served with edemame and whole wheat couscous. This was one meal that nobody complained about.