Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs

You'll never, ever guess where it's too hot to cook - still?!  Yep, it's still pretty near sweltering here, so I still have little interest in flipping on even one stove burner.  So, just like last week, I whipped up a new marinade and let Bo work his magic at the grill.  And, if I'm being honest?  This recipe is so, so, so good!!  The chicken turned out so juicy and flavorful; we'll absolutely be making this recipe a lot this summer.

Just like last week's recipe, this is very quick to throw together, and it cooks up quickly.  You could put the chicken and bell peppers into the sauce the night before or the morning of your dinner, and then get a finished dinner to the table in less than 30 minutes.

You could also make this a vegetarian recipe by swapping out the chicken for portobello mushrooms.  I cooked up a few mushrooms just to try it out, and I ended up loving the mushrooms most!

Enjoy!





Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs
adapted from Allrecipes

1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. ranch dressing *
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. white sugar

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large bell peppers

In a medium bowl, stir together all the sauce ingredients. Let stand for 5 minutes, while you cut the chicken and bell pepper into 1 inch pieces. Place chicken and bell pepper in the bowl, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade.  Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill skewers for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear.

* Note: You can definitely use bottled ranch dressing, but I make my own so that I can use almond milk and light mayo.  Either will work just fine.

Ingredient Lineup:

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Grill 8-12 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

The New Dirty Dozen

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) just released their updated annual list of the "Dirty Dozen" varieties of produce that have the most potential impact from pesticides.  It's a highly contested list; farmers and the United Fresh Produce Association claim that the annual list misleads consumers and is a scare tactic.  The EWG advises consumers to purchase all of the "Dirty Dozen" varieties organic.  And then there are people like me - I can't afford to buy all organic produce, and although we try to shop our local farmers market, I do end up purchasing fruits and veggies at the regular old grocery store. Just last night, I just picked up some non-organic Fuji apples. 

So, what does this mean to me?  I'm going to continue my regular shopping habits (because I think that eating any produce is better than no produce!), and when possible, I'll purchase the "Dirty Dozen" items from my farmers market.  If those items aren't in season, I'm not going to sweat it too much.

Are any of you going to change your shopping habits because of the updated list?  What are your thoughts on buying organics?

Images courtesy of ewg.org

Snack Attack

Goooood morning.  I'm not yet awake enough to give you exclammation points, but at least I'm not snarling.  That's something to be thankful for, right? :)

I'm in the throes of getting us out the door for a road trip to Orlando this weekend.  We're travelling for yet another wedding, and while I'm excited for Bo to see his enormous group of friends, I have exactly 84 thousand things to do before we leave.  And, of course, I volunteered to make the desserts for our neighbor's baby shower that happens to be this same weekend.  So, of course, I was up until midnight making these cake pops and then was up before the sun baking pound cake cupcakes.  (Sidenote:  I don't believe that there's anything more heavenly on this planet than pound cake batter.  Lord Almighty, I had to practice restraint.)  Moral of the story: A huge chunk of my current frenzy can be blamed on volunteering myself for treats when mayyyybe I might not have had the time to squeeze them into my schedule.  Lesson learned.

But speaking of treats, the real reason I'm here is that while I'm packing things up for our trip, I'm always tossing snacks into a bag.  I absolutely require snacks with me for road trips (and most of life, actually), because when my blood sugar drops, it's awful.  I go through my stages of "wilty" - getting quiet and withdrawn; then, having a hard time making decisions; then, feeling dizzy and about to cry at nothing; then, feeling faint with hot flashes.  I'm understanding enough to know that it's better for me to pack snacks than to ask Bo to pretty please stop for nourishment every 90 minutes. 

I fully intended to make these deee-licious fruit rollups and these amazing almost-a-cookie-but-not granola bars, but that bit about zero time got in my way, and I didn't get a chance to even glance at their recipes.  I did manage to whip up an addictive peanut butter Chex mix (I need to get permission before I can post the recipe for you!), so that with some apples and my new favorite crackers from Trader Joe's will have to suffice.

What I want to know from all you fabulous foodies is this - What do you pack for road trips to tide you over between meals?  Do you aim for healthy or let the roadtrip be your vacation from watching what you eat?  Do you have a favorite snack that you only eat on trips?  (I have such a weakness for Red Vines when we're travelling!)

Carolina Style BBQ Chicken

 

Hi, there!  I don't know what the weather is like in your part of town, but it's hinting at sweltering here in big bad Atlanta.  And that means I'm not terribly interested in standing over a stove, let alone using our oven.  So, what better idea than to whisk up a sauce and send Bo out back to grill up some chicken? :)

We ended up loving this recipe just as much as the BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe I posted last July!  Carolina style sauces are mustard based, and while I wasn't loving on the sauce straight out of the bowl, it turned out so, so yummy on the chicken.  And it cooked up so juicy that we didn't even end up using the dipping sauce on the table.  Gotta love a recipe that cooks up in about 30 minutes and makes use of ingredients you probably already have on hand!

Enjoy!




Carolina-Style BBQ Chicken
adapted from Food Network Magazine

1/2 c. yellow mustard
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard powder
2 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste
6-8 skinless chicken thighs, bone-in

Preheat grill to medium.

Whisk all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce for dipping, on the table.  Set aside 1/2 of the remaining sauce for basting on the grill.  Place the chicken in a medium casserole dish or bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Pour remaining sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Brush the grill grates generously with vegetable oil.  Grill the chicken, covered, occasionally dunking each piece into the reserved basting sauce.  Grill until well marked and done, about 10-12 minutes per side.

Ingredient Lineup:

Divide the sauce:

Grill mark goodness!