Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

For the vegetables...

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

salt and pepper

lemon juice from 1/2 lemon

For the chicken marinate, I used the recipe found for these Cornish game hens. I was going to make this, but they didn't have any hens at the store. Honey Game Hens Recipe The chicken and vegetables were marinated in plastic Ziploc bags.

Before...

During...

After...

Drive your neighbors nuts "chicken"

This was another find from my cooking light message board. Basically, it is another rub. It makes a big batch and I just keep it in my pantry and just use it whenever I need it. Another the recipe calls for chicken, I tend to use it on pork, especially pork tenderloin. Pork chops are pictured here. I usually leave out the lemon rind, but combine all the other ingredients to put on the meat. When grilling, I just throw a handful of woodchips on the fire for just a little extra flavor, and grill like normal.

Drive Your Neighbors Nuts Grilled Chicken
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chicken Grilling


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------

Cut chickens in quarters, leave the skin on. Mix together:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbl salt
2 tbl mild chili powder
2 tbl hot chili powder ( I used Gebherts)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mex. oregano
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tbl minced lemon zest ( I used dried-purchased)
1-1/2 tsp onion salt
1-1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Loosen the skin on the chicken pieces, and put a generous amount of the combined spices under the skin. Then sprinkle generous all over the chicken, both sides. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hrs, the longer the better. Start up the grill, cook and smoke until done. Use a little pecan, apple or whatever wood to get the smoke going. The rub is enough to do 2 chickens. Also good on pork!

Microwave Popcorn

This post is dedicated to my BIL, B. He loves the corn. He usually pops it in oil on the stove and it is delicious. This must be killing him not to be able to make his popcorn. Perhaps this is a little bit of a "duh" post. I mean, microwave popcorn? Yeah, everyone makes that. But you probably may not have known that you can use regular popcorn in the microwave. Here are your ingredients:



Popcorn, a brown paper bag, salt, and olive oil. I cover the bottle of the bag with a single layer of popcorn, drizzle a smidge of olive oil, and a few shakes of salt.



Then fold the top of the bag over a few times, and place in microwave.



Set your microwave for two minutes. STAY and LISTEN for it to stop popping.



Your popcorn is done. Top your favorite way. I like the white cheddar popcorn seasonings.

Green Chile Cheeseburgers

I mentioned these last month, but they were so good, I thought I would revisit them. I found a lot of really complicated recipes for green chile cheeseburgers, but my method was easy and still pretty tasty. I just got some ground chuck, added salt and pepper, grilled, then topped with a roasted green chile (I used HATCH, but a poblano would also be good) and provolone cheese. Serve on a toasted bun. I used ground chuck which turns out is extremely fatty. I would hesistate to use a leaner cut of meat though, because the grease helps to control the heat of the pepper if you have a spicy one.

I was planning on grilling outside, but it ended up being colder than I was anticipating. Love the grill pan!

Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs

I just realized. I bet my dad wished I lived closer so that he could eat all the "adventurous" things that I make...by adventurous, I mean unhealthy:) I have 3 more months till baby#3 and I am livin' it up!

At any rate, I knew that my husband and his father would LOVE these. They love bacon. Once, Pops drove to Snook just to have Chicken Fried Bacon. He also purchase a product called Baconnaise to gift to his sons for Christmas(the lite vegetarian version of course). So, when I saw the recipe for Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs, I knew we had to try it.

We only stuffed ours with cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard, and relish...skipped the sauerkraut. We also used 2 pieces of bacon to ensure that the insides wouldn't spill out onto the grill. They were great!!

Crockpot Lasagna

There is absolutely no way to make this look good in a photo so I am not going to bother posting a picture. If you are kitchen-less this provides a satisfactory lasagna ... but it is in no way comparable to a real lasagna. I made this for dinner tonight but left out the beef so it would be a truly kitchen-less creation and vegetarian. Here is the original recipe, which I received several years ago from a co-worker.

Crockpot Lasagna

1 lb. ground chuck, cooked and drained of fat
1 (28 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 c. water
8 lasagna noodles
1 (4.5 oz) jar mushrooms
1 (15 oz) carton ricotta cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella

Note: I used half the amount of both cheeses and it turned out fine.

Combine water with spaghetti sauce. Place 4 noodles in bottom of lightly greased 5 qt. crockpot. Layer with 1/2 of beef, sauce, and mushrooms. Spread ricotta over mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1 c. mozzarella. Layer with remaining noodles, meat, sauce, mushrooms and mozzarella. Cook on high for 1 hour, reduce heat, cook on low 5 hours.

Pork tenderloin with mustard barbeque sauce

It has been so nice this week, a good time to grill.



I am a big fan of the mustard based sauce, but prefer to make a tomato bases sauce at home. I saw this recipe fliping through some issues from cooking light from last year and decided to give it a try.

As for "no-kitchen cooking" I am not sure this counts, because you did have to make the sauce, but the pork just used a nice little rub. CL always says to use direct heat for 20 minutes on these cuts of meat, but I prefer to cook it over indirect heat for about 30 minutes.

Not a bad recipe, but if I make it again I will probably make some changes.

Tuna Kebabs with Ginger-Chile Marinade

This marinade is a keeper and would probably go well with a number of meats or fish if you are not up for tuna. The kebabs were outstanding. The only complaint is that it was hard to get the veggies cooked well in the short amount of time that the tuna takes to grill. This recipe is from a Bon Apetit magazine.

Tuna Kebabs with Ginger-Chile marinade

3 T. unseasoned rice vinegar
2 T. finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
2 T. peanut oil
2 T. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
1 T. cilantro, chopped
1 serrano chile, seeded, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lb. ahi tuna, cut into 1 inch cubes

nonstick spray
1 large red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 large sweet onion (such as Maui or Vidalia) cut into squares
metal skewers

Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend; season with pepper. Transfer 3 T. marinade to a small bowl and reserve. Add tuna to remaining marinade and toss to coat. Refridgerate at least 30 minutes and up to 45 min.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Heat grill to med-hi heat. Alternate tuna cubes, bell pepper squares and onion squares on each metal skewer. Grill to desired doneness, turning frequently, about 4 minutes for medium rare. Transfer to platter. Drizzle with reserved marinade.

I served this with Grilled Soy Sesame Asparagus, a recipe I found online. The asparagus was also really incredible ... I would definitely try the meal again.

Pizza on the Grill

So, I found this cute video on allrecipes.com about grilled pizza. I used the dough recipe from Kerri's Greatest Hits. Very simple toppings of just cheese for the kids and basil, tomatoes, onion, and mozzarella for us. Took about 20 minutes. I wish I had access to more spices, but they are in a box somewhere in the garage :) They were bland.

Salad is very "no kitchen cookin' " conducive :)

Tin Foil Chicken

This is a recipe I got from my mom. It is easy and quick to make. I usually make it in the oven, but you can also do it on the grill. If cooking on the grill, I suggest that you use 2 pieces of foil for each piece of chicken.

Tin Foil
Chicken breasts
Sliced Zucchini
Sliced Onion
Sliced Pepperoni
Spaghetti Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Spray a piece of tin foil with Pam (of something similar)
Place the chicken in the center.
Cover with veggies, pepperoni, sauce and cheese (you can use as little or as much as you like)





Bring edges of tin foil together and fold down over chicken and then fold the edges in as well.



Cook for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken). We usually serve with either pasta (to use the leftover sauce) or rice.

Grilled Flatbreads

Here is another recipe I remember having cut out ages ago from a Cooking Light magazine. The grilled flatbreads were incredible. This is definitely a time consuming process because of all the dough rising time but you would definitely impress a gathering if you popped these little guys on the grill at your next BBQ. I served these plain, as is, with tomato soup last night. I'm definitely going to experiment with these ... again, the combinations are endless. Didn't someone post a Chicken Schwarma recipe not too long ago? I would love to try the two recipes together. If you have the time, definitely add these to the list to try. As with most yeast recipes the trick is to get the temperature of your water exactly right ... not too hot but not too cold.
Note: There is an error in the recipe ...they forget to tell you when to add the remaining 2 T. water. I added the remaining 2 T. water along with the 1/2 c. water after the first 30 min. rising and it worked fine.

Easy Microwave Meatballs

I remembered this recipe that a friend gave to me over 10 years ago when I was just beginning to cook. She made them for me once and I remembered them being actually pretty good. I dug out the recipe and tried them again last night. They were good, certainly not better than stovetop or crockpot meatballs but if you are scraping for time or don't have a working stove they make a nice substitute. I would recommend using ground beef with a little fat in it. I bought the 92% lean and they could have used a little more moisture. My intention was to serve this with grilled polenta sticks but I realized when I returned from the store that I forgot to buy the pre-made polenta so I made my own on the stovetop. Really, it's endless how you can serve this ... with polenta, pasta, rice or on hoagies.

The best thing to report is that I discovered a brand new pre-made pasta sauce that was outstanding. I'll never buy Ragu again! The brand was called Mom's Pasta Sauce and I bought the traditional spaghetti sauce. Don't let your mouth hit the floor when you look at the price ... it's definitely more expensive than the mainstream Prego or Ragu but the quality of the sauce is exponentially better. Give it a try on your next pasta meal ... I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

1 lb. ground beef
2 T. water
1/3 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce

Mix ground beef, water, bread crumbs, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs. Arrange in 2 qt. shallow microwave baking dish. Microwave on high 5 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink. Pour off fat. Pour spaghetti sauce over meatballs. Cover and microwave 3 minutes or more or until sauce is hot.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno with Rachero Sauce

I cheated a little with these...I used my indoor grill pan, which I LOVE, but it is hard to clean.



I made these for our little super bowl gathering because my dad whined and whined about it. They were extremely OK. I cooked them longer than the recipe stated and they still were a little under done. The stuffing was fine, but I felt like it need a little something more to measure up to the jalapenos...maybe feta? The ranchero sauce was extremely bland, nothing special.

Grilled Nachos and Mexican Corn

Using this recipe as a guide, Nachos on the Grill with Tomatillo-Poblano Salsa, Smoked Tomato Relish, and Green Onion Creme Fraiche, we made some nachos on our Weber. I also made the Mexican corn I had made before on a piece of foil. The grill flavor really did add something. I felt it was exceptional with the corn. Both were well received by everyone...even the kiddos.

February Challenge- No Kitchen Cookin'

Well, that may be a bit drastic. We are without a kitchen for the month(see here) and so I thought the February challenge could be cooking with the microwave, toaster, and grill...Mainly the grill though. So, for this month share or seek out some amazing grillin' recipes. Any dish that involves the grill is perfect to post! Feel free to try to use the grill for everything for an added challenge...I know I will be.