Asian Grilled Chicken Salad {in less than 30 minutes}

This salad seriously takes less than 30 minutes. Well, I did start marinating the chicken earlier, but You can make do with a quick marinade if need be! 

The weather is now perfect for grilling and so this morning I started marinating a big batch of chicken using my favorite teriyaki marinade. 

You need:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 mashed cloves garlic ( I used 2 Tbsp minced garlic)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (I use 1 Tbsp ground if I don't have fresh)
2 Tbsp mirin

Combine ingredients and mix well. I doubled it and we grilled about 6 chicken breasts... We will use it for a couple different meals this week!

Then this evening, Will started the grilling while I made a salad.
I mixed together some arugula, spinach, and romaine with some veggies. But I felt like it needed a little more...
so I crushed up a bag of ramen, and browned it with about a tablespoon of butter. Stir it up until the ramen is browned.
But I was missing the good asian dressing. I love my creamy sesame, but was not wanting a creamy base with the teriyaki chicken. So I browsed on pinterest and found this sesame dressing which I mixed up in no time. (I didn't have fresh ginger on hand so used the powdered stuff. I am sure fresh would be much more amazing, but it worked. It tastes like the delicious ginger dressing they put on salads in all the japanese restaurants you go to here. I would probably use a little less onions than the recipe called for... but other than that, it was perfect.
We have lots of chicken and dressing left over for more salads this week! The ramen should stay crunchy for another day or two stored in an air tight container.

The chicken was perfect and juicy and we didn't need much dressing, just enough to add some extra flavor!

Will and I decided to let the boys eat while watching a show so we could enjoy a little peace and quiet while eating tonight! ;) Everyone was happy! 

Summer cooking!

It seems appropriate the summer recipes involve fresh veggies or the grill! I have a little garden going. It is more of an experiment. I have a lot of tomatoes on their way to ripening, beans, corn, cucumbers, egg plants... then some carrots and spinach that do not seem to be doing well at all! While we wait on all that veggie goodness, I am enjoying using a lot of the herbs we planted! Lots and lots of basil, mint and cilantro! :) 

Thanks to lots of basil I have been making lots of pesto! Some times I freeze it, but other times we use it right away. I use the recipe found here, but often make some substitutions. I use pine nuts or walnuts, and often add spinach. We use it on pizza or with pasta. The boys love it. Some times I mix in some sausage or other times I saute a bunch of veggies (peppers, zucchini, onions) and we have a yummy meatless meal! 

On the grill we have a new go-to chicken marinade that I found here. We will sometimes substitute mint for the cilantro if we don't have cilantro on hand. This chicken is perfect to cut into long slices and eat on top of salad! The best part is that Will often makes the marinade and then grills it so all I have to do is make a salad! :) 

Recipe #366: Grilled Pork Chops

This afternoon/evening was one that felt like summer vacation has already started...it almost has! Two half days and some more cleaning and packing up the room to do and I am free for the summer!
Of course, these evenings have been perfect for outdoor cooking!

We have a grown up picnic table, but one of us always seems to end up sitting with Alex!

Deliciousness on a plate! 

I think I could just grill vegetables and be content! 

Alex too...he was eating his ear of corn--one half in each hand--and was still begging for bites from my ear!

I asked Will this afternoon chicken or pork. He chose pork so I took it out of the freezer and let it defrost while we went out and ran some errands. Once we got back I looked for a recipe in my Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine (she has the best photo indexes in the front of the magazine) and found a great grilled pork chop recipe that was fast and easy!

You need:

3-4 bone in pork chops

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp oregano

2 Tbsp olive oil (the recipe actually called for 2 tsp...read that wrong!)

1/2 Tbsp honey

• mix together vinegar, oregano, olive oil and honey
• pour into a large ziploc bag. 
• add pork chops and massage to coat
• refrigerate for 20 minutes before grilling.
• add your favorite veggies to the grill as well and enjoy a fresh and tasty meal!

Recipe #364: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

I thought I would try another kind of pizza dough. The whole wheat was amazing and when I did it "blind" on the grill (see directions here) it actually turned out better then the bread dough I had used earlier. It puffed up and then was the perfect crispness when it was done!
I love grilling pizza this way now. I put the dough on the grill. go back in and get the ingredients together, pick some herbs, turn the pizza, add the toppings and wait 5 more minutes! So easy and such fresh delicious pizza!

the whole wheat dough was really delicious and not heavy like I expected it to be! I got the recipe from my favorite book, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day
 It only lasts seven days in the fridge, but you can freeze for longer it in 1/2 lb portions.

You need:
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
7 cups whole wheat flour

• mix together water, yeast, salt, honey, and olive oil.
• add in flour then mix until evenly moistened.
• cover and let it rise for at least two hours.
• stick in fridge until you are ready to use!

Recipe #356: Alfredo pizza

This was my first try baking dough directly on grill...it was pretty delicious and I will be doing it again to get it right! i followed the directions for how to do it on the grill from the Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

You need:
dough (I actually used bread dough this time)
white sauce with mozzarella mixed in (found here or use leftovers from this recipe)
shredded chicken
mozzarella

• heat grill on high for about 5 minutes
• clean grates and then oil (we misted it with our olive oil bottle)
• while it it heating up, roll out dough into a thin layer.
• prepare toppings and take outside
• carefully slide crust onto the grill grates and cover. let it grill for about 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is starting to brown (try not to open the cover too early to check)
• turn over
• immediately spread the alfredo sauce on, then top with shredded chicken and cheese
• grill for another 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and before the bottom burns! 

delicious! 

Recipe #355: Grilled Zucchini with Feta

summer vegetables on the grill are my favorite!
You need:
2-3 zucchinis
feta cheese
olive oil
lemon juice

• cut zucchini into thick slices
• spray with olive oil and grill about 5 minutes on a side.
• take off grill top with feta
• drizzle on some lemon juice and olive oil

Recipe #352: Grilled Banana S'mores

This was a pinterest find, or you can find the original here. It was an amazing, rich, delicious, quick and easy dessert (is that enough adjectives for you!)


You need:
2 bananas

handful of chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and cinnamon toast crunch cereal

• split open a banana long ways
• stuff some chocolate chips and mini marshmallows
• wrap in aluminum foil around banana
• stick on grill for 3-5 minutes, or a little more if on indirect heat 
• open up when ready to eat, sprinkle some crushed cereal on top
• eat up quickly before your child tries to steal too many bites!

Recipe #351: Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops

This recipe came from an everyday food magazine. I didn't thoroughly read the directions about 30 minutes before I wanted to put it on the grill, so it didn't marinate in the rub that much but it still was very tasty!

You need:
3-4 bone in pork chops
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

• in a large ziploc, pour in sugar, coriander, cumin, and a little salt and pepper.
• toss up then add pork and oil. shake up until everything is well coated.
• let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes (at least-- the magazine said 8 hours or more!)
• grill it until done, about 5 minutes on a side! 

amazing with grilled corn and zucchini too!

Recipe #282: Grilled Soy Glazed Pork Chops

80 degree weather definitely means dinner on the grill. Plus we had sweet potatoes which is a favorite in this household!
the glaze was found here...two ingredients. Doesn't get much easier than that!

You need:
pork chops (I actually cut up a pork loin)
glaze--1/4 cup honey 2 Tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

• generously salt and pepper the pork chops
• heat on grill.
• when there is about 5-10 minutes left baste with the honey soy glaze
• goes great with grilled veggies (zucchini, sweet potatoes, and green onions to be exact)! ;)

we were having such a good time eating I forgot to take a picture! :)

Recipe #271 and #272: Grilled Chicken with spicy veggies

I am skipping some recipes to go to tonight's dinner. It was a perfect spring evening. 

So of course we had to grill!

You need:
2 bone in chicken legs
salt, pepper
barbecue sauce

• pat chicken dry
• generously add salt and pepper
• heat grill and cook on each side for about 10 minutes
• add barbecue sauce and heat each side for another 5-10 minutes of until done

Spicy veggies:

you need:

onion, chopped up

red potatoes, cut in rounds

spicy rub found here

paprika

cilantro

• chop up veggies. put in separate bags
• add a little olive oil to each bag
•  add in spicy rub to potatoes 
• add paprika and cilantro to onion
• close each bag and shake up
• grill until browning

Recipe #253: Roasted Corn and Bacon Pizza

Some good recipes develop as you go and this was one of them! :)

You need:
1 cup corn
8 slices of turkey bacon
paprika
red pepper flakes
1/8 cup cilantro leaves
mozzarella
pizza sauce
pizza dough

• fry bacon and put to the side
• in same fry pan, add corn and mix until it heats up. add paprika and red pepper flakes (sprinkle it in and add more if you like! )
• crumble up bacon and add to corn.
• roll out pizza dough to make a thin layer (it was still not as thin as I wanted, but that is something to keep working on!)
• add sauce, corn/bacon mixture, cilantro leaves and then cheese
• grill on high for about 15 minutes (or bake, which ever is easier for you!) or until done!

we need to get a bigger pizza stone because I always make the crust too big! hence the curled up corners on the right side! :)

Recipe #240 and 241:Spicy Grilled Chicken with Garlicly Sweet potatoes

I love the fact that we are grilling in February because the weather is so nice! 

I found the recipe for the chicken rub here and OH MY. It definitely has a kick to it! Delicious, but my mouth was burning. Will loved it though so if you are a spicy, spicy food person, I think you will like it!

you need:
1 1/5 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp thyme
1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tbsp rosemary
1/4ish Tbsp pepper
2 chicken breast, cut in half.

• mix spices together.
• use about 3 Tbsp to rub on top of chicken
• grill until both sides are done!

Alex LOVED the grilled sweet potatoes! He couldn't get enough of them!

You need:

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

garlic powder

sea salt

• cut sweet potatoes into rounds and put into a ziploc bag
• pour in a little olive oil, garlic powder, and sea salt
• grill until well done!

Recipe #112: Apple Pizza

Well, after a wonderful day of apple picking we came home and I made some pizzas for the crew of hungry apple pickers! I decided the final pizza should be an apple dessert pizza! Simple, but very delicious!

You need:
Pizza Dough, I used the light whole wheat dough found here
2 apples, sliced thinly
cinnamon and sugar
caramels, cut up

• Roll out your pizza dough
• Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar all over top of surface
• spread apples evenly around surface. 
• top with a little bit more cinnamon and sugar, and caramel pieces
• I had rolled up the sides over the apples a bit, but had trouble getting it off the pizza peel and on to the stone on the grill, so that didn't work out quite right.
• grill for about 15 minutes

We cut it into long slices...Will had the leftovers for breakfast so it is a very versatile meal! :)

Recipe #110: Grilled White Pizza

Tonight I think I had the best pizza we have ever made! White pizza doesn't use tomato based sauces...and I am totally not a sauce person, so white pizza is perfect for me and with the hint of garlic, it was WONDERFUL! Plus something about white pizza with chicken and garlic just screams fall...I don't know why, but if the weather would like to oblige I would be most grateful!

You need:

Pizza Dough (I used our bread dough)

olive oil

cooked, shredded chicken

mozzarella

2 cloves garlic, crushed

pepper

• heat up grill
• roll out pizza dough
• drizzle some olive oil around the top of the pizza.
• spread the chicken and garlic top
• top with cheese
• add a titch more olive oil and some pepper
• grill for about 15 minutes or until it looks done.
• be prepared for absolute deliciousness!

Recipe #90: Grilled Teriyaki Pork and #91 Sliced Sweet Potato

So I had some random leftover pork in the freezer and after thawing it out to determine what type of meat it was, we decided to celebrate labor day by grilling!

You need:
some pork chops
teriyaki marinade. I used premade or you can make your own found here.
small handful of sesame seeds

• put pork in small ziploc,
• pour teriyaki and sesame over pork and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
• grill for about 15 minutes over high heat.

Sliced Sweet Potato:
I got the idea from pinterest (see all my pins!), and the original post is found here.
but it used sweet potatoes instead

You need:
3 sweet potatoes
butter
pepper, cinnamon
little olive oil

• I first poked and microwaved the sweet potatoes for about 3 minutes so they wouldn't take so long to cook on the grill.
• Then slice the potato almost all the way through (my slices were a little bit thicker then the original too, but oh well)
• Spread some butter over top
• Sprinkle some pepper. i added some cinnamon to mine
• Grill for about 15 minutes

Alex got a potato too! He loved it! It was even better cold because the potato stayed together better...

Recipe #75 and #76: Honey Glazed Chicken and Curry Grilled Vegetables

The breeze this morning whispered fall, even though it probably is the hurricane weather. Oh well, I dream of fall. But it was the perfect evening to grill, so we did. Of course, Will got home late from football so it was sort of a rush meal, but still fun. I found the honey chicken recipe in an old Real Simple magazine.

you need:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• mix the sauce together
• Cut up the chicken into small slices and thread each onto a wooden skewer
• Grill for 6-8 minutes. Baste with sauce in last two minutes of cooking

Curried veggies:

You need:

yellow squash

potatoes

olive oil

curry powder

• mix some curry powder and olive oil in a ziploc to allow flavors to fuse and mix together. (one bag for each veggie)
• cut up veggies and add to bags
• close and shake up
• grill until veggies are done!

Don't these colors scream fall... I can't wait! 

(ps. the meal was perfect with some homemade bread!)

Recipe #23 and #24: Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Sesame Spiced Potatoes

We grilled again tonight! I love it. While we were grilling the propane tank ran out...oh dear! Thankfully my sister and brother-in-law live next door and we were able to borrow theirs! What will happen when they move?!

Well, tonight's menu was my all time favorite grilled chicken recipe...Teriyaki Chicken! It is a great marinade that can be used on steak as well. People love it.

For the marinade you need:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 mashed cloves garlic ( I used 2 Tbsp minced garlic)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (I use 1 Tbsp ground if I don't have fresh)
2 Tbsp mirin

Combine ingredients and mix well. I usually do it in a tupperware so you can close the lid and shake it. (Just make sure you close it tight!) Then add the chicken. I used 4 breast and cut them smaller so that they grill faster. Marinate for 4-12 hours (less does work too!) Baste with marinade while grilling.

While that is grilling you can cut up some potatoes, put them in a bag, and shake it up with some sesame spice rub. I found it today in an Everyday Food magazine. (Amazing magazine by the way). I only used a fourth of it  because it was just potatoes. It was suggested that you use it with pork or chicken as well.

But for a small amount with about 9 cut up potatoes you need:
1 Tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
pinch of pepper

Add to a small container with a lid. Close and shake well. Add to ziploc of potatoes and shake up.

Delicious!
(Tomorrow I will write about dessert!)

Recipes #4 and #5: Grilled Veggies and Hamburgers!

Hot, sunny, summer days = the need to grill in the Plunkett household! Will does most of the actual grilling, while I do some of the set up, however today he took total charge of the burgers and they were AMAZING!

But first, the veggies. Today we only did onions and potatoes, but if I have it on hand, we have probably tried it on the grill at some time or another!

Cut up the veggies, I usually do the potatoes and onions in thin round slices. I put each vegetable in its own ziploc, add a little olive oil and then whatever herbs I want. My go to is always rosemary and I picked some from the bush in my yard to add in. I have used thyme or dill with onions before, that was good too. When I do mushrooms I usually drizzle soy sauce on them instead of olive oil and add sesame seeds. That is pretty good! Green peppers are great too. Corn on the cob is fabulous, just put a little butter on it before grilling. Asparagus is also great!
Be sure to get a grill pan so nothing falls through. Grill until they are soft or burnt to your liking! :)

Next recipe, Will's amazing hamburgers. This is your basic burger, done to perfection!

• Get your ground beef out. shape to the size of your your choice. 
• Once they are all shaped, make a little well in the top of each burger. 
• Will added some salt, pepper, olive oil, and seasoning to the well. (We use Webers gourmet burger seasoning, when that finishes we will probably try out some other seasonings, but that is delicious!) 
• Stick on the grill at about 450 for about 4-5 and flipped them, then continue flipping them every so often until they are nice and done!

It was WONDERFUL!