Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

So easy and so simple. Chicken stuffed with ham and an artichoke spinach cheese spread. Instead of breading and frying it, I decided to try it on the grill. It turned out great. Everyone is always looking to cut a few calories and grilling was a good choice.

The chicken was tender and slightly smokey since we use smoke chips in the grill all the time. The ham was also slightly smoked so it was well complimented by the grill.

Directions:

Butterfly chicken breasts
Fill ham slice with cheese spread.
Tuck ham into the chicken breast.
Thread a skewer into the chicken breast to keep the ham and cheese inside.
Grill until done.

I found by filling the ham with the cheese, it did not ooze out like it usually does. It keep the cheese in the chicken and I'm glad it did. It was a great meal.

French Onion Steak and Asparagus

Again, it's all about Rachael Ray. I am hopelessly devoted to her recipes. They are quick, easy and Yummo! I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself. This time it isn't a recipe from the 365 book, but from her Big Orange Book. It was also featured on her show.

We eat a lot of chicken breasts here because they are so versatile and quick to cook. I've been looking to expand our protein horizon. I saw this recipe which uses london broil. I do not use it often because I am always afraid it will turn out more pot roast like than like steak. This one came out perfectly tender and juicy, just like a sirloin. The price of london broil is much better than sirloin or other steak cuts so we may add this cut to regular rotation.

I was trying to round out the meal but wanted something other than the regular salad and baked potato usually served with steak. I found some of the year's first asparagus and decided to make homestyle potatoes. The Gruyere sauce was great for dipping the asparagus.

To find the recipe and instructions, check our Rachael Ray's daytime show site.

Rosemary Orange Chicken Breasts

Rachael Ray 365 to the rescue again. Seriously, even if you hate her on television as much as I do, you should look into this book and many of her other cookbooks. The recipes of hers that I have tried have been great about 98% of the time. Once in a while there will be a dud, but luckily for us it isn't often.

I found some wonderfully fresh vegetables while shopping this weekend. I am so excited spring is around the corner and there will be more fresh vegetables to come. I picked up some baby bok choy because my Thai neighbor Oy used cook it and we thought it was delicious. I miss her, and not just for her cooking skills. I was on my own to figure out what to do with the bok choy this time.

I browsed my 365 book for the millionth time and came across a recipe for Rosemary-Orange pork chops. I had chicken breasts thawed out for dinner so it became Rosemary-Orange Chicken. It was wonderful on chicken and I can't wait to try it on pork chops. Give this a try, it's a great spring dish.

Ingredients

* 1 orange, juice and zest of, navel
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* salt
* fresh ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 4 pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (or in my case chicken breasts)

Directions

In a medium sauce pot over high heat, combine the zest and juice of the orange, brown sugar, chicken stock, rosemary, crushed red pepper lakes, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lover the heat to a simmer and cook until reduced by half.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with the EVOO. Season the chops with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet. Cook the chops for 5 minutes on each side. (or until done) Pour the glaze over the cooked pork chops. Toss to coat and transfer to a serving platter.

I grilled my chicken breasts outside because it was a wonderful warm spring day. For the bok choy I mixed orange juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a little red pepper flake. I poured some of it on before grilling it and reserved some for when it came off of the grill.

Grilled Turkey and what to do with the leftovers

We have a Holland Grill. Yes it is a gas grill and we love it. I have always had trouble with charcoal so for me to use the grill, gas it is. Plus this one is so easy, you can regulate the temperature and it cooks without a lot of watching. As the Holland grill company says, "if you're lookin' you ain't cookin'."

I have a few turkeys in the freezer so we decided to cook one up to make room in there. Cooking it on the grill all I had to do was clean the turkey, rub with olive oil and poultry seasoning. I put it on the grill and two hours later it was brown, juicy and delicious.



To go with the turkey, we had dirty rice, green beans and cranberry chutney I had made and frozen in the fall.

A recipe for the leftovers:

The next night we didn't want another plate of leftover turkey because leftovers were packed in lunch boxes. To change up the leftovers, I made a turkey casserole. I got this recipe from my aunt who makes it with chicken. It's very good with turkey too.

Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole

1 chicken cooked and torn into pieces (or 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1½ sticks margarine, melted
3 T poppy seeds (or just sprinkle until desired covering)

Mix together soups and sour cream.

Crush crackers and combine with melted margarine.

Layer ingredients in the following order in a 9x13 baking pan:
1. chicken
2. soup and sour cream mixture
3. crackers
4. poppy seeds

Bake at 350o for 20-25 minutes.

Salmon with Peach Salsa

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I love peaches. The fresh peaches of summer, the flavor, the scent, even the way the fuzzy skin feels. I just love everything about it. They are so good and since they are in season, they are inexpensive. I had five pounds of peaches so I tried to figure out what to do with them other than eat them whole.

I had some salmon filets to cook and I knew they would go on the grill. I started thinking how I could incorporate peaches in to a salmon meal. Peach Salsa! Perfect idea. Thanks to my garden and herbs,I had jalapenos and cilantro already. I still had vidaila onions left and I always keep limes. I knew then the salsa was meant to be.

For the salmon, I rubbed a little olive oil on and then sprinkled with a citrus seasoning blend. I grilled it until it was medium well and topped it with the salsa. It was delicious. We paired it with a pasta salad and steamed sugar snap peas.

Chicken Kabobs - Grilling for Summer

It's hot. It's time to crank the grill and leave the oven off. We look for meals where almost everything can be cooked on the grill. One of our favorites is chicken kabobs. You get your meat and veggies all in one. It takes a little prep, but you can make it the night before and let it marinate so the night you throw it on the grill, it's a quick dinner.

You can use any vegetables you like, but our favorites are onion, peppers, mushrooms, squash, and grape tomatoes. Cut everything in relatively the same size. Cut chicken breasts into one inch cubes.



Remember to soak your wooden skewers in water so they don't burn. Stack your skewers in any way you want, if someone doesn't like squash or loves tomatoes, you can make the skewers to match each person or you can do them all the same. I tend to be random when I'm making the skewers. I try to make sure I have all the colors on the skewers.



For the marinade, I usually use a zesty Italian dressing. I use full fat for the oil to keep the kabobs from sticking. You could use low fat but you would have to be sure to oil your grill grates. Sometimes I will use the a Greek style marinade (olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and garlic)

These are delicious. You'll have to take my word for how good they look when they come off of the grill. They looked and smelled so good, folks were diving in before I could get my camera out. Give them a try and see how quick they will fly off of your plate.

Try Tri Tip: It's what's for dinner

I've heard about tri tip from all of my west coast friends. They all love it and tell me how great it is on the grill. I have looked for it all over. I finally found one the other day at the commissary. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I got it home.

I talked to a couple of my friends and they all told me to grill it whole. I decided I'd give it a rub much like that we use on our briskets. I went a little less sweet and a bit heavier on the heat. I let it sit with the rub for about an hour at room temperature so the meat would grill more evenly, plus it gave it time for the rub melted into the meat. I put some hickory chips on the grill and oh man, I wish you could have been here to smell the smoke coming from the grill.



What goes better with steak than grilled mushrooms and onions? (yes more of those vidalias) Now I know why my west coast friends love the tri tip. I'll be keeping my eye out for another one.

Spicy Orange Grilled Chicken

Chicken, chicken, chicken. We eat a lot of chicken here because let's face it, it's cheap compared to the rising costs of everything else. This week at IGA, they have leg quarters for 59cents a pound. In a 10 pound bag, there were 15 leg quarters. Divided up, we will get 3 meals with leftovers for $5.90. You just can not beat it. I'll probably be picking up several bags and give my food saver a work out to stock our freezer.

On to the first meal out of this batch of chicken. We love orange, the color (it's my husband's favorite) and the flavors. We also love spicy so this is what I did for this meal:

Spicy Orange Grilled Chicken

6 oz orange juice concentrate
1/2 jar spicy pepper jelly
1-2 Tablespoons butter

Melt these together in a small pot until thickened.

Salt and Pepper for the chicken.

Grill the chicken and when almost done, brush the glaze on both sides. Use remaining glaze for a dipping sauce. Make sure you have lots of napkins handy because the glaze gets sticky on the grill. Serve with lots of grilled vegetables.


Check out the sauce, it's a pretty orange. I think that makes it even better.

A spring favorite: Asparagus

I love spring and I love the things spring brings, like asparagus. In spring the stalks are small and tender. Plus they are so good for you: full of folic acid, potassium, and fiber. Our favorite way to have them is grilled with just olive oil, salt and pepper. They get a bit crispy and are just delicious. Who needs french fries when you can have crispy asparagus.



Asparagus was something I never had growing up. I can credit my time in New Jersey for my love of asparagus. Between a friend who loved them and watching hours of food network, they became a regular at our table. I hear so many people say they do not like them, then I find out they were forced to eat the canned ones growing up. Please, if you hated the canned ones, give fresh a try. Asparagus has become a favorite vegetable in our house.

We had grilled baby back ribs to go along with our asparagus tonight. Just a little salt, pepper and a bit of Scott's Barbeque Sauce, and adding mesquite smoke chips to the grill.



Do you see the pink smoke ring around the edge of the meat? That is what adding mesquite will do for your meat besides adding extra deliciousness.

Texas Brisket......In North Carolina

We lived in San Antonio, TX for 18 months and there we came to love true Texas beef brisket. We started our love affair with brisket with our first visit to Rudy's Country Store and BBQ. It was such a different experience where you order your meat by the pound and they hand you half a loaf of bread in a pepsi box. Our family fell in love with it as well and we had to take them there every time they came to visit. I will say the originals are much better than the franchise locations. But enough about Rudy's. It was imperative we learn how to make Texas brisket because it was so new to us and we knew we'd be back in NC where BBQ means pork so you can not find a place to eat brisket. At least not good brisket.

My husband learned from a friend how to smoke a brisket. We use a rub with basic ingredients. I don't even measure anymore. Once we got it down pat, we served it to our family. Now if there is a gathering at our house, brisket better be the main course. We love it and love to do it for everyone, so we don't mind. This one however was just for us. Yes 13 pounds of wonderful meat just for the two of us. It is so good. It has a great smoke ring thanks to the mesquite we add to the grill.



We take the leftovers, slice it into thin slices and fry it up with BBQ sauce. It's great as it is or to make sandwiches with slaw.

For the rub we use
1/4 cup each of the following:

garlic powder

paprika

black pepper

cayenne pepper
cumin

1/2 cup each of the following:

kosher salt

brown sugar

mix together. Can be stored in an airtight container. This amount will usually cover 2 10-12 lb briskets.