More with Chicken...

Here's yet another yummy dinner idea that came about as I was perusing some of my favorite food blogs. I saw a recipe on Joelen's blog for Giada's garlic and citrus chicken and thought the flavor combo sounded good. I didn't have a whole chicken to make the recipe exactly as it stated so I decided to turn it into a marinade for boneless skinless chicken breasts and grill them instead. They turned out really great! The citrus in the marinade really came through in the flavor of the chicken and also caramelized nicely to create a golden brown "crust" as it grilled. We had these for dinner tonight with roasted red potatoes and green beans steamed with garlic cloves.

Here's how I made the marinade

1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano

Place chicken breasts (I did 2) in a bowl. Combine juices and chicken broth and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle the top of the chicken with oregano and garlic. Refrigerate, covered, for a couple hours or over night, turning chicken in the marinade periodically. Remove from marinade and grill or bake until done.

Orange Basil Chicken and Peach Cobbler

I've had this recipe saved for a few weeks but as usual it's been so busy around here I haven't gotten around to making any of these new recipes that I saved. Well I'm glad I finally tried it because it was awesome. I grilled the chicken on my grill pan which really sealed in the flavors of the garlic, orange, and basil. This is one of my new favorite marinades for chicken.

Orange Basil Chicken

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves, skin removed
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• juice and zest of 2 oranges
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 to 6 medium basil leaves, chopped, or about 1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 4 medium cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• dash onion powder

PREPARATION:

Wash chicken breast halves; pat dry. Place the halves between sheets of plastic wrap and pound lightly to flatten. Combine remaining ingredients in a food storage bag; add the chicken pieces. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Grill or broil the chicken for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked throu

gh. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the chicken breasts. In a saucepan, simmer the remaining marinade for 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly reduced.

Serve chicken with a little of the sauce or a fruit salsa, if desired.
Serves 4.

Original source: Southern Food


The peach cobbler I actually made last night while my sister was visiting. My husband had been asking for some, which he rarely asks for anything so I decided to make it just for him. It's such an easy recipe but the taste doesn't give that away. I've been making this recipe for years and I can't remember where I got it from. Anyway, it's served me well over the years. It always gets rave reviews! Oh and by the way, I found it quite impossible to take a good picture of this cobbler. So, sorry for the awful pic. : P

Peach Cobbler

1 cup self rising flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 29 oz can sliced peaches (fresh or frozen works well too)

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine flour and sugar and then stir in milk. Pour flour mixture in the baking dish over the butter. Place sliced peaches into the baking dish with the flour mixture and butter. Bake for 30-40 min or until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or by itself!

*If using fresh or frozen peaches, add just a bit more sugar depending on how sweet the peaches are.

Summer Grillin'

I'm always looking for new marinades to spice up regular old grilled chicken. I like marinades that are simple, but have lots of flavor. Well this one is both! It has a subtle lime flavor but the red pepper adds a nice kick to it. The original recipe calls for a black bean sauce but since I have such a picky husband that won't eat beans of any kind, I decided to just use the chicken marinade.

Grilled Lime Chicken

3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions:
Combine lime juice, vegetable oil, red pepper and garlic in a large zip-top heavy duty plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove chicken from bag and grill over medium-hot coals. Cook 8-10 minutes on each side or until chicken is done.

*I served this with roasted red potatoes and steamed baby carrots.

Here's the recipe for the black bean sauce that I ommited.

1 cup water
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp. red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
sprigs of fresh cilantro (optional)

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan; add bell pepper and onion. Cook 30 seconds; drain. Rinse with cold water until cool; drain and set aside.

In a food processor, add beans, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. Process until smooth. Pour into a saucepan; cook over medium-low heat until heated.

Divide bean mixture onto plates. Place chicken breast on top of sauce; top each with some of the bell pepper mixture or a fresh tomato salsa. Garnish with fresh cilantro.