Tag Archives: healthy cooking

3 Grilled Chicken Recipes You’ll Love This Summer

9 May
Grilled Stuffed Chicken

Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers

Following my grilled teriyaki salmon post a few weeks ago, I had a number of readers ask me to share some tips on how to grill chicken.

Detailed here are three of my favorite go-to grilled chicken recipes:

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken 

Citrus Grilled Chicken

Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers

Any of these meals are perfect for summer entertaining or dining al fresco!

1. Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Step-by-Step:

The easiest of the 3 recipes here (though they are all fairly simple), this teriyaki chicken is melt-in-your-mouth tasty and turns out perfectly every time!

The easiest of the 3 recipes here (though they are all fairly simple), this teriyaki chicken is melt-in-your-mouth tasty and turns out perfectly every time!

Instructions:

–Prepare chicken breasts by rinsing and patting dry with a paper towel.

Chicken Prep

–Flatten chicken with meat tenderizing tool and pierce several times with a fork. Flattening the chicken results in more even cooking and a tender taste. Piercing it with a fork before marinating results in more flavor.

Chicken Pounded

–Pour marinade into shallow glass pan and place chicken breasts one at a time in the pan, using a silicone brush to smother the chicken with your marinade.

Same marinade I used for my grilled salmon recipe a few weeks ago. Try their Very Very Teriyaki, too!

Same marinade I used for my grilled salmon recipe a few weeks ago. Try their Very Very Teriyaki, too!

–Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Drench chicken with marinade in a glass dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

–Heat grill to ~400.

–Cook chicken on one side for ~5-7 minutes, flip and cook on remaining side for 3-5 minutes, depending on how well-done you like your chicken.

–Serve with steamed broccoli and brown rice, or pick your favorite sides!

2. Citrus Grilled Chicken, Step-by-Step:

Citrus Grilled Chicken

Instructions:

Continue reading →

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Dinner Tonight: Teriyaki Salmon on The Grill

5 Apr
Don't be afraid to cook fish! A simply seasoned salmon fillet on the grill is healthy, delicious, and super-easy!

Don’t be afraid! A simply seasoned salmon fillet on the grill is healthy, delicious, and super-easy.

We’ve invited family over for dinner tonight and we’ll be enjoying the salmon pictured here, a scrumptious salad, and some amazing grilled pears.

GRILLED SALMON RECIPE:

–Place salmon fillets (I prefer Wild) skin-side down on a piece of aluminum foil, large enough to wrap up the edges and create a “foil boat” for the fish.

–Smother the salmon with your marinade of choice, close up the foil boat at the top, and refrigerate for ~30 mins, or a maximum of 1 hour (unlike beef or poultry, fish begins to degrade if left in marinade for too long).

Try their Very Very Teriyaki, too!

Soy Vay makes some great-tasting marinades. Island Teriyaki is what I’m using tonight (pictured here). Try their Very Very Teriyaki, too!

–Pre heat grill to ~400

–Brush grill grates with canola oil

–Remove salmon from foil boats and brush the fish lightly with canola oil. Place on grill, skin-side up for ~3 mins

–While salmon is still on grill, brush the skin with oil and carefully flip the fillet(s)

–Cook skin side down for 5-7 mins depending on thickness of the fish. Salmon should be close to opaque all the way through once fully cooked and flake easily.

–Remove salmon from the grill and serve with The Only Salad You’ll Ever Need To Make.

The simple toss of a few ingredients in a light olive oil dressing will cause your guests to rave!

The simple toss of a few ingredients in a light olive oil dressing will cause your guests to rave!

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Heart-Healthy, Gluten-Free Snack Bars

15 Jan
Yummy and oh-so-easy gluten-free bars are a healthy alternative to sugar-filled sweets!

Yummy gluten-free bars are a healthy alternative to sugar-filled sweets!

My lovely neighbor brought us some of these delicious and not-to-sweet bars recently. I asked her to share the recipe with me, and now I’m sharing it with you! This recipe was developed and written as-is by Teri Gruss, who is the author of the About.com Guide to gluten-free cooking.

Consider baking this healthy alternative instead of cakes and cookies for Valentine’s Day  this year!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup nut butter (almond OR cashew OR peanut OR sunflower butter)
  • 3/4 cup sweetener syrup (honey OR GF brown rice syrup OR good quality Agave nectar)
  • 1 1/2 cups roasted raw nuts and / or seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds- use your favorites in any combination)
  • 1 cup unsulfured dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, raisins- use your favorite dried fruits in any combination)
  • 4 cups GF brown rice crispie cereal
  • 1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

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Easy, Peasy Taste of Fall – Perfect For Dinner Any Day Of The Week

15 Nov

Perfect for cool outdoor weather, this dish is satisfying, flavorful, and optionally gluten-free!

If you enjoy lots of flavor, you’ll love this dish! This simple and delightful fall meal takes just minutes to prepare:

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

These brands are the ones I use for this easy fall dinner, but feel free to switch things up a bit depending on availability in your region or personal taste!

Main Dish:

–Spinach & Garlic chicken sausage by Bilinski. I buy it because it contains no pork casing – the fact that it’s delicious is a bonus!

–Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta sauce by Williams Sonoma.

–Ancient Grain Quinoa Pasta (any shape – I had elbows on hand). Feel free to substitute your favorite pasta.

Salad:

–Fresh baby spinach.

–Apples (unpeeled). Gala or Honeycrisp both work well with this recipe.

–Walnut halves/pieces.

–Blue Cheese crumbles – use sparingly, as the flavor is very strong. Consider placing it in a separate small bowl, allowing your guests to help themselves.

–Olive oil vinaigrette dressing. (I like Newman’s Own).

PREPARING YOUR MEAL

–Grill sausage whole on medium-high for ~4-5 mins each side.

Quick tip: Opt for grilling the sausage earlier in the day and then refrigerate it until needed. Simply slice and warm the sausage along with your sauce while pasta is cooking.

–Cook pasta according to package directions.

–Warm Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta Sauce in a saucepan while pasta cooks.

–Chop apples and assemble the salad. Toss in olive oil dressing.

–Drain pasta and toss lightly in olive oil. Return to cooking pot (should be emptied of all cooking liquid), and toss with pasta sauce, coating evenly. Top with chicken sausage and fresh parmesan cheese.

For easy decorating, add a mini pumpkin to each dinner plate and toss a few leaves on your table.

Enjoy the flavorful taste of fall Around Your Home!

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Summer Sweet Potatoes? Why Not!

26 Jun

Sweet potatoes are a terrific compliment to almost anything you prepare on your outdoor grill!

Sweet potatoes are an acquired taste for some people. I happen to love them – pretty much any way they are prepared.

Though traditionally served during Thanksgiving (U.S.) and Christmas, I enjoy this super-food year-round.

Sweet potatoes are a terrific compliment to almost anything cooked on the outdoor grill. They are loaded with Vitamins B, C, and D, potassium, magnesium, and have a low glycemic index (minimal impact on blood sugar).

Trouble is, I’ve not had luck preparing them “just right”. Until recently, when I surrendered my strong stance against owning a microwave oven.

So, if you like sweet potatoes, and you’re not opposed to the use of a microwave oven, read on for the quickest, and in my opinion, tastiest way to prepare them.  Continue reading →

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Make Your Own Fresh Pasta Sauce in 15 Minutes

19 Jun

Summer is a great time to cook outside. But when it’s too hot or too rainy, you can still enjoy the outdoor taste of summer indoors by making your own fresh pasta sauce.

It’s easy to do, and completely changes the flavor of your favorite pasta dish.

Just follow the simple recipe below: Continue reading →

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The Only Salad You’ll Ever Need To Make

12 Jun

The simple toss of a few ingredients in a light olive oil dressing will cause your guests to rave!

The title of this post is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

This salad is my go-to side for dinner parties, whether I’m playing the role of host or guest. The main entree could have been slow-roasted for 24 hours in special seasoning salt that was trailered in, yet the guests can be heard going on and on about the salad!

I’ve been making this recipe for so long that I don’t even remember where I learned it or who from. It’s really simple and ridiculously good.

If you don’t like one of the ingredients, simply leave it out and your salad will still be super-tasty.

Ingredients:

–Baby Romaine Lettuce

–Shaved or shredded parmesan cheese – 2 palmfuls

–Red onion – 1 palmful

–Walnut pieces (optional) – tip: give people the option to add their own by placing small bowls of walnut pieces around the table

—Newman’s Own Olive Oil Vinaigrette or make your own vinaigrette. All you need is enough to lightly coat the salad, but not saturate it.

–Toss all ingredients and serve immediately.

That’s all there is too it. Bon appétit!

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