Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken

Don't let the name fool you. It's not Chinese sweet & sour chicken at all, the marinade has lemon juice and brown sugar, hence the "sweet & sour". This is a fantastic marinade for grilled chicken. We love to have it with brown rice or rice pilaf and some roasted asparagus or fresh sauteed green beans. Yummy!

Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken

2 garlic cloves, crushed through a garlic press
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 lime
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or an equal amount of chicken tenders for a quicker meal)

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar, lime and lemon juices, brown sugar, mustard, honey, and salt & pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Reserve a small amount for dipping. Add chicken to remaining marinade, and refrigerate several hours. Grill chicken for about 4 minutes on each side, or until the juices run clear. While chicken is cooking, bring remaining marinade (not the amount you put aside for dipping!) to a boil in a saucepan, then baste chicken with the sauce during the last minutes of cooking.

Italian White Bean Pancetta Soup

I have a new favorite soup. This was AMAZING!!! I found it on Allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little bit to fit my preferences. SO GOOD. A big hit all around - next time I make a full recipe (I halved it) because there wasn't enough leftovers!!! Fantastic with homemade bread (I made this Anadama Bread) Here's the recipe, with my changes in blue. TRY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

Italian White Bean And Pancetta Soup

6 ounces pancetta bacon, finely diced (if you can't find pancetta, you can substitute regular bacon)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (I used fresh thyme and fresh basil instead)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock
4 (19 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I used navy beans instead...and you might only need 3 cans of beans if you prefer it more broth-y)
2 cups seashell pasta (or any small pasta, I used whole wheat rotini)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
grated parmesan cheese (gotta have this!! I think I used Asiago - it totally made the soup!)

Directions:
1. In an 8 quart pot, saute pancetta in olive oil until soft. Add onion and celery; saute, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic. Stir in sage, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Add chicken stock, cover, and bring to a boil Add beans to soup, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Cook pasta in 4 quarts boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt until al dente. Drain, and add to soup. (I put a scoop of pasta in each bowl then poured soup over the top so the soup wasn't thick and starchy and the pasta wasn't mushy)
3. Stir in minced parsley before serving, and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Turkey Burger "Drumsticks"

This is a totally fun, easy and yummy recipe that I found in my Rachael Ray mag! It was a big hit with the whole fam...next time I'll have some dipping sauce for everyone, maybe BBQ sauce or Ranch or something like that. You could also play around with seasonings to change it up.

Turkey Burger "Drumsticks"

1 lb. ground turkey
1 5 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups crushed cornflakes
2 ounces medium-hard cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

In a bowl, mix the turkey, 1/4 cup evaporated milk, the onion and 2/3 cup cornflakes. Season with salt & pepper. Divide into 12 portions. Cut the cheese into 12 small sticks and thread on each of 12 skewers. Wet your hands with evaporated milk then mold a portion of meat around each cheese piece, shaping it into 3-inch ovals. Pour remaining milk into a bowl. Add remaining cornflakes to a plate. Dip each "drumstick" into the milk, then coat with cornflakes. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and fry each drumstick until browned, about 12 minutes.
***You could also easily grill these on a BBQ or bake in the oven - just make sure to soak bamboo skewers in water beforehand.