Who Knew Zucchini Was So Good?!?!

A few weeks ago, I went to my friends house for dinner.  While talking to her earlier that day, I asked her what I could bring as well as what else we were having.  She informed me  we were having grilled zucchini.  I told her I would not be eating that.  She asked why and I told her I had never had it and it was more than likely nasty.  As a child, we didn't eat brussel sprouts, squash, spinach, or zucchini.  I naturally thought all of those foods were "disgusting."  She told me I HAD to try it; even if it was a little piece, I HAD to try it.  I was very apprehensive.  I even put extra rice on my plate and had my water right by my meal in case I needed something to get the taste out of my mouth.  Here it was, the moment of truth and ALL eyes were on me.  First, I cut a small piece of chicken, added some rice to the fork, and a SMALL piece of zucchini as well.  It wasn't bad with all the other stuff on the fork, but I knew I needed to taste it on its own.  So, once again, all eyes were on me as I placed a larger piece on my fork.  I took a bite and OH MY GOODNESS....it was DELICIOUS!  I must have had about 4-5 pieces of it.  She grilled it and added Parmesan cheese to it, maybe that's why I liked it?! That same week, I had a dinner planned with some girlfriends and I knew what I would be bringing!  I told my friend I would be cooking my part of the meal at her house.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course I tweaked it a little), but it was so good.  This recipe would be great as a side dish for almost any meal.  My three year old even liked this side dish.  The moral of this blog is: don't be afraid to try new things...you may be pleasantly surprised!

Recipe: Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchinis, 

2 tablespoon olive oil 

2-3 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese  

Garlic powder to taste

Black Pepper

 

Directions:

Slice zucchini (try to get all the same size...you want medallions).  Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once oil is heated, add sliced zucchini and saute for about 3-5 minutes. 

 

Add Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and black pepper.  If you don't like a lot of cheese, add as little as you want.  Continue sauteing until zucchini is tender.  Serve and enjoy!

Captivating Chicken

This summer, we have been eating a lot of chicken.  I thought I would get tired of it after eating it for so long, but I have been trying many recipes, which makes each meal captivating!  Below you will find two chicken recipes.  The first is one I tried at my friend Sarah's house.  When she prepared it, she used chicken breast which was good too.  The second recipe was inspired by my friend Jan.  We went to her house for a 4th of July celebration, and this was one of the main dishes.  It was so good, I told her I had to make this for my family.  Instead of using the Pulled Chicken packet of seasoning, I used a few different ingredients and it was just as good.  Thanks Sarah and Jane for the chicken inspiration :). 

Recipe: Grilled Beer Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks or 8 chicken breast

1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil

1 tsp onion salt

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp of minced garlic
Juice of half a lime or buy lime juice

1 cup beer (any beer of your choice, I used Miller Lite)

handful of chopped fresh parsley

season all to taste

Red pepper flakes (1 tsp)

Directions

Thoroughly wash drumsticks and place into a large zip lock bag or a large rectangular container.   While in the bowl, you can lightly season with season all, garlic powder, and black pepper.

In a large bowl, mix together the  oil, onion salt, paprika, ground cumin, cayenne powder and ground black pepper.  Add your lime juice and minced garlic.  Add your beer to the bowl.  Mix everything together.  Add season all or any other seasonings you would like to taste (I added season all and a little more garlic powder as well as red pepper flakes).  Add the chopped parsley.  

Place the mixture in the zip lock bag/container.  The chicken can marinade for as long as you want.  I let mine marinade for about 3 hours.  Sarah had hers marinading for about 2 days.  

 

Get your grill hot and take chicken directly from the marinade to the grill.  You can baste your chicken with the marinade if you would like (I did for that extra flavor).  Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.  Just make sure you check on it every 10-15 minutes. Serve with a vegetable and enjoy!

Recipe #2:  Crock pot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken

Image courtesy of www.howsweeteats.com

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks or 5 chicken breasts
Season all

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 ounces of beer (use what you have on hand). 
1 (32) ounce container of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Oklahoma Joe's BBQ Sauce)

Directions: 

Thoroughly wash your chicken.  

Season chicken with all seasonings listed above.  

Add to crock pot, then add beer and 3/4 of the barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  After 8 hours, shred your chicken and add the rest of your barbecue sauce. Stir your chicken in the sauce and let it cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. 

 

Serve on a bun with cheese,  drizzle a little sauce on top, and a pickle on the side.  Enjoy!

Crazy About Corn!

It's summer and one of our favorite side dishes is corn!  We were invited to a 4th of July get together by some friends and we were asked to bring a side dish.  I thought about baked beans and potato salad, but I wanted to do something different.  I had a flashback of a get together with some of my co-workers; one of them brought a delicious corn dip so I decided to make this and bring it to the Fourth of July get together.  Let me just say this was a hit at the get together and it was very easy/simple to make.  There is still a lot of summer left, so try it out at your next gathering!

Recipe: Corn Dip

Ingredients:

1 can yellow and white corn, drained

2 11oz cans mexicorn or fiesta corn

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 bundle of chopped green onions

Garlic Powder and Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.  Add the garlic powder and black pepper to taste.

 

Serve with corn chips or tortilla chips and enjoy!

           Nick and I decided to grill out by the pool a couple of weeks ago.  I tried this new chicken recipe my friend Sarah gave me.  All I needed was a side dish that I knew the kids would eat.  As I was returning from a walk with the kids, my neighbor was telling me about this herb butter she was making.  She took fresh parsley and butter, combined it and then refrigerated it.   That sounded like such a great idea so I did exactly what she did except I used basil.  I figured the best food item to put this butter on was corn on the cob.  I went to the store to buy fresh corn.  I peeled it, cleaned it, and broke them in half.  This was the BEST grilled corn I had ever had! 

Recipe: Grilled Corn on the Cob with Herb Butter

Ingredients: 

Butter

Basil

10 corn on the cob

aluminum foil

Directions:

In a bowl, mix half a stick of butter with about 1/4 cup of fresh herbs (you can use basil, parsley, etc.).  Once you mix the butter and herb, place in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes.  When your corn is peeled and cleaned, get ready to create a wonderful side dish.  

Rub about a teaspoon of your butter mixture around the corn.  Then wrap the corn in aluminum foil.  Place to the side and finish all other corn on the cob the same way.  Grill corn covered for about 10-15 minutes.  Take aluminum off and place back on grill for about 5 minutes just to get grill marks.  

Serve with your favorite entree or by itself and ENJOY!