Tag Archives: on the grill

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu #RecipeMakeover

Posted in chicken, main dishes by

Disclosure: I received this product for free as part of #RecipeMakeover week. All opinions are my own.

We are grill-obsessed in the summer, so when the opportunity came up to work with Smokin-Os, I was beyond excited. I tend to slather my grill creations in sauce – usually one that’s loaded with sugar. Barbecue, teriyaki, and sweet and sour sauces end up in heavy rotation. With Smokin-Os, though, that’s not necessary.

Smokin-Os are a ridiculously easy way to get all the flavor of smoking with minimal effort. They pack a huge flavor punch without adding any calories. You can see how to use them here.

SmokinOs

When I started brainstorming what I wanted to try and makeover for #RecipeMakeover week, I kept coming back to Chicken Cordon Bleu. I love it, but it’s usually fried and often comes with a heavy sauce. As soon as I got my hands on the Smokin-Os, I knew they’d be a great way to pack a lot of flavor into my dish, while ditching the frying. I was so excited how these turned out!

To find out more about Smokin-Os, like them on Facebook!

GrilledChickenCordonBleu

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu with Smokin-Os
(a Kate’s Recipe Box original
Serves 4

4 thin-cut, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and oregano, to taste
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. olive oil
4 slices deli ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 Original Smokin-Os

Prepare the grill according to the Smokin-Os package directions.

Season chicken breasts to taste with salt, pepper, and oregano. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, and olive oil.

When the grill is ready, spray with non-stick spray and add chicken breasts. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip, brushing the top with the honey-mustard mixture. Cook another 3-4 minutes, flip and brush again. Add 1 slice of ham, topped with one slice of Swiss cheese to each chicken breast and cook for another minute, until the cheese melts.

 

Grilled Stuffed Mini Peppers

Posted in snacks, vegetarian, veggies by

The weather is getting better! The snow piles from the nor’easter are nearly gone and we’ve had a few evenings where it’s not frigid by dinner time – so we’re starting to fire up the grill.

Cave Tools recently sent me a pepper grill rack to try out (you can see my review here) and we finally busted it out to make these delicious little peppers. I think most people automatically think jalapenos stuffed with cheese and bacon for something like this, but I wanted to make something that felt light and fresh – and that was more toddler-friendly.

These were perfect! I can’t wait to make them again once we have lots of fresh herbs in the garden.

CaveTools4

Grilled Stuffed Mini Peppers
(a Kate’s Recipe Box original)
Makes 12

12 rainbow mini peppers
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped dill
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Clean and core the peppers.

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, dill, basil, green onions, garlic, and lemon zest until well combined. Stuff peppers with cream cheese mixture.

Using a rack, grill over medium heat until the peppers are softened and the cream cheese puffs slightly. Serve immediately.

Grilled Italian Sausages with Sweet and Sour Peppers and Onions #CookoutWeek

Posted in main dishes, pork by

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for weeks because I wanted to save it for #CookoutWeek – I’m so sorry I’ve been holding out on you guys. But, I’ve officially found my favorite way to grill up sausage.

In the past, I’ve always sort of failed at sausages on the grill. It would sound like such a good idea and then they’d end up undercooked on the inside or overcooked on the outside – or both. Braising them on the grill and then just transferring them to direct heat at the end eliminates all of that – and it’s absolutely delicious.

I had picked up these sausages on a whim at the farmer’s market and they were hands down the best impulse purchase I’ve made in a long time. I already can’t wait to make these again!

Sausage and Peppers

Grilled Italian Sausages with Sweet and Sour Peppers and Onions
(from Serious Eats)
Serves 4

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 sweet Italian sausage links
Rolls, for serving

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the sliced peppers and onions and toss to coat in the oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes – until softened and browning. Stir in vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Light one side of a grill and allow to preheat for about 10 minutes.

Transfer the peppers and onions to a 10″ disposable aluminum pan. Push the sausages into the pepper mixture.

Place the tray on the heated side of the grill until simmering. Move to the non-heated side and close grill. Cook over indirect heat for 20 minutes, flipping the sausages halfway through.

Use tongs to remove the sausages from the peppers and onto the hot side of the grill. Cook, turning often, until browned – about three more minutes.

Serve sausages in rolls, topped with peppers and onions.

Grilled Italian Sausages

Italian-Parmesan Grilled Potatoes

Posted in sides by

I’m just starting to get back into some solid meal planning. Even though I’ve been feeling better for weeks, I haven’t been mentally ready to prep big meals more than once or twice a week. We’re on about week 3 of a real meal plan again and it feels good. Even if I’m mostly just doing main dishes and praying that the sides figure themselves out.

These delicious potatoes were mostly an after-thought. We were planning to make dinner on the grill and I decided to throw these on too instead of roasting them. The simple seasonings made them a breeze to throw together but they were still really good. And using a foil packet meant no dishes to clean up – always a plus!

ItalianParmGrilledPotatoes

Italian-Parmesan Grilled Potatoes
(adapted from Kraft)
Serves 4

4-5 red potatoes, cut into chunks
2 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. Italian dressing
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parsley, for garnish

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

In a medium bowl, toss together the potato chunks, olive oil and water. Transfer to a large sheet of foil and fold into a packet.

Grill the foil packet of potatoes for twenty minutes, turning halfway.

Once cooked, transfer to a bowl and toss with dressing, cheese, salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley and serve.

 

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Foil Packets

Posted in chicken, main dishes by

I’m so excited grilling season is back! I’ve been bookmarking grill recipes like crazy, but when one of my blogger friends mentioned they’d tried and liked this, it jumped to the top of the list. This is super easy to put together, which makes it perfect for a weeknight, and Jake downed it so it’s toddler-approved.

I’m pretty sure this blog is going to be all about the grill this summer. Jake LOVES playing outside and will happily hang out in the back yard for hours. I’ve been loving watching him from the window as I prep and then joining him in the backyard to grill. It’s looking like it’ll be a pretty mellow summer – at least until the new little sister gets here!

PineappleChickenPackets

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Foil Packets
(from Crème de la Crumb)
Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts cut into 1½ inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 15 oz. can pineapple chunks
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1 cup Asian toasted sesame dressing
Sesame seeds, optional, for serving
Rice, for serving
4 12″x12″ sheets of foil

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the teriyaki sauce and Asian dressing. Set aside.

Divide the chicken, peppers, onions and pineapple chunks between the foil packets. Fold up the edges of the foil a bit, add the sauce and close up completely.

Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove from heat and check chicken for doneness – cook longer if neede.

Grilled Dijon Chicken

Posted in chicken, main dishes by

Lately, dinner has been all about whatever I can get on the table the fastest. Mark’s been working late and as soon as Jake realizes I’m cooking, he’s at my feet whining like he’s never been fed before. Our weekends, though, have been much more laid back so I’ve been doing as much prep as I can then.

This chicken is a brilliant two-fer. I made it on the weekend but it’s quick enough for a weeknight, too – just throw the marinade together in the morning and it’ll take you just a few minutes to grill it up in the evening. The best part, though, is using the leftover chicken to make these melts another night. Leftovers that don’t feel like leftovers are always appreciated here!

DijonGrilledChicken

Grilled Dijon Chicken
(from Homemade by Holman)
Serves 4-6

2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, honey and lemon juice. Stir in spices. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Grill over medium- high heat until cooked through, turning halfway, about 15 minutes.

 

Mango-Mint Turkey Burgers

Posted in chicken, main dishes by

In a lot of ways, this has been the perfect summer. We’ve had friends from all over visit, we made trips to Boston and Hershey and the shore, we introduced little man to swimming and ice cream and county fairs. We celebrated my 30th birthday, little man’s first birthday and our 6th wedding anniversary. I’ve also gotten back into a few things that had fallen by the wayside during the last year – mainly, working out and reading.

Instead of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I’ve been revisiting old favorites that I know I can whip together quickly. It’s been nice to have a few weeks to just cook and not worry about trying new things or photographing meals. The break was good for the soul and helped revive my drive to cook – my dinner plans for the next few weeks are more ambitious than I’ve felt in a while!

These burgers were, mostly, a “use up what you’ve got” recipe. I had turkey that needed to get cooked that day and some mint that I had forgotten to toss in another dish (oops), so when I saw this on Pinterest it became dinner for the night. I was still on “blogging break” when I made these so I half-heartedly snapped a picture before I dug in – but despite the lackluster snapshot, these were too good not to share! These are a really great summer burger.

MangoMintTurkeyBurgers

Mango-Mint Turkey Burgers
(from No Biggie)
Makes 4

1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 large mango, finely diced
1 Tbsp. mint, chopped
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp. steak seasoning
1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash original seasoning
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
Buns, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce and teriyaki sauce. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine the turkey, mango, mint, onion and seasonings with your hands. When thoroughly mixed, divide into 4 equal balls and shape them into patties. Brush the tops of the patties with the sauce mix.

Cook the burgers on a medium-high grill. Place them glazed-side down and brush sauce on the other sides. Flip halfway through cooking and glaze again.

Serve on buns.