Pesto Chicken & Peppers Skewers

Many of you may remember from last year, but one of the highlights of my spring is when my CSA membership starts back up. If you aren't familiar with what a CSA is, check out this post: Golden Earthworm Organic Farm CSA

So its been two weeks already, and my refrigerator is filled to the brim with crispy and fresh greens from varieties of lettuce, spices and veggies. Today I chose to whip up a batch of my arugula pesto (see here for the full recipe: Arugula Pesto) and grill up some chicken skewers. So simple and delicious, a perfect week night meal.

To start off, get all of your ingredients together. To have enough to feed 5 people, you are going to need..

2 lbs chicken breast
2 red bell peppers
1 very large yellow onion
1 cup of my arugula pesto
Wood skewers

Clean off your peppers and cut into about 1 inch squares. Similarly, cut the onion into chunks about the same size of the peppers.

Prep the pesto according to the instructions I linked to above.

Next, cut your chicken cutlets into cubes. Try to cut them evenly so they will all cook at the same time.

Now for the assembly, I like to start and end with chicken and get all my veggies somewhere in between. How about chicken - pepper - onion - chicken - pepper - onion - chicken. Sounds like a good combo to me. Prep all of your skewers until your ingredients are gone. Now, with a basting brush, coat all sides, edges and crevices of each skewer with the pesto. Man these are going to be good.

Heat up the BBQ to medium high heat and arrange all of the skewers on the rack directly above the flames. If they don't all fit, keep them in the refrigerator and cook in batches. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, being sure to rotate so all four sides of your chicken cube gets a nice BBQ char to it.

Once the chicken is cooked through, you can remove from BBQ and serve immediately with a fresh salad or some spring veggies. Enjoy!

Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

I love pulled pork and pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches, the only problem is the time commitment. To get the pork or chicken or whatever else you might like to use to be tender and flaky, you usually have to leave it in the crockpot or oven for hours. As a busy working girl, I don't have that kind of time for a weeknight meal. So today, I am using a short cut - Rotisserie chicken! Whenever I am looking to cut some time off my meal preparation, my first choice is always using a Rotisserie chicken.

Recipe yields 6 sandwiches

Ingredients
1 Rotisserie chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
5 cloves garlic
14 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp dark molasses
A pinch of salt and fresh black pepper
6 rolls
Lettuce for garnish

Remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat into bite size pieces. Set aside. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. In a large skillet heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, apple cider vinegar and molasses to the pan. Give it a good stir and season with the salt and pepper to your liking. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes to allow all those flavors to get acquainted. Add in your shredded chicken and coat with the sauce. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.

In the meantime, slice your rolls and get your lettuce ready to make your sandwiches. I also use this time to prepare my Simple Slaw, which for me is a must with BBQ sandwiches. Prepare the sandwiches by lining the bottom bun with a slice of lettuce (this protects the bun from becoming soggy with the BBQ sauce), next comes a heaping pile of shredded chicken and top it all off with some cole slaw and the top bun. Delicious! Enjoy!

Simple 'Slaw

Coleslaw is a staple when it comes to summer time and BBQ's. Whether you are having a cheeseburger or pork ribs, nothing is a more suiting side choice than a good old fashioned coleslaw. After trying many different recipes, I came up with the one below by swapping out ingredients from each one. Hope you enjoy it.

Recipe yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 large head of green cabbage
2 large carrots
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp honey
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Remove the outer layers on the cabbage until you reach fresh, clean leaves. Remove the root of the cabbage and sit the cabbage on the flat surface you just created.

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core from both halves.

Slice into very thin strips. Depending on the size of your cabbage and your preference, you may want to cut the strips in half to have smaller pieces. Rinse the shredded cabbage in a colander and place in a large bowl. Peel and shred the carrots and add them to the bowl with the cabbage.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, vinegar, sugar and honey. Whisk all ingredients together until well combined.

Pour dressing over the cabbage and carrots and mix well until everything is coated. Add salt and pepper to adjust the flavor to your liking. Serve at your next BBQ and your sure to be a hit! Enjoy!

BBQ Peach Chipotle Chicken

This recipe combines a variety of flavors that blend together so well. The sweetness of the peaches mixed with the tangy BBQ sauce is a great combination. The chicken must marinate for at least 1 hour, so it is ideal if you prepare this in advance. Cooking on the grill will get the chicken nice and charred, however, you can also cook it in a skillet. My plans of BBQ'ing came to an abrupt halt when the thunder storm started, so I settled for the stove top. The chicken came out just as delicious and very juicy. Cooking it on the stove allowed for the marinade to become a glaze on the chicken.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken breast tenders
1 1/2 cup peach preserves
1/2 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 BBQ sauce
1 tsp salt
5 garlic cloves

Chop the garlic cloves. Add garlic, peach preserves, chipotle peppers, BBQ sauce and salt to a mixing bowl. Combine well. Add chicken to bowl and combine so chicken is covered with the marinade. Cover the bowl with cellophane and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour. (The longer you marinate the chicken, the stronger the flavor will be.)

 Remove chicken from excess sauce and cook on grill for 4-5 minutes each side or until chicken is cooked through. If using a skillet, place chicken in skillet and cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. You do not need to prepare the pan with cooking spray or oil, the marinade will create a glaze that the chicken with absorb and cook in. Remove from skillet, serve and enjoy!

Garlic-Lime BBQ Pork Chops

Have you ever wanted juicy BBQ pork chops but forgot to put them in the marinade? Well then this is the perfect recipe for you! For me, being hungry and impatient was just not an option!

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients

6 bone-in pork chops

2 limes, juice

1 garlic clove

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tbsp cilantro

Freshly ground sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Rub pork chops with salt and pepper to season. Heat grill. Cook pork chops on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.

While pork chops are cooking, you can prepare the vinaigrette. Whisk together the lime juice, chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp of salt. Add olive oil and white wine vinegar and continue to whisk well. Add minced cilantro and combine well. 

 Once pork chops are cooked through, remove from the grill. Plate and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve additional vinaigrette on the side. Enjoy!

Kickin' BBQ Chicken

One of the best parts about the warm weather is cooking outside on the BBQ. Unfortunately for us, our BBQ was destroyed last year in a hurricane. Unable to cope with the idea of going through the summer without one, my dad and I went out and bought a small, portable coal-fired BBQ to use while we are renovating our backyard. Although it is small, it is powerful and effective and it gets the job done! Tonight I made a summertime favorite, my kickin' BBQ chicken.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients

4 pieces chicken breast (about 6 oz. each)

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp sea salt

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

4 limes, juice

Rinse the chicken breast under cold water. In a small ball, combine salt, black pepper, thyme and cayenne pepper. Rub seasoning on chicken breast, covering both sides. Place chicken in a medium mixing bowl. Mince the garlic cloves and put them in the bowl with the chicken along with the olive oil. Juice all four limes into the bowl. Mix around the marinade to cover all the chicken. Cover the bowl with cellophane wrap and place in the refrigerator for 45-60 min.

10-15 minutes before the allotted marinating time is up, begin to heat up your grill. Remove the chicken from the excess juice and place on the grill. Cook 8-10 minutes on each side. (Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken and the heat from your grill.) Once the chicken is cooked through and browned on the outside, it is ready to be enjoyed!