Cobb Salad

What does summer mean to you?

Summer to me means grilling and corn on the cob and light and refreshing meals like salads and fruits and veggies. Summer is Cobb Salad.

Grilled Cobb Salad at that.

It's one of my fave things. 

And this Cobb has grilled corn on the cob and juicy grilled chicken, cuz grilled food always tastes better. For reals... baked chicken? or GRILLED chicken?!??! There's no question, right? Grilled = major flavor + grill marks.

And grill marks are everything.



Seriously, I've been watching this show called American Grilled on the Travel channel. I'm obsessed. It's got me wanting to grill everything! Really, they do everything on the grill! Pasta, pizza, duck, giant cuts of beef, and lots of other local ingredients like frog legs, hog's head, crawfish, Cracker Jack's, and wild boar. It's one of my favorite things to watch lately. And I feel like I'm learning a lot when I watch it... even simple things like being sure to oil your meats and veggies before putting on the grill so they don't stick. And even the simplest of marinades and rubs. I'm so intrigued and hope to learn a lot more about grilling with other methods than a gas grill, grilling different kinds of meats, more about marinades and rubs, and learning how to perfect that gas grill method of grilling, too.

I'm itchin to buy a charcoal grill reeeeeeeeeal soon.

Anyways, now that I've got that outta my system, grill everything. While you can. While summer's still here. Not that you can't grill when it's not summer, but summer and grilling just go together. And nobody wants summer to end. So let's take a stand... grill everything you can get your hands on. Starting with some chicken and corn on the cob for this delicious Cobb Salad.











Cobb Salad
adapted from Meg's Everyday Indulgence

• romaine hearts, chopped
• grilled corn on the cob
• hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• avocado, diced
• bacon, cooked and crumbled
• grilled chicken breast, diced
• crumbled bleu cheese
• dressing of your choice

Assemble salads with lettuce on bottom, topped with grilled corn kernels removed from the cob, egg, avocado, bacon, chicken, bleu cheese, and dressing of your choice. 

May I recommend Litehouse Jalapeno Ranch, or Meg's Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette also sounds amazing.


Printable Recipe

As you can see, I don't really have perfect, exact measurements for this recipe, because really you can't go wrong with any amount! There were two of us, and I think we used 1-2 romaine hearts. I think we only used 1 ear of corn but again, can't go wrong with more. I'd say at least 2 hard-boiled eggs. 1 avocado is probably enough. Probably like 4 strips of bacon, or more if you plan on eating most of it before it makes it to the salad, like me. I'd probably say 1 chicken breast per person. However much crumbled bleu cheese looks right, Meg suggests 1/4 cup. You'll love this (grilled) cobb salad no matter how much of each ingredient you use. 

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Jerk Chicken Wings Grilled in A Foil Packet

Happy Memorial Day!

Yay to the official arrival of grilling season!

I've talked about my love of grilling season before.... I love the smell AND taste of grilled foods. It's one of the best parts of summer.

And did you know that you can pretty much grill everything in a foil packet right on your grill? 

Could grilling get anymore simpler?




































These wings had the perfect amount of spicy balanced out by the sweet from the lime juice. And though they aren't grilled directly on the grill grates, they still have that 'fresh-off-the-grill' taste that I so desire, with nice grill marks and all.

Jerk Chicken Wings Grilled in A Foil Packet
ever-so-slightly adapted from Food Network 

• 8 chicken wings, split
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons jerk seasoning
• juice from 1 lime (or half a lime)
• nonstick foil

Toss 8 split chicken wings, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and 3 tablespoons jerk seasoning on a sheet of foil. Form a packet around the wings. Grill over high heat, turning once or twice to prevent burning, for 25 minutes. Top with cilantro and lime juice.

Printable Recipe

All photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy SII phone because I didn't have a memory card for the dslr.

What's on your Memorial Day menu this year? Looking for more ideas? Well, here's some.

Tequila Marinated Grilled Chicken + Guacamole Tacos

Grilled Corn with Chipotle Butter and Lime Salt

Spicy Chipotle Barbecue Sausages

Grilled Filets with Bourbon Butter

Butterfinger Ice Cream Pie

Patriotic Fruit Skewers

Cilantro Jalapeno Limeade

Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad (need to get an updated picture!)

(These photos got deleted from my posts so I need to update these posts with photos, sorry! But the recipes are still da bomb!)

Cherry Limeade Slushies

Patriotic Taco Salad

4th of July Toast

Sauteed Corn, Bacon, and Green Onions

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day. I'm enjoying mine with a day off work, time with family, and some grilling fun! Maybe even some cornhole :) And of course being grateful for those who've served our country, especially those who gave their lives. Brave, brave honorable souls.

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Tequila Marinated Grilled Chicken + Guacamole Tacos

You know how I said I love avocados and I'm making up for lost time? 

Yeah, that's why almost all of my recent posts have included avocados. You're welcome. 

Well I'm also a sucker for almost anything grilled! Grilled meats. Grilled sides. Grilled desserts. I'm convinced grilling makes all things better.

Same goes for alcohol. Alcohol makes all things better. Desserts, my weekends, and even marinades.

So put it all together and we've got some of my fave things ever. Avocados. Grilled goodness. And alcohol. 

Have I sold you on this yet? If I haven't, it's also Mexican - tacos and guac. All those reasons are why I loved this dish so much.




































Tequila Marinated Grilled Chicken + Guacamole Tacos
adapted from Cuizoo

Marinade:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• juice and zest of two limes
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped   
• freshly ground black pepper 

Guacamole:

• 2 avocados, peeled and pitted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• juice of half a lime
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

 For Tacos:

• soft flour tortillas
• sour cream
• shredded monterey jack cheese      
• diced red onions

In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk together the marinade ingredients except for the chicken thighs. Place the chicken thighs in the marinade and turn to coat. Marinade for at least an hour.

Grill chicken thighs over indirect heat for 15-20 minutes or until done. Remove, let rest, and slice into strips.

In a bowl, mash together the guacamole ingredients. Build your own tacos with grilled chicken, guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, and cheese.

Printable Recipe

Oh and in case you're wondering, the marinated grilled chicken alone is divine. So tender and so flavorful. I could eat that for dinner all on it's own.

I'm joining along in the Spiked! Recipe Challenge. You should too! We bake/cook with a different alcohol every two months. So naturally this is like, the best challenge ever!




Peace, and bacon grease!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie: Foodbuzz Tastemaker {Green Giant}

Today I'm partnering with Foodbuzz Tastemaker to bring you another review, this time for Green Giant vegetables. I received a coupon for a free bag of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers and needed to make a recipe using some Green Giant frozen vegetables. So fun! I've always been a fan of Green Giant's frozen vegetables anyways. Their Niblets Corn & Butter Sauce is our go-to corn product. LOVE it. I've also enjoyed their Garden Vegetable Medley, Roasted Potatoes & Garlic Herb Sauce, and their Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli & Cheese Sauce. And I love to take their single-serve Niblets Corn, and Corn & Peas to lunch. They're adorable, and very practical for someone like me who doesn't need a big portion for lunch. So you can I imagine that I was excited to be able to try their Fresh Steamers products, since I had seen them for awhile and wondered about them.

I wanted to make a pot pie recipe using their frozen veggies, and so we bought the Valley Blend variety which had broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower... perfect for a pot pie. 

We modified this recipe to make it more of our own, using a whole can of cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken soup. We also didn't use skim milk, just regular. We upped the veggie amount and used the whole 11 oz bag of frozen veggies rather than only one cup. I also knew that 1/2 cup chicken definitely wouldn't be enough for us, plus we had half of a rotisserie chicken in the fridge leftover from yesterday's Taco Chicken Alfredo so I wanted to use it up since we had it! So we used 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken. 

Though we increased some things, we didn't increase the Bisquick mixture measurements. Doh! Next time we would increase that so there would be more of a crust on top of the pot pie. It only made enough to form a very thin layer (in the baking dish I used). That was just silly of me to think we didn't need to increase that amount, too. We also baked it for about 25-28 minutes instead of 20 minutes, and the top layer was still pretty mushy. When I touched it, it felt hardened but when served, it just wasn't the right consistency of how a pot pie crust should be. Next time we'd definitely try to use a smaller baking dish so that the Bisquick mix wouldn't have to spread so wide across the top layer... maybe even individual baking dishes that I can serve the pot pies from. The recipe below is exactly what I did...  feel free to add more Bisquick mix/milk/egg white for the top crust layer if you want, and/or to cook it longer if needed.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

adapted from Green Giant

• 1 can (10 and 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 11 oz bag of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers - Valley Blend (broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower)
• 1 and 1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
• 1/2 cup Bisquick mix
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg white

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In an ungreased 1 quart casserole dish, stir together the soup and 1/3 cup milk; stir in vegetables and chicken. Microwave uncovered on high for 3 minutes; stir. Microwave for 1-2 more minutes and stir again.

In a small bowl, stir together the Bisquick mix, 1/4 cup milk, and egg white until blended. Pour evenly over chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered for 25-28 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Printable Recipe

 























Even with some of the problems with the crust, it still tasted delicious, much better than either of us expected. Of course it's nice to use fresh vegetables when possible, but let's face it, it's not always plausible. I love Green Giant's frozen products because they provide a convenient alternative to fresh veggies, and taste great too. I've had only good experiences using Green Giant's frozen vegetables, and I'm sure I will continue to love their products in the future as well.

And we'll definitely be making this recipe again and again, modifying it using many different veggies. Can't wait to try this with some onions, mushrooms, peas, corn, and more!

*Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free package of Green Giant vegetables. All opinions and thoughts are my own and I was not compensated in any way for my opinions. 

Peace, and bacon grease!

Taco Chicken Alfredo: Foodbuzz Tastemaker {Heinz Classico}

Today I'm happy to be joining with Foodbuzz Tastemaker to bring you a review of the product: Heinz Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce. This is my first time participating in the program and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to review their product!

You all know I love my sauces. Particularly alfredo sauce. That's why I had to opt in to receive a sample jar of this light alfredo sauce. Truthfully, I didn't know what to expect. I have always been turned off by "light" products in the past. Light ranch dressing and light mayo just never tasted the same as the real thing. So I wondered if this would. 

With 50% less fat and 45% fewer calories than leading brands of alfredo sauce, it still packs the richness and creaminess that is expected from an alfredo sauce. This alfredo sauce is a great alternative to other calorie-packed alfredo sauces, with only 60 calories per serving. You can't beat 60 calories! While it doesn't taste as good as the real, fatty stuff in my opinion, it does come close, especially in a recipe that spruces it up a bit, like the one I made.

I searched around for some tasty recipes that called for jarred alfredo sauce, and came across this one and knew it was the one. While it sounded delicious, the whole time I was wondering what made it "Mexican" chicken alfredo. I figured it was just the taco seasoning. It wasn't until I was actually making it that I realized down in the directions it mentions to add in salsa along with the cheese, milk, and taco seasoning. That would have made it a lot more Mexican. We didn't have any salsa in the house, so it was left out and we had to improvise with what we had. It was fine because I was expecting to make it that way all along.

Therefore, since we didn't have salsa, I've decided to change the name of this recipe to reflect what it really was for us instead. So instead of Mexican Chicken Alfredo, I bring you....

Taco Chicken Alfredo.

We both liked it, didn't love it. Next time I would probably use a different pasta than penne though. I think I'm just not a big fan of penne pasta. I did eyeball the taco seasoning too, and I would guess it was probably more like 2 or 3 tsp than 1 tsp. We also bought a whole pre-seasoned rotissierie chicken and used half of it for this recipe and will use the other half for tomorrow's dinner. I'm not sure how much it was exactly so I'll just leave the original measurement of 1 lb chicken.

 

Taco Chicken Alfredo

adapted from Keeley McGuire

• 8 oz pasta of choice (1/2 of a 16 oz box)
• 1 lb cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 a medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 jar of Heinz Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for topping
• 1/8 cup milk
• 2 or 3 tsp homemade taco mix

Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onion in butter, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until tender. Add in cooked chicken and alfredo sauce; bring to a boil. Stir in the parmesan cheese, milk and taco mix. 

Drain the pasta and then toss with the chicken mixture. Pour in a greased square baking dish. Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese when serving.

Printable Recipe

Try it with the salsa if you can. Next time I may try it with canned or fresh tomatoes, or jalapenos for more spice.


Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free sample jar of Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce. All opinions and thoughts are my own and I was not compensated in any way for my opinions.

Peace, and bacon grease!