Grilled BBQ Chicken & Potato Salad

10 Saturday Jan 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Salad, Sides

Tags

Backyard BBQ in January!!!

Tonight we had a wonderful meal, and at a wonderful price. This is the kind of meal you have at a summer picnic, but the last few weeks in Florida have felt like summer…so why not. Today was quite beautiful. The temperatures were in the 70′s and there was not a cloud in the sky. I actually wore shorts today, in January. Now I had no idea what the weather would be like when I planned this meal earlier in the week, but it turned out to be very fitting.

Leg 1/4′s were on sale at Publix this week at .59 cents a pound. I got a pack of 5 huge 1/4′s for $2.50… To go with the chicken I made classic potato salad and some steamed corn and broccoli. Dessert was a new twist too, but I will post that tomorrow.

To prepare the chicken you will need:

Boiling water, salted
5 -6 chicken leg quarters
BBQ sauce of choice (I prefer Kraft Original for this chicken)

I always boil leg quarters for a few minutes before throwing them on the grill. Bone-in meat always requires extra cooking time, and I cannot stand charred meat. So about 10 minutes in a boiling bath starts the cooking and also enhances moisture in the finished product.

Boil Leg Quarters for 10 minutes and gently transfer to hot grill (to keep the skin from tearing). Grill for 10 minutes right side up, then flip to brown the top. After about 5 minutes spread desired BBQ sauce on the bottoms of the chicken. Let cook for a couple of minutes and flip the chicken again. Thoroughly coat the tops with sauce and allow to simmer on grill until cooked through, which won’t be long… Remove and serve! My total cooking time after boiling was about 10 minutes on each side. The temperature on my grill was at 500 initially, and remained at 400 ish for the rest of the time.

Now, for the potato salad!

Classic Potato Salad

3 – 5 lbs baking potatoes, diced
6 boiled eggs
Sweet Relish
Salt, Pepper to taste
Diced Onions & Celery (if desired)

Boil potatoes until tender, remove and drain in colander. Chop eggs into small pieces, or use egg slicer. Place in large bowl, lightly salt and pepper then add potatoes. (Now this is where I just eyeball measurements and add to taste). Add 2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and sweet relish. Stir into potatoes. Add more mayo, relish and salt & pepper to taste. I like to prepare the salad while the potatoes are still warm. It kind of mushes the potatoes, but I think that contributes to the creaminess of the potato salad. If you stir gently, you will get a combination of creamy and chunky potatoes – yum. If using, add the chopped onions and celery and stir until well mixed. Maybe next time I will measure how much of everything I add.

After dinner I broke out the dessert, which I made last night. I will talk more about that tomorrow – I still have to take pictures.

Finally, after dinner cleanup, I prepared Sunday lunch. Home made lasagna. I will pop it in the oven before church and it should be hot and ready to serve when we get home. That’s it! Good night all.

Chicken Quesadilla’s

31 Wednesday Dec 2008

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Chicken, Entree', Recipes

Grilled Chicken Quesadilla's

I posted these back in October without pictures. I made them again tonight and took the time to take a few photos. As usual these were a hit for dinner. I will post the recipe for a re-cap…

These are sooo easy to prepare. They are very basic, but delicious and appetizing. I grill the tortilla until it begins to crisp, we prefer that over a soggy shell. I always serve them with tortilla chips and salsa.

Chicken Quesadilla’s

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast or tenderloin (no bone or skin)
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (reserve some for topping)
10 flour tortillas (8″)
Sour Cream
Butter
Salsa
Any other desired toppings

Directions:

Grill chicken and slice into thin strips. Meanwhile saute onions and peppers. Butter one side of tortilla and heat griddle. Place tortilla butter side down. On one half, place cheese, chicken, onion/pepper and cheese again, in that order. Cook on griddle until shell is browned then fold in half. Remove and serve with sour cream, salsa and extra cheese. Slice in half if desired. Makes ten Quesadillas.

For ease of preparation, I place the chicken, cheese and vegetables in three separate bowls next to my griddle in an “assembly line” fashion.

Fried Buttermilk Chicken

09 Tuesday Dec 2008

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Chicken, Entree', Recipes

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

I originally set out to bake this chicken. Then, under the influence of hungry family members, I figured the frying pan would cook a little faster than the oven. Breaded chicken really does taste better fried, and I figure it’s ok to poison the family every once and a while…

I live with leg lovers… chicken legs that is. Legs seem to be the first pieces of chicken taken… and the ones most asked for. Last night I filled a gallon storage bag with fresh chicken legs and doused them with buttermilk. They soaked all night and all day today. Just before cooking I strained them and prepared the flour mixture. They were awesome, and they really did cook faster then the oven would have. My recipe was just random. All I knew was that I had to have them swim in buttermilk overnight.

Fried Buttermilk Chicken (Legs)

Ingredients:

5 lbs chicken legs
2 cups buttermilk (I used low fat)
2 cups flour
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, Seasoned Salt
2 cups canola or peanut oil

Directions:

Marinate chicken in the buttermilk as long as possible, overnight is best. *Add some pepper and garlic salt to mixture. Remove and strain chicken. Prepare flour mixture, season as desired… add some chili powder for a little zing! Heat oil in thick pan (I used a 10″ cast iron pan). On my stove top, I kept the burner between medium and high. The oil is ready when the oil “bubbles” when drops of flour are added. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Place chicken in oil. Cook for 10 minutes, turn the chicken over and cook about 10 more minutes. Thicker pieces of chicken will need longer cooking times. The chicken is cooked when the internal temperature has reached at least 165 degrees. Drain on wire rack position over a sheet pan.

I served my legs with mashed potatoes and gravy with corn on the cob. The classic southern dinner! (huh Paula Dean)

Dinner went over great and since I completely ruined any thought of a healthy dinner, I gave the kids some cookies and cream ice cream for dessert. Does it count that it was “light”???

Have a great night!

Thanksgiving Ham, Take Two

29 Saturday Nov 2008

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Soups

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Chicken, Entree', Ham, Recipes, Soups, Split Pea Soup

Split Pea & Ham Soup

Refrigerator full of Thanksgiving leftovers? Here’s a great recipe to empty some space…

My mother-in-law is appointed annually to provide the ham for holiday meals. I don’t know if it is just her touch or something about her aged oven, but this ham is like no other. As a matter of fact, the first thing my kids ask is “Is Grandma bring the ham?”. This year she brought this amazing spiral cut ham. It was not only beautiful, but quite an impact to the taste buds. It was also huge. With only nine of us dining, there were a lot of leftovers to disperse. In years past we always disposed of the ham bone, but this year I decided to keep it and save it for some post Thanksgiving soup. So here you have it, my own rendition of Split Pea & Ham Soup. Not the prettiest dish to look at, but it makes for a fantastic hearty fall meal.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1 ham bone, (leave some ham on bone)
16 oz. bag of split peas, rinsed and picked through
2 carrots
1 large potato
Seasonings if desired (or even needed)
Additional ham, diced

Directions:

In a small pan coated with cooking spray, saute the onion until clear. Meanwhile, place ham bone in large stock pot and cover with water. Note, don’t add more than 5 quarts or your soup will be too thin (I learned this the hard way, I’ll add less next time – still great taste though). Add the peas and cooked onions and bring to a boil. Dice the potatoes and carrots and add to the pot. Reduce heat to low – medium for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup until the peas begin to “dissolve”. This will probably take an hour or so. Now add your leftover ham chunks - At this point I broke out my wonderful Cuisinart immersion blender and lightly blended the mixture – making sure to leave some chunks.

Serve to your loving appreciative family… oh, and if you can get your kids to eat something with a shocking green color, let me know. Mine wanted no part of it. Their Grandma’s wonderful ham had been exploited. Sounds like PB&J for them.

My soup did not need any seasoning, as the ham provides plenty of sodium (and arteriosclerosis).

Grilled Chicken BLT Wraps

23 Thursday Oct 2008

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Chicken, Entree', Recipes

Grilled Chicken BLT Wraps

I wanted to make an easy dinner without having to make a trip to the store. I put together these chicken wraps with what I had on hand. These wraps were easy to make. I used my George Foreman to “grill” them and melt the cheese. The grill does a pretty good job of panini making…

Grilled Chicken BLT Wraps

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Slice into thin strips – season 15 minutes prior
1 tsp Olive Oil
8″ Flour Tortillas
Mayonnaise or Ranch Dressing
Lettuce and tomato, sliced in thin strips
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Cooked Bacon, cut into small pieces (I used “real bacon bits”)

Directions:

Season chicken strips to taste and pan fry with oil untiI fully cooked. While chicken cooks, warm the tortillas in microwave for about 15 seconds to make them pliable. Spread mayo or dressing in the middle of the tortilla. Place 2 – 3 sliced of chicken over dressing, the add some lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon pieces. Fold the tortilla on the bottom and then both sides. Place in the your grill (panini press). Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve right away with sour cream and salsa. Goes well with fresh sliced vegetables or tossed salad. (I went the less healthy route baked some tater tots and topped them with season salt.)

I made the wraps until I ran out of ingredients. I had a couple left that I sent with my husband for lunch the following day.