Grill It

Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner to mark the official start of summer.  I dusted off the grill and redecorated my patio in order to celebrate being outdoors in the warm weather.

One of my favorite meals to make on the grill is my “Great Grilled Chicken”.  This is a sure fire way to make juicy, delicious, grilled chicken.  I pair this meal with a side salad filled with vegetables topped with a warm lemon dressing. 

Great Grilled Chicken

1 whole chicken, rinsed and dried

• If you can, purchase a 'butterflied whole chicken', but you may also purchase a 'whole cut up' chicken.

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of black pepper

• Place chicken in a large bowl and coat the chicken with oil, salt and pepper.

• Pre-heat your grill on medium high for about 10 minutes or until the temperature reads 350 deg.

• Turn heat to medium and place chicken on the grill, skin side down. Grill for 10-15 minutes or until skin starts to thoroughly brown. Turn off one side of your grill and keep the other side set to medium to medium high. Turn chicken over and place chicken on the unlit side of the grill. Continue to monitor temperature of the grill to ensure that it stays around 350 degrees F and cook chicken for another 30-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Warm Lemon Dressing with Vegetable Salad

 

Since the grill is on, I usually add some grilled lemon and make a salad dressing with the warm lemon juice. 

• 2 lemons, sliced in half
• ¼ to 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of agave nectar or honey

Grill the lemons with the cut side facing down.  Grill until slightly browned.  Allow lemons to cool.  Once you are able to handle the lemons, use a citrus reamer to extract the juice.  Reserve all lemon juice and remove the seeds.  You should have ¼ to 1/3 cup of lemon juice.  Add an equal amount of olive oil to the lemon juice.  Combine remaining ingredients until emulsified. 

Vegetables for the Salad

• 1 cup of sliced cucumbers
• ¼ cups chopped or whole Kalamata olives
• 2 green onions, sliced
• ½ cup of chopped fresh parsley
• ½ cup chopped tomato

Recommended additions: grilled eggplant, bell peppers, corn, celery, radishes, and carrots along with fresh dill, chives, or basil.

Pour warm lemon dressing over vegetables and serve with your “Great Grilled Chicken” on top of a bed of lettuce or kale and quinoa. 

Quinoa

I need to add the option of serving this meal with either a side of quinoa or substituting the chicken for this grain packed with protein.  The Warm Lemon Dressing is a great pairing with this grain. Cook your desired amount of quinoa according to the package directions.  It's important to rinse the grain, so use a sieve.

Mother's Day Breakfast

I had a peaceful Mother’s Day morning: I slept in, my husband left early to get fresh coffee and roses, and I made pancakes and waffles with my son.

Thanks to Cherrybrook Kitchen baking mixes, making pancakes and waffles was actually an enjoyable experience.   Prior to discovering this pancake and waffle mix, a morning of making pancakes or waffles consisted of making a regular pancake batter and a sub-par, gluten free, vegan pancake batter.  I was on my feet forever, I had to keep track of which bowl and spoon belonged to each batter to avoid cross contamination, and I used two separate waffle makers to allow for an allergy free cooking surface for my son.  By the time it was all done, I frankly wasn’t interested in eating anymore!

I have experimented with the directions for making the Cherrybrook Kitchen batter and wanted to offer a suggestion on how to make these pancakes even more delicious.  For the liquid portion of the mix, substitute 1/3 of the total liquid with coconut yogurt (or regular yogurt if allowed). 

Roses are a nice touch!

I am thankful that I was able to make everyone a special morning breakfast without the hassle and stress of multiple bowls, spoons, and waffle makers.  You can soon find my other waffle maker at a Goodwill near you!

How to be the Worst Soccer Parent Ever

I originally wrote this post 18 months ago.  Now, I only have two kids playing soccer and one is starting her first job and first day as a referee for the game she loves-soccer. Parents, please take note of tip #2 and take into consideration that the young referee on the field is excited to be there, is likely nervous, and needs your support.  The young person is your neighbor, friend, and community member.  Be kind and bring your dum-dums.

Ah, soccer season.  Currently, my three children are all playing soccer and we are committed to practices every week night, games on Saturday, and sometimes an occasional Sunday.  My high frequency of visits to the soccer field provides me some credibility to this topic of being the worst soccer parent ever.

What I loathe the most about soccer are the post-game snacks.  At the beginning of each soccer season, I hope that the subject of a snack list never gets mentioned; but it always does.  As a parent of children with food allergies, I am constantly faced with the dilemma of feeding others, while knowing that my children will not be able to share in team snacks.  I do not have a perfect answer about how to address the dilemma; I usually approach it on a case by case basis.  I generally try not to rock the boat because as children get older, the team snacks become less and less of an issue. 

My husband recalls from his many years in youth soccer one constant about soccer snacks: water and orange slices.  I played only one season of soccer and I remember orange slices and water, also.  So, why the orange slices and water?  Simple answer: hydration.

Before the soccer season started, I read a similar post about providing healthy snacks for children at sporting events.  The author was questioning the need for Capri Suns and Cheez-its when a snack of whole fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains were more appropriate snacks; and that water is the drink of choice after running like wild for an hour (or picking daisies).

I was called up to provide snacks for games this season, so I put the fruit and vegetable idea to the test. I have determined that it has made me the worst soccer mom ever.  The responses I received after providing healthy snacks and not prepackaged crackers were along the lines of: 

“That’s it?”            “What else do you have?”           “Nothing to drink?”.  

But they ate it.

Here are my five tips on how to accomplish it yourself!

5. No Gatorade:  Simply water is all that is needed.  Same goes for the shiny packages of Capri-Suns.

4. Feed the Chimps: Bananas are perfectly packaged, so are grapes, apples, oranges, carrots, snap peas.

3. Box it up: Good things come is small… boxes (and bags).  Look for raisins, popcorn, pretzels.

2. Sweets: If you must bring candy, bring it for the parents.   I heard that suckers are great for the overly excited sideline parent because it gives their mouth something else to do!

1. Opt-out:  It’s okay to not bring snacks at all.  By the time they are 10 or 11 years old, the motivation for the snack list fades.