Grilling Spice Rub

Tags

BBQ, beef, dinner, entree, fish, food, food prep, foodie, grill, grilling, lunch, porkchops, poultry, recipe, ribs, side dishes, spice, spice rub, steak, vegetables

Autumn has been in full swing and winter is just around the corner. Although my crockpot season has started our temps have been gorgeous so our grilling season hasn’t quite ended yet. Before I relent and stash the grill for the winter, I wanted to grill dinner one more time…

Whether using this on beef, poultry of vegetables, this grilling rub is fantastic all year-long.

Young Wifey’s Grilling Rub

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. smoked paprika, 2 Tbsp. dried parsley, 1 Tbsp. dried oregano, 4 tsp. hot chili powder, 2 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. fresh ground pink Himalayan salt, 1 tsp. fresh cracked tricolor black pepper, 1/2 tsp. ground mustard

Directions: Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight jar.

To Use:  Rub onto meat or vegetables with a small amount of olive oil. Allow meat to come to room temperature before grilling.

Usually our grill makes a reappearance in late February when I want to chase away the winter…

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Nanny Florida’s Barbecue Sauce

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barbecue, BBQ, condiments, grilling, marinade, sauce

Last week, I pulled out Nanny Florida’s Barbecue Sauce recipe card. Since it’s been too hot to cook inside, I kept this recipe on the back burner. Today cooled off a bit, (crazy that 84°F is cooler!) and I decided to give this one a try. We used it for our grilled chicken and it was delicious! Thanks Nanny Florida! ❤

Nanny Florida’s Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. cider vinegar, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 c. ketchup, 2 c. water, 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. prepared mustard, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 c. chopped celery, few drops of tabasco sauce, 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. minced onion

Directions:
Mix ingredients in saucepan, simmer half hour on top of stove.

A Jar of Nanny Florida’s Barbecue Sauce

Her serving suggestions:
*Pour over spare ribs, complete cooking for another 1/2 hour, uncovered.
*Place spare ribs, pork chops, or chicken in roaster, covered. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.
*Bake potato or rice, pour the sauce over top.

My serving suggestions:
*Use as barbecue sauce when making pulled chicken BBQ.
*Use to marinate and baste chicken when grilling.

This would be perfect for Father’s Day!

What was on your dinner plate?

Fourth of July Menu

Tags

4th of July, BBQ, food, foodie, Independence Day, picnic

Happy Independence Day!

We had a small family gathering yesterday, but we had enough food to feed the masses. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Our menu was a little different from originally planned when we found out that our grill’s burners were recalled (the new ones conveniently arrived today), but the crockpot entrée allowed us for more time visiting with our guests.

Greek Salad

Appetizers:
Salsa
Crudité
Taco Dip
Cheese Platter
Pickle & Olive Tray
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Assorted Chips, Crackers & Pretzels for Dipping

Cucumber Salad

Main Course:
Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Steamed Corn-On-The-Cob
Cucumber Salad
Deviled Eggs
Chopped Greek Salad
Pasta Salad
Coleslaw

Coleslaw

Desserts:
Fruit Salsa w/Cinnamon Tortillas
Strawberry & Raspberry Fruit Pizza

Strawberry & Raspberry Fruit Pizza

Beverages:
Earl Grey Iced Tea
Assorted Beer
Lemonade
Ice Water

I also had punch, chicken dogs, and marshmallows (for roasting) available for the wee ones.

Despite the awesome menu, my 4-year-old nephew wasn’t satisfied after eating a second helping of chicken BBQ, corn and coleslaw. I over heard him talking with my sister-in-law.
Him: Mom, I want oatmeal.
Her: Are you sure? How about more corn on the cob?
Him: NO! I want oatmeal!
Her: I don’t think they have oatmeal here.
Him: Yes they do! I had it last time I was here. Then he proceeded to take her to our pantry door, opened it, pointed to where we keep our oatmeal. So we turned on the tea kettle to warm the water. 🙂

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!!!

How did you celebrate?

Radish Salad

Tags

BBQ, food, foodie, picnic, pot luck, recipe, side dish

Hubster loves radishes, and around here radishes are ready for harvesting. So, I’ve been playing around with radish salads… Summer means tasty food that requires little prep. This tangy and crisp salad is the perfect cool refreshing bite on a hot summer day.

Radish Salad

Ingredients:
10 large radishes, 1/2 c. shredded carrots, 4 scallions, 1/2 c. red wine vinegar, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Slice radishes and scallions, sprinkle with salt, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Toss together all ingredients. Allow salad to marinate in fridge for 12 hours, tossing every so often.

What have you been harvesting from your garden?  
What’s cooking in your kitchen?

Honey Bourbon Chicken

Tags

BBQ, chicken, crockpot, food, foodie, grill, grilling, marinade, recipe, slow cooker

I saw someone’s recipe for honey sesame/bourbon chicken online recently, but I forget where exactly. I check my browser history, bookmarks, Pinterest board and even googled it, but couldn’t find the same post (let me know if you think you know which one I’m talking about). They used a very similar recipe as I do for the honey BBQ sauce, that I make to marinate and brush on my grilled chicken… except they had a crockpot recipe. Since I can’t wait for grilling season to be here, I decided try it out in the crockpot.

Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken, 1 c. honey, 1/4 c. ketchup, 1/4 c. soy sauce or liquid aminos, 1/4 c. chopped onions, 2 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. grated ginger, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt, cornstarch (for crockpot version only)

Crockpot Directions:  
Cut chicken into small pieces, season with salt and pepper and set in crock pot. Mix together remaining ingredients (except cornstarch) until honey is dissolved, add to crockpot. Cover and cook over high heat for about 1 hour.  Remove 1/4 c. of liquid and whisk in cornstarch, return mixture to crock pot and simmer until sauce is thickened.

*Serve hot over brown rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Grill Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Whisk together remaining ingredients until honey is dissolved. Pour half of mixture over chicken and marinate for a few hours. Grill chicken on a hot grill, basting chicken (with a new brush as needed). Cook chicken until flesh is no longer pink.

*Serve hot with a side of coleslaw and grilled corn.

What are you looking forward to this season?

Colorful Caprese

Tags

appetizer, basil, BBQ, bocconcini, ciliegine, cold food, dinner, entree, food, foodie, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, grape tomatoes, light fare, light lunch, lighter fare, lunch, mozzarella, mozzarella balls, picnic, postaday2011, pot luck, raw foods, recipe, salad, side dishes, tomatoes, vegetable, yellow tomatoes

Caprese is a summer classic, that’s why it’s my go to recipe. It’s always requested, but never the same. You can serve it sliced and stacked, as a kabob or cut and mixed as salad. At the beginning of the year, I served yellow tomato caprese for the teachers’ back-to-school. It seemed only fitting to use yellow tomatoes in my caprese for the end-of-the-year party today! So since I never serve anything exactly the same way twice, I’ll share my current variation. I halved golden grape tomatoes (first time I’ve found these at the store!!!), red grape tomatoes and the mozzarella balls (ciliegine). Then, I tossed them together with extra virgin olive oil, fresh chopped sweet basil, fresh ground sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Just before serving I will drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.

Colorful Caprese

The hardest part is making sure the caprese is not devoured before leaving the house… with this dish, it’s not just Hubster, it’s also me!

Which summer dish do you prepare multiple variations?

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Tags

barbacue, BBQ, corn, food, foodie, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, recipe, relish, salad, side dishes, vegetarian, zucchini

Summer is unofficially here… Grilling food is the main way to keep temperature cool indoors. Now just add the sun and salad side dishes.  Last year, my sister made a delicious corn salad for our 4th of July picnic. This isn’t the same dish, but it did inspire mine…

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Ingredients:
6 ears of corn (some yellow and some white), 2 zucchini, 1/4 c. fresh parsley, 1 bunch green onions, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. hot sauce, 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Cook corn and slice off ears. Peel and chop zucchini. Chop green onions and parsley. To make dressing, mix together mustard, sugar, cumin, hot sauce, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together and keep chilled.

Next time I think I’ll add some red pepper to the mix.

What’s your favorite corn recipe?