I have been all about Josie’s blog, Pink Parsley, lately. I think we have really similar cooking/eating styles and I’ve just gotten so much inspiration from her the last few months. I’m pretty sure that I have at least 10 recipes from her blog starred in my Google Reader right now. I’m having so much fun cooking things that are not from Gourmet even though I have made two recipes from The Gourmet Cookbook since 68 Days of Gourmet ended!

Our standby preparation for grilled chicken is simple – olive oil and a Dizzy Pig rub. I thought that this recipe would be a fun way to mix up our grilled chicken and use rosemary from my new herb garden (which I’m proud to say I’m keeping alive – I’m remembering to water the herbs and keeping the little plants happy!). I placed the chicken in the marinade before work and later that night Brandon grilled it on the Egg while I prepared goat cheese mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli. The only changes I made to the recipe were slightly increasing the rosemary in the marinade because I just love it so much and using chicken breasts instead of thighs. A simple and delicious dinner.

I will definitely be keeping this simple marinade in my repertoire!

Rosemary Grilled Chicken
(Recipe source Pink Parsley, originally adapted from Southern Living, September 2008)

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (increase if you want more rosemary flavor!)
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat
1/2 lemon

Directions:

Combine the garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and rosemary in a shallow dish or large ziploc bag.  Add chicken and turn to coat.  Marinate, chilled, for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Prepare grill and heat to about 350-375. Grill chicken breasts about 8 minutes per side or until an internal temperature of 160 has been reached.  Remove chicken from grill, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest 10 minutes. Before serving, top with the juice from half of a lemon.

Yield: 4 servings

First things first, let me apologize profusely for the quality of this picture. Unfortunately, dinner wasn’t ready until it was dark outside so I was forced to shoot these in the harsh, unflattering light of my kitchen. But these shrimp tacos were just too delicious not to share!

I have been craving shrimp tacos for the last couple weeks. I couldn’t really find a recipe that sounded perfect to me so I just kind of went for it. I decided to do grilled shrimp with a spicy jerk rub, shredded cabbage, salsa, cheese and this great Baja cream that I found on Epicurious. The combination turned out great. The flavors went together really well. The Baja cream balanced out the spiciness of the jerk grilled shrimp and the cabbage added just the right crisp to the tacos. And to top it off, they were pretty healthy!

I served these with black beans and rice (recipe to come on the blog soon!) and grilled corn. Perfect summer meal!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos
(A Bakin’ and Eggs Original)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon lime zest
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste)
Pinch of salt
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Extra virgin olive oil
Jerk seasoning rub (recommended Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk)
Skewers (metal or bamboo soaked in water)
Cooking spray
Taco sized flour tortillas
Your favorite salsa
Shredded cheese
Shredded cabbage

Directions:

Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, lime juice and salt for Baja cream. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to let flavors develop.

Preheat grill to medium heat (around 400 degrees).

Place shrimp in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat lightly. Generously shake Jerk rub over the shrimp and toss to coat. Place shrimp on skewers. Spray grill grate with cooking spray and place shrimp and grill. Cook for about 2 minutes per side or  until pink and no longer translucent.

Wrap tortillas in a paper towel and heat for about 45 seconds in the microwave. Place grilled shrimp (I did about 4 per taco) on tortillas and then top with cabbage, salsa, Baja cream and cheese.

Yield: 2-3 servings

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Unfortunately, I will be traveling most of the day…in the rain so I won’t be able to enjoy a cookout. But if you’re lucky enough to be planning one, why not throw some drumsticks on the grill? Drumsticks are one of Brandon’s favorite things to grill and they’re great because you can use whatever seasoning you’re in the mood for – marinade, bbq sauce, spice rub, etc.

We decided to use seasoning rubs on our chicken (which is very common for us if you haven’t noticed). We had some Caribbean Curry Seasoning that we bought on our cruise a couple months ago from a great little spice store in Tortola,  Sunny Caribbee. We used Jamaican Firewalk from The Dizzy Pig on the other half of the chicken.

Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
(Recipe source Bakin’ and Eggs)

Ingredients:

Chicken drumsticks (with skin still on, however many you want to grill)
Olive oil
Seasoning rub of your choice
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat grill to 350.

Coat chicken in olive oil and generously apply spice rub. Spray grill grate with cooking spray and place chicken on grill. Cook for about 45-50 minutes, turning the chicken every 10-15 minutes. Check internal temperature of chicken, close to the bone. Drumsticks are done when they have reached 170 degrees.

Bacon…cheese…chicken…BBQ sauce…all wrapped up together and grilled. What’s not to love about that combination? Brandon got the idea for this chicken from the Egghead forum a few months ago when I put him in charge of figuring out what to do with chicken breasts for dinner. I was super impressed by how great he did creating this. If you’re a bacon lover, this is a MUST try on the grill during the upcoming warm months.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Chicken
(Recipes source Bakin’ and Eggs, inspired by the Egghead forum)
Printable Recipe: Grilled Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices of bacon
6-8 slices of cheese – mozzarella, cheddar, colby jack – anything you like! (off of a block of cheese, if you’re using pre-sliced for sandwiches 2 slices)
2 tsp barbecue sauce, plus extra for serving
Grilling rub of your choice (we use the Dizzy Pig’s Raging River)
Toothpicks, soaked in water (optional, to prevent excessive  burning while grilling)

Directions:

Preheat grill to 350 degrees.

Pound out chicken breasts (in a plastic bag or between two sheets of wax paper) to about 1/4 inch thickness. Coat the top of chicken with grill rub. Turn over so rub side is down on work surface. Spread one teaspoon of barbeque sauce in a thin layer over each chicken breast. Layer cheese in the middle of the chicken. Roll chicken tightly. Wrap with bacon, using as many slices of bacon as you need and using toothpicks to hold bacon in place.

Grill for 20-25 minutes, turning every 4-5 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken breast has reached 165 degrees.

Remove toothpicks and serve with barbecue sauce on the side.

Yield: 2 servings

What to do when you’re “over” the traditional method of preparing things – like baked sweet potatoes – and feeling uninspired? Challenge the husband to come up with something on the grill. Brandon whipped these grilled sweet potato slices up as a side dish last week and they turned out great! I would describe them as a cross between a sweet potato fry and a sweet potato chip. They were coated in olive oil and a spicy jerk rub and had a nice flavor.

Try these out for a new sweet potato preparation and a perfect summer grilling side item.

Grilled Sweet Potato Slices
(Recipes source Egghead forum)

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
Olive oil
Jerk seasoning (recommended: Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk)
Kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Coat potato slices in olive oil and generously sprinkle with seasoning rub and kosher salt. Carefully place potato slices on grill. Don’t be alarmed if you lose a few through the grates. If you want to prevent this you can lay foil down on the grate before grilling but you will lose those beautiful grill marks! Grill on medium heat, turning frequently (and carefully!) until slices begin getting grill marks and can be easily pierced. This should take about 12-15 minutes.

Yield: 2-3 servings

My parents just moved to Atlanta a few weeks ago. I went to visit last weekend while Brandon was in Vegas. My dad discovered the Dekalb Farmers Market and told me to bring a cooler so I could stock up. We spent our Sunday there – I was in heaven! If you live near Atlanta I highly recommend that you make a trip to check it out. Their prices are incredible. It’s really not a farmers market in the traditional sense. It started out as a produce stand in the 70′s and has grown into a Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s on steroids. If you’re familiar with Central Market in Texas it’s very similar. I could go on and on but I’ll spare you!

So I returned home yesterday with a trunkful of goods courtesy of my parents! One of the things I chose was the beautiful gulf shrimp you see in the photo above. Brandon had mentioned several times that he’d like to try to grill some of the jumbo shrimp so I thought he’d love these.

We grilled the shrimp tonight and served them with organic yellow grits and sauteed squash and zucchini (all from the Delkab Farmers Market). It was a delicious dinner and a nice change from heavy winter foods.

Grilled Shrimp
(Recipe source Bakin’ and Eggs)

Ingredients:

1 lb jumbo shrimp (16-18 shrimp per pound)
Olive oil
Seasoning of your choice – you could go as simple as olive oil, salt and pepper – we used a combination of The Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin and Swamp Venom)

Directions:

Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails on. Coat shrimp with a thin layer of olive oil and seasoning of your choice and let sit for about 30 minutes.

While shrimp is marinating, preheat grill to 400 degrees.

Grill shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side, until the shrimp curl and are no longer pink. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2-3 servings

Brandon is in Vegas for a bachelor party. Anytime he’s out of town I get excited to cook whatever I want for dinner. One of the things I always turn to is fish. When Brandon’s not here to man the grill, I’ve found that broiling fish is a quick and flavorful way to prepare it.

My method is really simple – I brush both sides of the fish with olive oil and then sprinkle it with a seasoning rub. I’ve mentioned this before and will continue to mention that our favorite rubs are from The Dizzy Pig. Tonight I used Tsunami Spin. Broiled fish is also great with Ragin’ River and Shakin’ the Tree. I seriously recommend that you order some rubs from The Dizzy Pig!

This recipe also works great with salmon. Another tip, line your baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup (especially if you’re preparing salmon because of the skin).

Simple Broiled Mahi Mahi
(Recipe source Bakin’ and Eggs)

Ingredients:

Fish fillets (recommended: Mahi Mahi or Salmon), as many as you’d like to prepare
Olive oil
Seasoning rub (preferred: The Dizzy Pig)
Lemon wedges

Directions:

Arrange oven rack so it’s about 4 inches from the broiler. Preheat broiler on high. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray (or line with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy cleanup – I highly recommend you do this).

Rinse fish under cool water and pat dry. Brush both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle rub on both sides to coat evenly. Place fish fillets on baking sheet and squeeze a little lemon juice over them.

Broil on high for about 8 minutes (for Mahi or Salmon) or until internal temperature reaches 140-150 (depends on your desired doneness). Cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your fish fillet. Fish should flake easily when done. Tip: make sure you have your exhaust fan on while broiling. The fish may smoke.

Grilled chicken salad is a versatile basic that’s a staple in our spring/summer dinner rotation. It’s  an easy, light entree that you can adapt to whatever your tastes are and what you have on hand. We love to top ours with avocado, toasted pecans, tomatoes and fresh fruit. You can whip up a homemade honey mustard in no time and it tastes far better than anything you’ll get out of a bottle. We enjoyed this dinner out on our deck tonight – one of the first nights that it has been warm enough to eat outside!

Grilled Chicken Salad
(Recipe source Bakin’ and Eggs)

Ingredients:

FOR THE SALAD:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
Grill rub of your choice (we love all of The Dizzy Pig rubs and used Jamaican Firewalk on this)
Lettuce of your choice (I used a bag of field greens)
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
4 strawberries, sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced

FOR THE DRESSING:
3 tbsp dijon mustard
2-3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp low-fat mayo
1-2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider or rice wine vinegar

Directions:

Preheat grill to 400 degrees.

Trim chicken breasts of any fat. Rub both sides with olive oil and coat with grill rub. Spray grill grates with cooking spray. Grill chicken approximately 6 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

In the meantime, make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Adjust to meet your taste (adding more of any ingredient if desired).

Plate salad, top with sliced grilled chicken and drizzle dressing on top.

Yield: 2 servings