Search Results for: grilled chicken

The Best Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe

Sometimes I get all wrapped up in outdoing / improving / out-creating some of my most favorite / simple / craveable recipes.

It’s easy to get caught up in the complicated when I see all sorts of crazy inspiration and crazy mash-ups on the big, ol’ www. Totally inventive concoctions that take humble and mundane basic recipes I’ve always known and loved, then stuffed them into a firecracker with whatever’s trending at the moment, lit the wick, and ka-boom-er-ama!

That’s not this recipe.

This recipe is right back to the basics. The very basic. The elemental and absolutely essential. The simplest, juiciest chicken breast recipe you might ever make / grill /eat that will be the base to every chicken recipe you throw on the griiiiiilllll. And it just might possibly lead you to lick that wick and send you over the moon.

When Craftsy asked me if I’d like to share some secrets about the best grilling tips I said, yes, let’s do! Let’s give the people something to accent their mad cooking skills. Because that’s what Craftsy’s all about, too.

continue to the recipe… about The Best Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

This grilled chicken recipe delivers lots of flavor thanks to a quick marinade, and with just 7 ingredients and 3 steps, it’s easy enough to cook any night of the week.

My father in law was the classic dropper-inner. Like Saturdays rolling into Sundays, you could always count on a weekly unannounced visit from Cloyd. Or as I liked to call him, “The Cloydster.”

Rolling into the driveway in one of his beloved classic cars (I was always partial to the Studebaker) he’d pop in with his jaunty cap atop his head, toothpick trolling from his fingers to his mustached mouth with the biggest, happiest hello that beamed with joy at the sight of his kids.

“Oh, I was just runnin’ around and thought I’d see what you kids was up to.”

It’s been 12 years since those visits ended.

My husband is a lot like his dad was and has always been far more patient with the casual stop-ins than I. He will happily take a chair, offer up a drink and sit and chit and chat about anything under the sun.

I on the other hand, smile vacantly, nodding my head as my mind wanders to the vitally important task I was in the midst of when I was interrupted by an unexpected visit. Those weeds aren’t going to weed themselves now are they?

Man I am dumb.

I miss Cloydster’s visits. They make me realize more than ever that I need to take a lesson from my father in law, and from his son. Slow down. Take a seat. Offer up a drink or something to eat and chit and chat about absolutely anything and everything under the sun.

This grilled chicken recipe is part of my Weekend Eats series, where I’m sharing a seasonal recipe idea for what to have for dinner come Saturday and Sunday, with the occasional breakfast or brunch thrown in.

While I love making it on Saturday night, it’s also a goodie for impromptu visits. It can be thrown together with stuff in your pantry, or at least in my pantry, given I always have fresh cilantro and limes in the crisper.

I think Cloyd would have loved it. In fact I know he would have, because that man pretty much loved everything, especially if it was made by someone he loved.continue to the recipe… about Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Chive Herb Butter

This is my quick and easy go-to method for grilling chicken. Top it with a homemade lemony herb compound butter and you’ll take it to the next level.

Butter. It’s the secret sauce.

We all know it’s best slathered on freshly baked breads and muffins, hot corn on the cob, or as the essential base for the craziest, cheesiest mac & cheese, but it’s quickly become one of my favorite additions for anything that comes off the grill, too.

I’ve shared my penchant for compound butters before, like in this recipe for lime and chili chicken skewers or my husband’s now famous porcini infused butter atop filet mignon.

With flavored butters there’s no need to wait for a marinade to infuse the meat with flavor and moisture. All that’s required is a hot grill, hot chicken and sliced butter flavor boosters straight from the refrigerator in the form of these chive and herb butter slices. From there, the hot grilled breast meat finishes the job by decadently melting flavor onto each morsel of chicken.

Flavored butters are not only becoming my secret sauce, but like Wonder Woman’s golden cuffs they’re becoming my secret grilling weapon. If only I had the rest of the outfit (ahem…and that bod), imagine the work in the kitchen that could be done.

About the Recipe

I shared my favorite tips for the best grilled chicken breast here. It’s a quick and simple recipe and the building block for any BBQ. But when you’re craving more flavor and time is of the essence, flavored butters are a great option.

During the summer months I make different buttered combinations (truffle butter, garlic butter, sriracha butter) to have on hand to use for meats, chicken, fish, veggies and pretty much anything that comes off the grill. Yes, even fruit—honey, cinnamon and thyme is a favorite. The sky truly is the limit on what flavor combinations you can create.

Simply soften the butter until it’s mixable and add your favorite flavors. Dollop onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log and place in the refrigerator for an hour or up to 1 month. Then, simply slice as needed.

Remember flavored butters aren’t limited to the grill. Use them for slathering on the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches, to season steamed veggies or boost your favorite sauces.

And with that, you’ve just become a grilling super hero.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

5 from 1 vote

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Chive and Herb Butter

There's no marinade involved with this recipe. Instead, this compound butter seeps into the hot grilled chicken to infuse all of the delicious herbed flavor.

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup 1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
3 chives minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves minced
2 lemons halved, plus zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In small bowl, combine butter, herbs, lemon zest and lemon juice until well mixed. Lay out large piece of plastic wrap on clean counter. Spoon butter mixture onto bottom third of plastic wrap then roll into log. Refrigerate for hour or until firm.
Bring grill to high heat and oil it lightly. Brush chicken breasts with extra virgin olive oil and season chicken breasts with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
Put chicken on grill along with 4 lemon halves, cut side down. Grill chicken for about 5 minutes per side or until grill marks form and chicken turns golden. Turn off one side of grill and move the chicken breasts to that side, keeping other side of grill on high heat. Remove lemons from grill. Cook chicken for 8-12 minutes or until 185 degrees internal temperature, turning once if needed.
Slice chive and herb butter into 1/2 inch slices.
To serve, squeeze grilled lemon half over chicken breast and top with pat of chive and herb butter.

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Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

I wish I had a joke for you about when a chicken walked into a bar and met a lemon, some garlic and olive oil and they all got bagged together. But I’m not very good at jokes, that’s my Uncle T’s job.

But this recipe does indeed call for lounging in a bag. Not sure where the joke went but there’s got to be one in there somewhere.

This is one of those recipes that no matter what the season—or how bad the humor—whether I’m grilling outdoors or baking inside, is a go-to, never-fail, crave-worthy dinner option. And the best part is after a good soak—in the bag, in the refrigerator—it’s beyond easy to deliver to the dinner table with practically zero clean-up.

Skewers and kabobs can be really, really good, or go really, really bad. Small pieces of meat left unattended can turn into crispy little burned nuggets of unrecognizable char or simply become dry and overcooked when you’re distracted by obsessively checking your Instagram feed.

And while I do enjoy a good vegetable laden skewer, more often I like my protein to hang out on its own with just a simple flavoring in between, and set the cherry tomatoes, zucchini discs and bulbs of mushrooms off to their own devices to mingle on their own skewered line.

That’s why I’m such a fan of my Greek-inspired Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers in all of their glorious, lemon-marinaded simplicity

continue to the recipe… about Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

Greek Salad with Chicken

Crisp, crunchy, and fresh with tangy Mediterranean flavor, this Greek salad topped with chicken can be meal prepped ahead for weekday lunches or a light and healthy dinner too.

Lunch. It’s the meal that we all have the best of intentions in planning ahead for, and too often, don’t. Our lack of prep leads to over indulging on more expensive than we budgeted for co-worker lunches, or poor choices at the fast food drive-thru (ummm, suuuuure, I’ll take fries with that.) Or worse, we skip the mid-day meal all together leading to a snack attack of epic proportions as we walk through the after work door.

One thing that’s gotten me through the what-to-eat-for-lunch dilemma is prepping a few fave ingredients for a filling and healthy lunch salad (that works for dinner, too) I know will hold in the fridge the whole week through.

This recipe is a riff on the classic Greek salad and is topped with grilled chicken. The typical Greek and Mediterranean flavors of kalamata olives, tangy feta cheese with crunchy cucumbers are ingredients I crave on a daily basis, with two easy to meal-prep recipes I’ve added in.continue to the recipe… about Greek Salad with Chicken

Mediterranean Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Olive Tapenade

A simple marinade with two kinds of balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, and grainy mustard gives this grilled balsamic chicken topped with an easy olive and sun dried tomato tapenade a classic Mediterranean flavor zing.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

It’s no secret that I have a love affair with Mediterranean flavored food, and there’s no better season than summer to really get into exploring all the flavors as a cook and relishing every bite as an eager eater.

From Italian-style Burrata and Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salads to classic Greek Pork Souvlaki and The Best Lebanese Fattoush Salad, summer is the season to take advantage of Mediterranean vegetables in their prime, fresh herbs at their peak, and outdoor grilling techniques that naturally become the dinnertime norm.

This grilled balsamic chicken served with a super-simple-to-make olive and sun dried tomato tapenade is one of my favorite, and easiest gateways to making healthy Mediterranean eating a weekly ritual.

continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Olive Tapenade

Chicken Grilled Under a Brick with Harissa

Did someone cast a spell on Foodie ala Crush and POOF! turn it into a remodeling blog? No, they didn’t? Then what’s up with this talk of mixing chicken with bricks and what in the heck are we building here?

This week we’re finishing up July’s Grilling Month of recipes by constructing a dish that could very well become your new absolute favorite, go-to, weeknight dinner meal. Dinner under a brick? And excuse me, did I hear easy? Don’t be a doubter, it’s simply that good and yes, that easy. And a lot easier to say than Spatchcocked grilled chicken, which is essentially the same thing.

My man and I have grilled chicken under bricks before, but never with this amount of flavor. Because of the commanding flavors of harissa, this chicken doesn’t require a salty brine, a long soak in a tricky marinade or any other enhancements to create one of the best chicken recipes we’ve made in a long, long time. In fact all the flavor is in the quick harissa swipe and grilled flavor.

So, what is this wonder flavoring?

continue to the recipe… about Chicken Grilled Under a Brick with Harissa

The Best Juicy Grilled Pork Chops

Lean grilled pork chops come out juicy and tender every time thanks to a simple sprinkling of pork dry rub for a dinner that’s ready in under 30 minutes.

Pork chops have long been known as a working man’s meal. They’re economical, lean and healthy, and cook up quick. They also have a history of coming to the dinner table dry as shoe leather.

But no more! Today is the day to banish that belief because tough, dried out pork chops are about to be expelled from your vocabulary.

My husband has made these simple grilled pork chops so many times he’s figured out the secrets. Whether bone-in or boneless, these pork chops turn out tender, juicy, a little bit smokey, and far from any mode of foot fashion.

Even better, these grilled pork chops don’t need a marinade or a brine, so they go from package to grill to dinner in 30 minutes.

Here’s how to make juicy grilled pork chops every time. continue to the recipe… about The Best Juicy Grilled Pork Chops

31 Spring Chicken Recipes to Make Now

Seasonal ingredients and fresh flavors have arrived on the spring scene to liven up any weeknight chicken dinner recipe situation.

It’s spring! With the warming sun begging for baskers to break out of the house and go to the park and play, who wants to be inside cooking all day? Cooking a full-blown, multi-course dinner can be a challenge to fit into spring’s busy days when soccer practices, kite flying, and garden-prepping take center stage.

If there’s one request I get time and time again, it’s for new recipe ideas using everyone’s favorite protein staple, the almighty chicken. Just like your favorite basic white t-shirts, you can never have too many simple-to-prep chicken dinner recipes on hand. continue to the recipe… about 31 Spring Chicken Recipes to Make Now

30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make in June

These 30 easy recipe ideas for chicken, meat, seafood, and vegetables are cooked on the grill and made into easy main meals, skewers and salads, for easy outdoor, summer cooking.

Ahhh June, the lazy-hazy-dog days-of-summer are officially upon us! Beach trips, cookouts, and easy livin’ abound. School’s out, and many of us are welcoming relaxed schedules these next few months, so the task of meal planning is much less stressful.

In between ordering pizzas poolside and dining al fresco at our favorite local haunts, we’re embracing the slower pace, and scheming up easy, laid back dinners. To mark our sixth installment of our 31 Days Series, we’re firing up the grill, and this month’s meals are all about things we can cook outdoors, because let’s face it, it’s too darn hot for those ovens!

Whether you’ve got an old-fashioned charcoal grill, a fancy gas, or a George Foreman kitchen version, get yours going, because we’ve got a tasty grilled lineup ahead.continue to the recipe… about 30 Days of Easy Grilling Recipes to Make in June

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

Grilled cheese sandwiches are probably one of the easiest, most classic sandwich recipes ever invented. Taking a photo of one is sometimes another story.

You know how the recipe goes: 2 slices of cheese, two slices of bread, 2 slathers of sweet butter. Seriously, can comfort food really get any better? Okay, maybe when dipped in homemade tomato soup, but that’s kind of a given.

Then you have us recipe makers who just can’t seem to leave well enough alone. We simply cannot just make a simple grilled cheese.

We get all inspired and load on stuff like bacon, lobster, strawberries and definitely avocado. Sometimes they’re even healthified with trendy foodie ingredients like kale and shiitake mushrooms or begging-for-5-napkins-or-more buffalo chicken.

And that’s where the fun really begins.

continue to the recipe… about Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and How to Take an Epic Grilled Cheese Photo

How to Make the Best Easy Grilled Corn On the Cob

At our house, sweet corn is a summer staple, and whether we’re serving it just for our little family of three, or adding it to a backyard BBQ for a crowd, making grilled corn on the cob is the fastest and easiest way to do it.

How to Make the Best Grilled Corn | foodiecrush.com

One of the reasons I crave summer is ’tis the season for fresh, sweet corn and surprisingly, my husband’s obsession with the husked and cobbed sphere is even more than my own.

We grill just about anything and everything we can get our hands on during the summertime, and fresh corn is one of our favorites. While I’ll eat it just about any way—stripped right off the cob and raw, tossed in potluck quinoa salads, or turned into slow cooker creamed corn perfect for every eating occasion, grilled corn on the cob with creamy butter takes the cake.

I love the subtle smokiness and the beautiful char marks grilling imparts on the corn. It’s a delicious way to spruce up fresh salads, tacos and salsas, macaroni and cheese, and it makes an irresistible and easy side to your backyard BBQ.

Some people may be a tad intimidated by grilling corn, but I’m here to tell you that it’s a breeze—especially if you’ve already got the grill fired up and ready for your main.

Follow the easy steps below and you’ll soon discover grilled corn bliss.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Easy Grilled Corn On the Cob

The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

This easy chicken marinade infuses chicken of any cut with the classic Greek flavors of lemon, garlic and oregano plus Greek yogurt for a more tender bite.

Hey, ho, whaddya know?!!! You ready for the best? Because I’m giving you the best!

It may be a bold statement to make, but unlike fake politicians, sorcerers, and that guy in Nigeria who says he’ll double your money if you’ll just wire it to him, I’m standing behind my claim that this super easy, extremely delicious Greek Chicken marinade very well could be:

the ying to your yang.

the butter to your nutter.

the pop to your lock.

Which would make this little diddy of a recipe the best lemony, best garlicky, best Greek-y oregano-ish chicken marinade you just might ever make.

continue to the recipe… about The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs

Easy to make and lighter to eat, this healthy no-mayo potato salad with fresh herbs and an easy olive oil dressing is the perfect side dish for a crowd.

There are times when a mayo-free potato salad is exactly what’s needed. Like those backyard barbecues where mayonnaise and summer’s heat simply don’t mix. Or a potluck party buffet table for a crowd where you my Mom’s best potato salad ever’s hard boiled eggs aren’t up to the task of languishing at room temperature all day or night long at the party.

And surprisingly, I heard somewhere out there are eaters who just don’t like a mayonnaise dressing on their potato salad. What the what? Shocking, I know…

For each of these situations, this mayo-free potato salad is the winning recipe solution. I discovered the inspiration for it while leafing through my copy of My Smith’s Magazine I receive each month from my local Smith’s Marketplace grocery store. This potato salad is easy to make and feels a bit sophisticated, just like anything with classic French roots will. It’s loaded with fresh nips of herbed bites, Dijon mustard flavored olive oil, and it won’t go bad before the party ends, and even better, gets more flavorful on the second and third day after it’s been in the fridge..

continue to the recipe… about No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs

Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

A fresh and flavorful Mediterranean tomato salad serves as a salsa when it tops juicy grilled pork chops for a 30-minute, quick and easy dinner or BBQ meal.

It’s finally summer, so who wants to spend all day cooking? Not it. Who’s ready for fast and easy? #raisinghand

One of my favorite secrets to easy, flavorful cooking is to take a basic cooking method and dress it up with a fresh and easy recipe topper. Have you tried my Mediterranean grilled balsamic chicken with olive tapenade? Or marinated flank steak with Asian chimichurri sauce? They’re prime examples of easy to create flavor, just like this fast pork chop recipe you’ll soon be making all summer long.

Does this recipe look somewhat familiar? I hope so! Last week I shared my husband’s mastered and always juicy grilled pork chops plus this recipe for a super simple Mediterranean tomato salad. Today I’m sharing how to make two small tweaks and marry the two.

Together they create one healthy and delicious summer dinner that can be prepped ahead or made on the fly, for a dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes.

This summer is shaping up to be the best flavored yet. Let’s go!

continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Grilled rosemary bread is a delicious base for this grilled chicken caprese sandwich featuring fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, farmer’s market tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction for a classic flavor combination you just can’t beat.

Did you do a double take?

In this season of slow cooker soups and hearty comfort food, you might be wondering what in the heck this fresh take on a summer classic is doing on the bloggity blog right smack dab in the middle of winter?

Personally, I can think of no better time. Even if you can’t ditch the snow shovel yet, you can still eat like it’s all sunshine and tan lines. Because soon enough, it will be.continue to the recipe… about Chicken Caprese Sandwich

Lime and Chile Butter Chicken Skewers

Please, please, please! Say it ain’t so! But yes, it’s true, we’re headlong into the wind down of summer.

Sniffle here and sob there, I’m harboring some serious resentment at the fact that summer is quickly fading into fall. This is mostly due to the fact that in mid-July I broke my wrist and the elbow of my other arm (of which I’ve lamented about my gimpness on the blog and you’re sick of hearing about since it happened) and that the wrist required surgery to give me a fancy new metal plate and 10 screws surgically inserted into my limp old wrist. Yep, I’ll be the one setting off the alarms, bells and whistles at the airport security line.

It also turned most of my summer of bar-b-ques on the deck and hostessing of summer fun into a self-imposed 3 week marathon of feeling-sorry -for-myself-BRAVO-watching-reality-show-obsession because I couldn’t chop, cook or even pull my hair into a top knot. And if any of you know me in person, the top knot is what really put me under.

But, I gave myself ’til this week to finish my sulk and now I’m back at ‘em, working the wrist so it doesn’t turn into a stiff log of a limb and I even took off my bandages all by my-freak-out-at-any-medical-condition-that-may-result-in-blood-self. I was happy and surprised to see a completely healed 3-inch scar.

Friends, I’m back.

And it’s a good thing too, because yesterday, when Smudge asked me why we haven’t had any parties with and of our friends who are parents of her friends who we would usually have summertime parties with, I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling the lack of party pain. Remedy solved, we’re having a party tonight and putting our summer party slump to bed.

This recipe doesn’t require a party to make it special. In fact, if you’re in need of a fast dinner with minimal effort but big flavor, this chicken skewer recipe is a keeper.

continue to the recipe… about Lime and Chile Butter Chicken Skewers

Memorial Day Recipe Ideas: Here’s What I’m Cooking

Celebrate the beginning of summer and Memorial Day weekend with a few favorite recipes made especially delicious when shared with friends and family.

Hello and happy Saturday!

3-day weekends bring on all of the desires of wanderlust, relaxation, and deciding what’s on the menu.

I was on a phone call with a client yesterday. After talking shop I couldn’t wrap things up before asking the most pressing question of our whole conversation: What are you cooking for Memorial Day?

His answer was unexpected of sorts, and a reminder of why we’ve come to celebrate this 3-day weekend with food. “Meat. Lots of meat.” He was joining his wife’s family at his father-in-law’s home where every year for Memorial Day they celebrate the life of her brother who was killed in action. He explained more, “My father-in-law spends days preparing and grilling so much meat for 40-50 people. I don’t know how he does it every year, but it’s important to him that he does.”

Memorial Day is a special holiday where we shouldn’t forget the real reason it was established: to honor our fallen patriots. And like so many traditions, it’s food that brings us together to do so. And so with a very grateful heart and a full stomach, we salute you and the families who’ve loved and lost.

continue to the recipe… about Memorial Day Recipe Ideas: Here’s What I’m Cooking

Friday Faves

Hello friends, loved ones and partners in crime. Thanks for taking time out of your day to visit this little slice of the web called FoodieCrush. I love to share, and am so glad you care. Care enough to stop by and see what’s cookin’ in and out of the kitchen.

We had some new neighbors move in across the street. Instead of the de rigueur welcome pie or brownies, I took them a cornucopia of caprese makings, burrata (yes!) and DeLallo pasta fixin’s. Okay, it was a basket, not a cornucopia, but the idea…it’s solid.

I’m sublimely happy harvest season is in full swing, and have been sharing posts featuring ingredients to help you #eatseasonal. Tomatoes are always at the top of my hit list but with the Farmer’s markets delivering such stellar produce, I’m not stopping there so more seasonal fare recipes will be coming your way. Long live autumn!

In last week’s Friday Faves I shared 5 food blogs I’m following now, and hope that you are now too. If you missed the post, check it out here.

And now, onto this week’s list of list loves…

continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

This lighter version of a popular restaurant’s favorite salad is packed with awesome flavor from BBQ-grilled chicken breast, jalapeños, cilantro, spiced tortilla chips, and a creamy homemade ranch dressing!

Back in the day when I had office co-workers who weren’t four-legged, who didn’t bark every time someone (or something) walked down the street, and weren’t continually nudging me with their nose for a scratch as I worked, I actually had office besties who walked rather well on two legs as we headed to Westwood’s California Pizza Kitchen to get our favorite CPK Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad for lunch.

Oh, those were the days.

These days, I’m still a fan of that CPK Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, but not so much a fan of the calories I consume whenever I eat it. That’s why I created my own lighter version that still totally delivers on flavor and cures my salad as a meal cravings.

continue to the recipe… about BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad