Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

I was working up in Seattle and did you know they have a thing for teriyaki? Ya, names like Best Teriyaki, Yummi Teriyaki, Teriyaki 1st, I love Teriyaki....there's a million of them. Anyway, I got home from my trip and made my own grilled teriyaki chicken and it was awesome.

 

The key to good grilled teriyaki is to marinate the chicken thighs for a couple of hours to infuse the flavor, but then remove the teriyaki sauce of the thighs so they're mostly dry before throwing on the grill. The reason is that you want to cook on a nice high heat to char the outside, but if you leave the sauce on, because of the sugar in the teriyaki sauce,  you just end up with a burning mess.

 

Ingredients:

Organic skinless boneless chicken thighs

Kona Coast Island Teriyaki Sauce

Basmati rice

Diced green onions
Sesame seeds

 

Preparation:

Place the chicken thighs in a large Ziploc bag. Marinate the chicken thighs in some teriyaki sauce for a couple of hours. When ready to cook, remove the chicken thighs from the bag and place on some paper towels and remove as much of the teriyaki sauce from the chicken thighs as you can.

 

Heat your grill to high. Use some spray canola oil to coat the chicken thighs and place on the grill. Cook the chicken thighs for about 5 minutes per side. If the grill is hot enough you should have some nice char and grill marks. Remove the chicken from the grill to a plate and cover with foil for 5 minutes.

 

To serve, take the chicken thighs and slice into 4 or 5 pieces and place on top of some basmati rice. Brush on some teriyaki sauce and garnish with diced green onions and sesame seeds. 

Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Chopped salad with Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing

I've been wanting to make this for a while and it turned out better than I thought. All the flavors work wonderfully together and with the yogurt dressing, it pretty healthy as well.

Ingredients:
1 head iceberg lettuce
2 tablespoons real bacon bits
Sliced cherry tomato's
Opa Greek yogurt blue cheese salad dressing

Preparation:

Take the head of iceberg lettuce cut in half and remove the core. Slice each half of the lettuce as thin as you can ending up with a pile of shredded lettuce. Take half the amount of dressing and toss into the lettuce and place a serving portion on a serving plate. Drizzle on a little more salad dressing and top with bacon bits and sliced cherry tomato's. Finish the salad with fresh ground pepper.

Three Cheese Ravioli with Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Sauce

I'm always looking for ways to work eggplant into my dishes. I was at the store and there were these beautiful large eggplants and they were just .99 cents each, which is a great deal, so I bought a couple. In this dish I diced up the eggplant and sautéed with some yellow onion, garlic and cherry tomato's. As the cherry tomato's cook and break down they create  a wonderful sauce for the ravioli's. 

 

Ingredients:

Butoni three cheese ravioli

1 eggplant, peeled and diced

1/2 diced yellow onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup cherry tomato's slice in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Basil for garnish

 

Preparation:

Cook the ravioli's according to the package directions, drain in cold water and set a side while you make the sauce.

 

Start with preparing the eggplant for the sauce. Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2" x 1/2" cubes. Heat a 10" sauté pan to medium high heat, add a tablespoon avocado oil and the diced eggplant. Add some salt and pepper to the eggplant and cook stirring frequently for 7 - 8 minutes. 

 

Next, add the garlic, onion tomato's and a tablespoon of olive oil and cook for another 7 - 8 minutes and your done. Check the flavor for salt and pepper and add if  necessary.

 

To finish the dish, add the raviolis to the sauce and heat. Place 4 - 5 ravioli's on a serving plate and top with the eggplant and cherry tomato sauce. Garnish with grated cheese and chopped Italian parsley. 

Grilled Skirt Steak with Grilled Tomato and Chopped Salad

I really like this type of low carb meal; a tasty grilled skirt steak, grilled tomato and chopped salad.

Ingredients:
1 skirt steak
1 large beef steak tomato
1 head iceberg lettuce
Green onion
Cilantro
Shredded jack and cheddar cheese
salad dressing

Preparation:

To make the salad, start by taking the head of iceberg lettuce and cut in half. Take you largest chefs knife and slice each half of the lettuce as thin as you can which will give you a pile of shredded lettuce. Dress the salad with some Italian dressing and top with diced green onions, chopped cilantro and shredded Monterey jack cheese.

 

Heat your BBQ grill to medium high. I like to take my skirt steak and cut in half. The reason is

because one end is wider and thicker than the other, so I'll toss the bigger piece first and then the smaller so they finish at the same time.

 

Take the skirt steak and brush on some olive oil and then grind on some salt and pepper. Cook the skirt steak about 3 minutes per side for a nice medium rare.

 

To make the grilled tomato, slice off the top and bottom of the tomato and then cut in half. You will end up with 2 or 3 pieces about 3/4" thick. Brush with olive oil, add some salt and pepper and grill 2 - 3 minute per side. 

 

Jerk Chicken

We have a spice shop in the Old Mill called Savory Spice Shop. This is a franchise and there are locations in many cities. One thing they're great at is making spice mixes. I think I probably have 10 or 12 different ones. The Jamaican Jerk Seasoning is awesome. You can really taste combination of the allspice, thyme, nutmeg and the heat from the scotch bonnet pepper.

 

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts

Savory Spice Jamaican Jerk Seasoning:

Toasted onion

Salt

Allspice

Garlic

Sugar

Mediterranean thyme

Chives

Black pepper

Nutmeg

Saigon cinnamon

Sage

Scotch bonnet chilies.

 

Preparation:

Liberally coat the chicken breasts with the jerk seasoning and place into a large Ziploc bag and let marinate in the refrigerator all day or over night.

 

Grill the chicken breasts over high heat for about 5 minutes per side. Once cooked remove from the grill and cover with aluminum foil for 5 to 7 minutes and you're ready to serve.

Mexican Rice

This is just one of my favorite dishes and it's really easy to make. What I like about the way I prepare the dish is that it's not loaded up with fat, in fact there isn't any. The key is to get the right kind of salsa, I prefer Embasa Salsa Mexicana. You'll find this is the Mexican section in the grocery store. Pair this with my black beans and some grilled chicken and you're having a great meal.

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 6oz can of Salsa Mexicana

Preparation:

For this recipe I use my trusted rice cooker. Add all the ingredients tot he rice cooker and press go and 15 minute later you've got great Mexican rice.

Here's my Black Beans recipe:
Black Beans