Grilling Inspiration - Tomatillos, Chipotle Peppers in Adobo and Grilled Corn

Two recipes for your grilling pleasure this summer!

First: Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Butter-Brushed Shrimp with Tomatillo Salsa: his recipe packs such a flavorful bunch, it's addictive!!!

Second: the EASIEST way to make corn!

Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Butter-Brushed Shrimp with Tomatillo Salsa - here is the link to the recipe.

• We had grilled corn with the shrimp and it was plenty filling. I would say the plate looks empty though - perhaps add a light summer salad or some grilled zucchini and squash to your plate too!
• I had no idea what tomatillos were before we got Bobby Flay's Boy Meet Grill cookbook about 8 years ago. They are phenomenal to use. If you are not sure what they look like, here is a photo - the outside is covered in a husk of sorts, you peel this off, then wash them. They are very sticky when you wash them, I like to wash them in a little bit of water and soap. I'm also posting a pic of the inside - they are so interesting! The last pic is the gorgeous tomatillo salsa. 

• I also had no idea what Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce were until Bobby Flay (he's introduced me to an all new world!) - they are dried peppers put into this amazingly flavorful and smoky sauce. Don't be deceived though, these peppers still pack a HUGE punch, so you don't want to over do it in a recipe. You can find the can of them in the Mexican food aisle. Look at the beautiful color of this butter:
  
  
• Funny story about this recipe (I'm slighly infamous for not fully reading recipes, I glance :) I didn't read that you only needed a couple of peppers, instead, I put the whole jar in the recipe! While it was still deliciously addictive, our mouths were on FIRE! 

Folks...corn season is upon us! The weather has warmed up and it's grilling time! There is nothing I enjoy more with a meal than corn on the cob (it's still a vegetable y'all, despite the fact that it's a starchy one). You know what I do NOT enjoy though, is shucking corn (southern verb for removing the husks and the silk!).

The EASIEST solution and best TASTING version of cooking corn is here:

Step 1: Buy fresh ears of corn (unshucked)

Step 2: Bring your corn home

Step 3: Heat up your grill or your oven

Step 4: Place ears of corn direclty on the grill (top shelf is recommended) or on a bakign sheet pan and put into the oven. Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Step 5: Remove corn from heat, let sit for a moment. Cut the end of the corn off, then pull husks off of corn (and voila! like magic, the silks come off with the husks!), eat and enjoy!

Chicken Lasagna

So y'all remember my post last week regarding 2 week night prep shortcuts for chicken! This is a recipe you can utilize that delicious chicken in.

I LOVE this recipe. It is delicious and filling and not too heavy for a lasagna. I also think it creates a nice substitution to the traditional lasagna, but keeps the ease of heating for a weeknight dinner.

One of my favorite ways to make a savory recipe have more "good for you" nutrition is by adding diced yellow squash! I have added it to the recipe below :)

White Chicken & Cheese Lasagna

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles (not oven-ready)
1/2 c butter
1 whole onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 c All-purpose flour
1 medium size yellow squash, diced
1 t salt
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c milk
4 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 c grated parmesan cheese, divided PLUS 1/4 c for topping
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t ground pepper
2 c ricotta cheese
2 c cooked, cubed chicken
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna, drain & rinse with cold water & layout on waxed paper.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, diced squash & garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in flour & salt; simmer until bubbly.

Mix in the broth & the milk and boil; stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c Parmesan. Season with basil, oregano and ground black pepper. Remove from heat & set aside.

Mix the ricotta, 1 c of mozzarella and chicken together.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows:
- 1/3 of noodles
- all of the ricotta, mozzarella & chicken
- spinach
- 1/3 of noodles
- 1/4 of sauce mixture
- the rest of the ricotta, mozzarella & chicken mixture
- 1 cup of mozzarella
- 1/2 c parmesan cheese
- 1/3 of noodles
- spread remaining sauce evenly over the noodles
- top with additional 1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting & serving.

Chicken AGAIN?...Oh yeah!!!

How many of you are SICK of eating chicken for dinner? I am totally raising my hand right now. The thing is it's an inevitable you're going to use this meat in the next 7 days - why? Primarily because it's affordable, readily available and a healthy choice relatively speaking to other meat options. What is is not usually, is convenient. I want to share 2 chicken cheats with you that will make meal prep a BREEZE! One is an easy item to purchase and the other is an easy item to prep in your own home. I'm also including one of my favorite recipes utilizing either prep method of chicken.

First up: Already Prepped Rotisserie Chicken from Costco. 
It comes with over 2.5# of chicken. Can I repeat this beautiful phrase: already prepped rotisserie chicken! This means, you don't have to open the gross plastic clamshell or bag to get your greasy chicken out, remove the skin, remove the chicken and still have an appetite to eat it. Instead, you buy the package at Costco. Once you're home, you open it, remove the amount of chicken you would like to use for whatever purpose and VOILA, you're done handling chicken.

Simplicity is a beautiful thing!

The package isn't much to behold, in fact, it looks quite gross and I would have never found it myself in the store, except that my uncle recommended it to me. Do note though that after you have opened the package, you have 6 days to use it before it spoils. If you're worried you can't use that much that quickly, freeze what you don't use before the 6 days pass.

Second Up: Prepping a large package of chicken for the week by precooking it. 

I had never tried this method until last fall and it is SO easy! The only true work you have to do is take it out of the package (which is always a little gross, chicken juice...ICK!). All you have to do are these easy steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a jelly roll sheet pan (that's the cookie sheet with the edges on it) with foil
3. Spray the foil with cooking spray - I use the olive oil kind, then sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and pepper
4. Place chicken breasts on the foil
5. Spray the chicken with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) and then sprinkle with your choice of herbs - I do an everything seasoning (Trader Joe's!) and then sea salt and pepper
6. Cover the chicken loosely with foil & bake for 1 hour

I guarantee this cooking method is the best and easiest way to cook chicken and for it to be moist and ready for almost any recipe!

I used my oven baked chicken in Chicken Poppyseed Casserole last night - so easy - here is the recipe:

Chicken Poppyseed Casserole

1.5 - 2 Lb of cooked and diced chicken (or more if you prefer!)

8oz sour cream

8oz Plain Greek Yogurt (I use this instead of only sour cream, lightens teh recipe and gives you a higher protein content)

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup (I swear using Campbell's makes it have more flavor!)

2 cups of precooked rice (I cheat and use Uncle Ben's 90 second rice pouches, such a time saver)

Topping below (the best part!!! :)

Mix all of the above together and place in a 9x13 pan. We can't eat this whole casserole in one sitting, so I split it into 2 casseroles. One for this week and then freeze one for later. This casserole reheats beautifully.

Ritz Cracker Topping

1 T poppyseeds

60 Ritz crackers (2 sleeves)

1 stick of butter (melted)

Place crackers in a large ziplock bag, then crush them into small pieces. Add poppyseeds and butter to thoroughly mix together. Top casserole with the cracker topping. Freezing tip: I place the cracker topping in a sandwich bag and freeze with the casserole, this way when it's thawing, the crackers don't get soggy. You can freshly top them like normal, when you're ready to heat the casserole. 

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes covered and 5 more minutes uncovered. Your casserole should be bubbling with deliciousness when it's ready to take out of the oven.