A Great Grilled Meal

So one of the greatest things about being married to D is that he is a whiz at grilling things. Seriously, give him access to a grill and a stocked fridge/freezer and you will not go hungry. So not too long ago D was off while I was at work and decided to make dinner on the grill. So he went digging into the disaster area that is our freezer to see what he could find: frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a half empty bag of frozen mixed berries. Now, my mind probably never would have seen how the two could ago together, but this genius that I married set right to work, pureeing the berries and making awesome marinade for the chicken. Now, this night we actually put dinner on hold when his parents called to ask us to dinner, so the chicken sat in its fruity bath for about 24 hours and ended up turning a shocking purple color. I will admit I was slightly (or majorly) freaked out by the color and was really afraid of what the chicken was going to taste like: but it was so good! It was really moist and it didn't really taste like a berry. The fruit just provided a perfect accent to the mix of spices that D used. I definitely recommend this meal, it is really good!

Now, the other thing that D has made a few times now is his grilled baby carrots. These came about one day when he was searching for a side to go with our meal and I told him there were carrots in the fridge. At first he says he wondered if these would work, but his Eagle Scout brain kicked in and he reverted back to his Scouting days of making foil meals while camping. He ended up throwing these simple ingredients together and making an awesome side dish that I now beg him to make. We actually just had these again last weekend and I already want more: they are basically like crack to me now, I just want to take the whole bowl and go hide in a closet and eat them all myself.

So, before fall weather gets here, fire up your grill and try D's concoctions. I promise, they're great! What the chicken looked like after the marinade and before grilling.

Berry Spicy Chicken

Created by Doug

1/2 bag frozen mixed berries

5 big tablespoons sugar

1 - 1 1/2 cups Cranberry juice

7 chicken breasts (or really as many as you want)

Grill seasoning (to your taste)

Red pepper flakes (again, to your taste)

Mrs. Dash (to your taste)

Season salt (to your taste)

Water

Place berried, sugar and a little water in food processor or blender and blend until they form a sauce (add more water in small amounts if necessary). Set aside.

Butterfly the chicken and pound flat. Add a little salt and pepper and let sit a few minutes.

Place the chicken in a bowl or plastic bag (whichever way you prefer to marinate meat) and add the berry mixture. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cranberry juice.

Let marinate (ours sat for 24 hours, but at least an hour is best).

Remove the chicken from the marinade (pour it out) and place the chicken on a plate or platter.

Add the spices to your taste (the more you add the spicier it will be).

Grill the chicken until cooked.

Grilled Baby Carrots

By Doug

1 small bag Raw baby carrots

1 -2 tablespoons Butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots in a sauce pan and cover with water, place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Allow the carrots to boil for 3 minutes.

Drain 90-95 % of the water off the carrots (keep a little).

Place the carrots in a large piece of aluminum foil (you'll want a good, heavy foil).

Cover with salt and pepper and cut the butter into chunks and place around the carrots.

Wrap the foil up into a pouch like shape.

Place on the grill. The cooking time will depend on how big your pouch is and how soft you like your carrots. A good idea is 10-12 minutes for a small pouch.