Real Recipes

I am going to try and start a new feature this week called Real Recipes. The name might change before I'm through with it, but for now, this is what I'll call it. Every Friday, I am going to step away from cards and instead focus on something else I love. FOOD! I love to cook, and I love to share with other people those foods/recipes that work for my family. The recipe I'll share each week will be one that is a winner with us--in other words, we've tried the recipe and LOVED the results.

The first recipe I am going to share with you is one I got from my friend Kathie Baumgart (actually, Kathie is my SIL's friend, but I've gotten to know her via my SIL and now consider her my friend too!). Kathie is an amazing cook. When I was out in VA visiting this past May, I had dinner at her house one night. She and her husband jack made a grilled chicken that was to-die-for! Honestly, it was the best chicken I had ever eaten, and I've eaten TONS of chicken in my lifetime because I love it. It was the juiciest, tenderest, most flavorable chicken ever. I made it a few nights ago using boneless chicken thighs. The key is marinating it for some time (I marinated mine for about 5 hours), and grilling it s-l-o-w-l-y. My husband put the chicken on the 2nd tier of our grill, had the burners on low, and cooked it for about 30-35 minutes. Depending on your grill, that time will differ for everyone. Use the cooking time as a guide only. Chicken with bones will take slightly longer to cook than a boneless piece of meat.

For a little extra sass, I toasted some sesame seeds in a saute pan until browned, and then I sprinkled the seeds over the chicken once it was plated up ready to be served. Oh my word, every single one of us LOVED it, and wanted to eat more. Unfortunately, I only made six small thighs, which wasn't enough food for all of us. Even my picky Eldest Son loved the chicken. And the smell is unbelieveable!!! Heavenly, truely.

One last little tip for you. I know many people don't have fresh ginger in their homes. But my friend Kathie told me she buys fresh ginger and then freezes it. When she needs some, she takes it out (frozen), and uses a grater to grate the ginger for her recipe. Here is the tool I used to grate my ginger the other night. Oh my, can I tell you I LOVE this little gadget? The curved design of the microplane grater is soooo fun. I used it for the lime zest as well. The curved design allows whatever you are zesting or grating to pool up until you are ready to slide it out with your little finger. I bought this little gadget for my hubby for a stocking stuffer this past Christmas, and I have to say, it's turned out to be one of my favorite little tools!

Well, I hope you like my new Real Recipes feature for Fridays. It's nice to be able to step away from cards for a minute or two and concentrate on fun recipes instead. I needed the change of pace. Let me know what you think!

Hugs,
Amy