Grilled Chicken So Easy, It Feels Like Cheating

I have a one-year-old, a four-year-old, a husband, a job, a garden, a yard, and a house that we're always semi-renovating, among other things. In short, I have no time. Yet we still need to eat, quite regularly, in fact. And I want what we eat to be both delicious and good for us. So I am a BIG fan of this simple chicken - it's so easy and so good. And the grilling makes for easier clean up, too.

I like to use boneless, skinless thighs (please ignore the fact that the chicken pieces in the photos are not thighs!) Thighs are juicier than breasts, cook more quickly and are the perfect size, no cutting required. They're also a lot cheaper than breasts.

As always, try to find meat from a farmer near you that uses humane and organic practices. Just a note that many small farmers can't afford to get organic certification even though they do farm using organic methods. So not having certification is not necessarily a reason to rule a good local source out. The beauty of buying locally is that you can go and visit to see for yourself and/or ask around to get a better sense of what a farm is like. Or, if you live around here, you can also just go to Fleishers Meats in Kingston!

It does not take much time to prepare this chicken but you do need to start in the morning by throwing together a quick marinade. I like to use olive oil, fresh rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a little bit of salad dressing which I think of as "flavor in a bottle" (I can practically hear the little gasps of shock and horror from the purists!)

Although I am now beyond redemption in the eyes of true foodies, I will note for the rest of you that I do use a good quality, organic dressing with only unobjectionable ingredients that comes in a glass bottle to limit our BPA exposure. And, while I'm confessing all my shameful secrets, I should add that I sometimes use bottled organic lemon juice if I don't have any fresh lemons in the house.

It only takes a few minutes to throw all of this stuff together, promise. Then let the chicken soak up those good flavors all day in the fridge.

When dinner time rolls around, throw the chicken onto a pre-heated grill and cook them over medium heat for about ten minutes, turning them once.

I really hate to throw away a good marinade - seems like such a waste! So sometimes, I dump it into a frying pan and let it cook down for a few minutes (sometimes I add a little white wine) until I have a nice pan sauce to ladle over the grilled chicken and the quinoa. But that is totally optional, of course.

I like to serve this with quinoa cooked in vegetable broth (so much tastier that way) and either baked sweet potatoes or a salad but it goes well with lots of things if those ideas don't appeal to you.

-- print recipe --Simple Grilled Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs from a farm near you (if you have a lot of big meat eaters to feed, you may want to increase to 1 1/2 lbs)

For the marinade:
* 3 Tbps olive oil
* Juice of two lemons (orange, grapefruit, or tangerine would work well, too)
* 1/4 cup Italian or Caesar salad dressing (use a good one!)
* 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, rinsed, dried, stems removed and needles chopped
* 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare the marinade by whisking all the ingredients together.

2. Place the chicken thighs in the marinade, turning to coat all sides. I usually stick the meat with a fork a bunch of times to let more flavor soak in. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to a day.

3. Light the grill and let it heat up to high then clean with a wire brush. Lower the heat to medium and place the chicken thighs on the grate. Cover and cook for 5 minutes then turn and cook for 5 more minutes or until tested done. Remove from the meat from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

You might also like:

• Chicken Milanese On a Bed of Arugula & Tomatoes
• Grilled Pork Chops With Balsamic-Glazed Peaches
• Spiced Lamb Kabobs With Tomato Jam

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An Arugula Salad To Remember...

I came up with this delectable salad the other night while frantically trying to pull some sort of dinner together after discovering that we were out of hotdogs (ya see, I told you it's not all gorgeous meals and slow-cooked food around here...)

After sulking about the lack of hotdogs for a while, inspiration struck -- zucchini fritters! I got a batch of them sizzling in the cast iron skillet and turned back to the fridge where a nice big bunch of fresh arugula from our CSA caught my eye.

I had to keep it simple since the kids were hungry and it was almost time for the baby's bath but I did take a few minutes to candy some pecans in butter, maple syrup, salt and garam masala. These candied pecans are the bomb! MWWAAHHH - I kiss my fingers at you in an Italian-style expression of appreciation for their deliciousness.

Then I chopped some dried cherries, squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper over it all and tossed it to ensure that the crunchy, spicy, sweet bites would be nicely mixed in with the lemony, peppery greens.

A good meal was had by all. And I have since bought a big package of organic hot dogs, too, just in case...

Lemony Arugula Salad with Curried Candied Pecans & Dried Cherries
Serves 4

Ingredients

* Large bunch of arugula, washed and dried
* 1/2-3/4 cup candied garam masala pecans
* 1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
* Juice of 1/2 lemon (you can add more if the lemon is not super juicy)
* A glug of olive oil
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Make the candied pecans - the simple directions are here.

2. While they're cooling, wash and dry the arugula then toss it with the olive, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste (adjust if you think it needs more lemon, oil, salt, etc.) Then throw in the cherries and the cooled pecans, toss again and serve!

You might also like:

• Roasted Delicata Squash & Tortellini Salad With Cranberries, Greens & Pepitas
• Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad With Toasted Almonds & Parmesan
• Frisee, Apple & Celeriac Salad With Shallot-Citrus Dressing & Goat Cheese

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

Killer Combo - Quinoa, Corn & Feta Salad With Herbs

This salad is a new summer favorite. It's delicious and easy to make, especially if you've got some leftover grilled corn lying around. It also goes well with lots of things and tastes great the next day - my husband and I devoured the leftovers and I wish I'd made a bigger batch. I plan to make it again very soon!

The inspiration for this salad came from Beveraly, a dear family friend who was like my second mother when I was growing up. Her daughter, Dawn, was my mostly companion until about 9th grade and the three of us spent many happy hours together, swimming at Big Deep, walking around town, and, of course, eating. Bev is a wonderful cook - I still sigh just thinking of her divine fried chicken and potato salad...

But back to this delightful salad! I recommend cooking the quinoa in vegetable broth to give it a little more flavor - it makes a big difference. And don't forget to rinse it first to get rid of the bitter saponins.

A word to the wise, leave yourself time to let the quinoa cool down after you make it. I was in a rush when I made this so I did not have time to let my quinoa cool down and the feta kind of melted into it as you can probably see in the photos. It's just as delicious that way but not quite as pretty as when the feta is in distinct pieces. And, while we're on the topic of appearances, I didn't have any red quinoa on hand when I made this, but if you do, I think that would give the salad a little more visual pop.

Chop the herbs and prepare the corn if you don't already have it on hand. I like to cook an ear or two more corn that I need in order to have some handy to throw into salads, salsas, corn bread or fritters. As I've mentioned, I'm really enjoying my new corn stripper but a sharp knife will also work perfectly well.

Mix it all together with a little olive oil and lemon juice, then season with sea salt and black pepper to taste and stir in the chunks of feta cheese. That's it!

I hope you enjoy these last few weeks of golden summer.

Quinoa, Corn & Feta Salad with Fresh Herbs
Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups quinoa
* 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
* 1/4-1/2 cup (the more the better, I think) coarsely chopped fresh herbs -- you can use oregano, basil, cilantro, thyme, parsley, marjoram, mint, etc.,
* Juice of half a lemon
* 1-2 cups cooked corn kernels (grilled is the tastiest)
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese - I would choose a harder/drier variety over one of the softer ones
* Olive oil
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa: bring a medium-large pot of water to a boil; while it's heating up, rinse the quinoa in several changes of water and drain thoroughly. Once the water reaches a boil, add the quinoa, stir, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat or until you see the little curly white tail of the quinoa grains emerge. If there is too much liquid, leave the lid off for the last few minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in a few tablespoons of olive oil and set it aside to cool with the lid off.

2. If you don't have cooked corn kernels on hand, use the time that the quinoa is cooking to grill your corn - get the simple directions here - two ears should be plenty. Once it's cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cobs and set aside.

3. Wash, dry and chop the herbs. Combine the quinoa, corn, herbs and lemon juice with a little more olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the crumbled feta cheese and toss to combine.

You might also like:

• Savory Corn Fritters
• Cumin-Scented Quinoa With Grated Beets Topped With Quick Curried Chickpeas
• Southwestern Quinoa Salad With Black Beans, Corn & Peppers

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.