HONOR YOUR FATHER THIS YEAR

 By cooking up something special,  lets Grill up some chicken for Father's Day. My Lemon Chicken recipe is toe tapping good, and to make this dinner really special add grilled vegetables to complete your meal. I added a few of my father's favorite vegetable, they might become your fathers favorite too. Now firer up the grill and enjoy Father's Day.

EASY GRILLED LEMON CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Stir together the lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, and black pepper in a bowl; pour into a large, resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts, seal the bag, and massage to evenly coat chicken with lemon juice mixture. Place in refrigerator to marinate at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours

.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grill Drain and discard marinade from the bag, and place chicken on preheated grill about 4 inches from heat source for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side Cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

VEGETABLE GRILLED UP JUST RIGHT

GRILLED EGGPLANTS

4 baby eggplants (4 ounces each)

Slice each of the eggplants lengthwise in half.

Toss eggplants in prepare vinaigrette as directed below. Grill until tender

Each serving: About 90 calories

GRILLED PEPPERS

2 medium yellow peppers

2 medium red peppers

Cut each lengthwise in half and discard seeds. Place peppers on grill over medium heat and cook, turning peppers occasionally and brushing with some vinaigrette until peppers are browned and tender when pierced with a fork.

Serve with remaining vinaigrette.

Each serving: about 95 calories

GRILLED ZUCCHINI

Slice each of 4 small zucchini (6 ounces each)

Cut lengthwise in half. Prepare vinaigrette as directed. Toss zucchini in vinaigrette. Grill until tender.

Each serving: About 85 calories,

GRILLED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

Trim tough stem ends from 2 medium-size portobello mushrooms (4 ounces each) or 8 jumbo mushrooms. Rinse; pat dry. Prepare vinaigrette as directed. Toss mushrooms in vinaigrette. Grill until tender.

HAVE A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Building a better burger is easy when you follow these suggestions:

Make sure the grill is the appropriate temperature too hot, and the burgers will burn on the outside before getting done on the inside. Medium-low to medium heat is best.
Keep the lid closed while cooking. A closed lid retains heat, shortening the cooking time and thus keeping the burgers moist.
Use beef that is no leaner than 85% Fat is needed for the burgers to be moist and flavorful.
You also can use turkey or chicken if you are watching your diet and eating least beef.
If using ground turkey or chicken, add a little broth or olive oil to keep them moist.
Use a gentle touch overworking the mixture will produce a tough burger. Mix ingredients just until combined.

 Don't form patties too thick or too thin a ¾-inch thick patty is ideal for even cooking.

To keep patties from swelling in the middle, make small indention in the center.

Always clean and oil the grill grate this prevents burgers from sticking, extends the life of your grate and helps put those beautiful grill-marks on your patties.

Turn burgers only once and never, ever, press burgers with the back of a spatula: the sizzling sound may be fun to make, but the pressure releases all of the flavorful juices.

Cook burgers properly for safety's sake; cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (170 degrees F for poultry).

To check the temperature, insert the thermometer into the patty horizontally for an accurate reading.

Burgers may be the basic of all picnic menus, but they needn't be boring. Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato,  pickle, ketchup, mustard and onions. Try sautéed onions or bacon, the possibilities are endless. Burgers just taste better when cooked on the grill and enjoyed outdoor

MOTHER'S DAY WISH, A PERFECT FAMILY

A perfect family is what we all wish for. We see people that have families that are much different than ours. As experience their unique culture, we wish we had a family like them. But really, having a perfect family isn’t possible. We all will have problems and accomplishments that make us unique from every other family in the whole wide world. So, think hard about how different your family is. Appreciate that you have a family and never alone because they help us through tough times. It is never foolish to wish for a perfect family but is foolish to abandon your special family.

Grandma's Recipe for a Loving Family
4 cups of love
2 cups of loyalty
3 cups of forgiveness
1 cup of friendship
5 tablespoons of hope
2 tablespoons of tenderness
4 quarts of faith
1 barrel of laughter

Take love and loyalty, mix it thoroughly with faith.
Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding.
Add friendship and hope.
Sprinkle abundantly with laughter.
Bake it in sunshine.
Serve daily with generous helpings.
Serves one entire home forever.
-Anonymous

February 2013 Challenge: Share your great DESSERT recipe!

 It's the month of love and we love dessert,   our group scraps of color will share one, two or three great dessert recipes.

 Today I have selective my Grandmothers 1 2 3 Cake recipe for my first great shared recipe.

The pound cake, most known as a rich cake, originally contained a pound of each of the main ingredients, including flour, sugar, and butter. That’s where the pound cake gets its name.

When I was a young girl, my grandmother didn't have a mixer she would beat this cake by hand and folded the dry ingredients in a little at a time before baking. She said it needed 300 strokes so we used to count as she mixed. She would bake it during the week for Sunday dinner, also she would bake one for my dad's Friday Night Fish Fry.

123 CAKE

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour sifted (to day we use Swans Down Cake Flour)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon bourbon

1 teaspoon orange zest, grated

1 - 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat on medium speed 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and flavorings, creaming by hand until smooth after each addition. Spread batter into prepared 10-inch bundt pan. Bake until tester inserted into cake comes out clean ( I used the old one  finger touch), about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on rack.

Glaze with OLD-FASHIONED BOURBON GLAZE: Combine sugar, bourbon, zest and enough orange juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle onto cake.

IT'S TIME FOR BUFFALO WINGS

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY IS HERE

Try my quick and easy recipe when you don't have the time or not ready to spend  time in the kitchen.


CROCKPOT WINGS

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds chicken wings (16 wings)
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 1/2 cups any variety barbecue sauce
* 1/4 cup honey
* 2 teaspoons prepared mustard or spicy mustard
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* Tabasco to taste, optional

Preparation:

Rinse chicken wings; pat dry. Cut off and save wing tips then cut each wing at the joint to make two sections. Sprinkle wing pieces with salt and pepper; place wings on a lightly oiled broiler pan. Broil about 4 inches from the heat for 10 minutes on each side, or until chicken wings are nicely browned. Transfer chicken wings to crockpot.

In a bowl, combine barbecue sauce, honey, spicy mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Pour sauce over chicken wings. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or on High 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Serve directly from slow cooker, keeping temperature on LOW. Makes about 30 chicken wings.

Let me know what team you want to win or give me your best guest on what team is going to win. Just enjoy your day (GAME)