What's Cookin' Good lookin'

Summer is tasty. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies and lots of things that taste better when cooked over flame. Grilling seems synonymous with summer to me. The only thing better than stuff cooked over fire is not cooking at all. That's right, planned leftovers. Here are a couple of my current favorites:

1. BBQ chicken and corn, BBQ chicken salad
First night grill a couple of boneless skinless chicken thighs on the grill. Top with favorite BBQ sauce, which at our house means Sweet Baby Rays. Grill some corn on the cob to go with it. Make sure to do extra of both. Serve with start of choice, grilled potatoes perhaps?

Second night, usually a day or two later. Collect lettuce and cilantro from garden, wash and shred. Cut up chicken and cut corn off the cob. Add a piece or two of crumbled Bacon and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Toss all of the above over the lettuce and top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce.

2. Chipolte Lime Chicken and corn, Southwestern Chicken Salad
First night grill up a whole butterflied chicken (the store will do this for you if you ask) that has been drizzled with lime juice and rubbed with chipolte seasoning. It takes about an hour to grill this way, if you do it low and slow. Add some corn to the grill and round out your dinner with some Mexican rice (steamed brown rice with a dolop of salsa, dash of cumin,red pepper,and garlic salt). When your done pull all the extra meat off the bones and toss your bones in the crock pot with some water to make some stock.

Dinner two means visiting the garden again. Yes, we eat a lot of salad in the summer. In addition to the lettuce, chicken and left over corn, add black beans, avocado, a handful of Mexican cheese and a bit more cilantro. Crush up one handful of corn chips and toss them on too. Mix 1 part of ranch dressing with 1 part of salsa and dress your salad. Delish!

My kids are not big salad eaters so I don't make the salads for them. Instead I give them all the ingredient separately and big lettuce leaves and let them make there own wraps. Much more fun and much easier for little people.

Next up, the best ice cream sammies you will ever eat!