BBQ Chicken Breasts

Now that spring is here to stay it's time to whip out your blow torches (I have 3 if you need to borrow one) and light those Weber Grills up.  

A few weeks ago the track teams had an off weekend so we celebrated with a BBQ, and while most of my teammates brought frozen burgers and the traditional fixings I wanted to try a new BBQ chicken recipe out.  

The chicken is easy you just need to prepare ahead and might need to buy a few seasonings you might not have in the cupboard (don't worry cumin is a great flavor).  It is best to marinade ahead and let the flavors soak into the chicken breasts for at least an hour.  

I also made a sweet (sweet as in sugary but also sweet as in awesome) sauce to baste over the chicken and pile on top because it is finger licking good (I didn't measure everything completely so some of these are guesses, but it is more fun that way)!

Enjoy this Just Good Food, and coming soon a special on crepes!

Recipes:  (Makes 3 large chicken breasts)

3 large chicken breasts (tenderized)

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp's worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp's olive oil

1 tbsp mustard

2 tbsp honey

salt and pepper

BBQ Sauce: (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup ketchup 

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp red wine vinegar 

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp's chili powder

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

First, cut and clean each chicken breast before tenderizing (instead of smashing to a thin layer, poke all over with a forks so all the seasonings soak in).  

It is simple really though, place the chicken breasts in a tupperware container and pour all the liquid ingredients over first followed by all the spices.  

Seal tightly with the top and flip and turn it so all the seasonings get soaked into the chicken (you can also get your hands dirty and rub them over the chicken if you wish).  

Place in the fridge for an hour, or more, before grilling.

After refrigerating, fire up that grill and make sure it is at a medium-low heat of around 275 degrees.  Be sure to also clean off the grill top so the chicken breasts don't stick and get torn up (a good way to maintain a stick free grill top is to spray with pam or an oil spray of some sort).

Grill each side of the chicken for 5-6 minutes and make sure it retains its juices but isn't pink before serving.  When flipping the breast you can also baste them with the sauce.

Serve with home fries, some greens and plenty of sauce!

For the sauce simply pour all the ingredients into a saucepan that is on low heat, let it reduce so the flavors marriage well.  Serve over the chicken.

Pasta Recipe

As promised here is the super easy super delicious homemade pasta recipe.  Like I said previously, it only requires 5 ingredients (4 of which are almost always in your house) and the best part is the noodles will be ready to go as the water begins to boil.

Though I have a pasta roller (very nice but not necessary) all you need is a rolling pin and knife to cut the dough into the noodle shape you prefer (this is also a very easy way to make ravioli, and now I got excited to try that out)!

The options are endless, you can add cheese, meet, fresh spinach, pesto...the list goes on.  If I haven't convinced you yet it may be hopeless, but try it out, have fun with it, and Enjoy this Just Good Food!

Recipe: Serves 3-4

1 1/2 cups semolina flour (link is the stuff I use)

2-3 tbsp water 

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 whole eggs

salt

flour (optional for dusting)

Directions:

First, boil the water for the pasta so you can realize the dough can be made in just a few minutes (the dough  can also be made ahead of time and in large batches, which is what I do).

Get a large bowl out and mix the semolina flour and salt together, add the wet ingredients (I usually add closer to 3 tbsp of water to ensure everything sticks together) and adjust as needed.  

Knead the dough for a few minutes to break air bubbles and form everything really well.  After, you can either place in the fridge, for at least 20 minutes, or rollout and form the pasta right away.  

When you are ready to roll out the pasta, dust a countertop with a handful of flour (this avoids sticking) and begin to roll out the pasta to a very thin consistency (play around with this, but if it is too thick it will take longer to cook).  Now get a sharp knife and cut/shape dough into desired pasta shape.  

Once completed you are ready to cook the pasta.  Carefully bring the noodles over to the water as you don't want to break them.  Get your strainer ready as the noodles won't take more than 2 minutes, YES 2 MINUTES, to cook.  

 Boom, serve drizzled with olive oil and parmesan and you will never go back to the box!