Dynamite Grilled Chicken

May 10, 2014

Last Sunday I just wanted something SIMPLE. I’d had a super long, exhausting week at work and even after resting up over the weekend I just found the prospect of cooking daunting.

I didn’t want to assemble 20 ingredients or spend an hour preparing different elements of a meal. I wanted quick and tasty and healthy. Also, I wanted ricotta, which is a weird craving but I went with it and threw together a delicious spinach, tomato, and ricotta frittata (bonus breakfast leftovers), then I added some more protein with this “dynamite” chicken.

Honestly, the main reason I made the chicken was so I’d have some leftovers for lunch, and also because I wanted to use my grill for the first time this spring. Aaaaand, that was a total fail because when I went out to grill the chicken like half an hour after turning on the grill, it was totally cold. I went to plan B (the stovetop), but still need to figure out what’s going on with my grill.

Oh well…it was worth it in the end, because the flavors on this chicken will knock your socks off. It’s really got some tangy bite, which was a nice complement to the more soothing, mellow frittata. Also, it was super easy, which is always a win in my book.

Tomato Grilled Chicken with Barley Corn Salad

Jul 9, 2013

I couldn’t quite figure out what title to put on this post, because “tomato grilled chicken” just sounds weird, and “barley corn salad” doesn’t exactly scream “party in your mouth”. But trust me, this dish is not at ALL weird, and is TOTALLY a party in your mouth.

This was my first time cooking barley, and I was a little nervous. It turned out well, though I didn’t quite follow the instructions and forgot to drain the barley (I just kept cooking it til the water evaporated).

The chicken was interesting but didn’t try to overwhelm everything else, and was super moist. I was worried that it would dry out because I had to cook mine longer (accidentally bought the super fat chicken breasts), but it kept the juice in very well.

And wow, barley was a revelation! It just had this amazing texture—chewy and nutty, which paired perfectly with the crunchiness of the onions and corn, the juiciness of the tomatoes, and the creamy avocado.