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Grilled Garlic Chicken

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Since about mid January we’ve had mild weather here in Calgary. It’s very unusual for this time of the year as we typically have tons of snow on the ground. I kid you not. In my world we would have 2-3 months of cold winter and snow with the rest of the year sunny and green.

With warm weather comes serious spring fever. Last weekend we did yard work and cleaned up the yard in preparation for planting and Spring. My rhubarb is popping up and I’m ready to start seeding the lawn and eager to start planting. The kids have already advised they will each be having their own pepper and tomatoe(s) plants again this year. Sun and warmth feels so good. With this warmer weather we find we want to grill all the time. Fish and soy sauce are always on hand here and since we are die hard grillers (we will grill in any weather unless it hits -20), it’s not the first time we fired up the BBQ this year. We served up this chicken with our Green Rice.

I prep the food, my husband tends the grill. We make a good team. The longer this chicken can marinate, the more flavour you get.

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Grilled Garlic Chicken
Serves: 4
 
The flavours in this chicken shine when allowed to marinate up to four hours or overnight. If you do not have the time, give the chicken at least 30 minutes to get cozy with the marinade.
Ingredients
  • 6 bone in/skin on chicken thighs
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro
  • 2 tbsp garlic
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp water
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Loosen the skin on your chicken thighs with your hand keeping skin intact. Put into plastic storage bag & set aside.
  2. In a small food processor or blender, combine cilantro, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Puree until you have a smooth liquidy paste.
  3. Pour marinade into storage bag with chicken and smooshie the bag to combine. Close and store in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
  4. When ready to cook ,preheat your grill to medium high. Cook thighs over high heat until brown then move over to indirect heat and continue to cook 20-25 minutes or until cooked through (juices run clear).
  5. Remove to plate and set aside to rest.

 

Grilled Garlic Chicken
Grilled Garlic Chicken

Grilled Citrus Chicken

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My kid watches me in the kitchen and has been doing so since she was little. She’s 9, almost 10 going on 14. She’s a true Leo as she was so stubborn during her birth, that after 64 hours of labour, she ended up being escorted out of my belly via emergency C-section. She brings this stubbornness into the kitchen when she bakes. Always wanting to race ahead, and do things her way without reading instructions properly or sitting back to listen & learn. I do love this about her, but it can be challenging.

A couple weeks ago I gave my kids a chicken challenge. Cook any kind of (simple) chicken dish you wanted for supper. Think about it, go through recipe books, or make up a recipe. Hailey’s first idea was to make up a watermelon marinade for the chicken. Since we don’t care for grilled watermelon, and watermelon logged chicken didn’t seem to appeal, I talked her out of it (maybe a mistake?). I could have googled ideas, but I wanted this to be hers. So I suggested she think up something different. She decided on this citrus chicken. Created it entirely on her own. I directed her to the fresh herbs, she smelled & tasted and decided which she wanted to add to the marinade. She loves grilled halloom cheese (from Superstore) and knew she wanted grilled this cheese as part of her meal (she calls it the squeaky cheese), with the grilled chicken placed on top. And her favourite Tabbouleh Salad. I helped with suggesting grilled lemon or lime on top. Her dad did all the grilling.

For the first time we worked together in the kitchen (I helped with the chopping) without any battles. It was flawless and so much fun to watch her follow her vision. And she did an amazing job. While it may not happen again anytime soon, this mom is super proud.

To assemble plate place a little salad on bottom of plate in a circle. Add a slice of grilled halloom cheese. Top with a piece of grilled chicken and if using, grilled lemons or limes.

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Grilled Citrus Chicken
Author: 
Recipe type: dinner, lunch
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 8-10 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint & fresh oregano, chopped
  • 1 pckge Halloom Cheese
  • Additional lemons or limes for grilling
Instructions
  1. Zest the orange, lemon and lime until you get about 1 tsp of each.
  2. After zesting, juice each fruit pouring all juice and zest into Ziploc bag.
  3. Add oil, a pinch of both salt and pepper, mint, oregano and chicken.
  4. Marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.
  5. Preheat BBQ to medium high. Slice halloom cheese lengthwise into 8 pieces.
  6. Grill for about 2-3 minutes or until golden. Carefully flip (some cheese may stick to grill) and grill other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove & set aside.
  7. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
  8. Assemble plates as suggested above
Notes
Slice extra lemons or limes and place right on preheated grill. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side or until you get a nice char.

 

Grilled Citrus Chicken
Grilled Citrus Chicken

 

 

Planning dinner & making a list
Planning dinner & making a list

 

Thai Inspired Chicken

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This is one of those recipes I’ve gone past several times…always drawn to the quantity of fresh herbs used. Rummaging through my fridge recently I discovered I had all the herbs required to make that “Thai Chicken” recipe. Fortunately I also had some green curry paste and was inspired to add some more flavour to the dish.

Happy to report this recipe got 4 thumbs up…the family loved it. The kidlets did not complain about the herbs at all even commenting on how much they enjoyed it. Fresh Tasting & Flavourful.

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Thai Inspired Chicken
Author: 
Recipe type: Chicken, Dinner, Food For One, Grilling, Kid Friendly, Lunch
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ – ½ cup fresh basil, chopped fine
  • ¼ – ½ cup fresh mint, chopped fine
  • ¼ – ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
  • 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp green curry paste
  • ¼ cup oil (canola or olive)
  • splash of your favourite hot pepper sauce
  • 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR bone in, skin on chicken thighs
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients except chicken in ziplock bag. Squishy it to mix flavours. If you find it a little on the dry side add some more oil. Add chicken, squeezing to ensure marinade permeates chicken.
  2. Let stand 30 minutes at room temp or longer in fridge to develop flavours. Remove chicken from marinade and discard.
  3. For boneless chicken breasts grill over medium heat approx 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
  4. For bone-in chicken thighs grill over medium low heat for approximately 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

For this recipe I pulled out of the freezer both bone-in chicken thighs and boneless chicken breasts as they needed to be used up. I threw them all into the marinade noting the different cooking times for the chicken. Each morsel tasted equally divine.