Memorial Day & Meal Monday

First things first - happy Memorial Day!  My husband and I both have relatives who have served in the military, and we are so thankful that there are people in this world who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

As I was searching for pictures and quotes to honor our soldiers, I came across some that just pulled on my heartstrings.  I knew I had to share them.

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Let's not forget those who continue to serve so that we can live our lives to the fullest.  The words "thank you" just don't seem like enough.  Please keep our soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

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I do have some meal inspiration to share with you today as well.

Now that the weather has been nicer, we've been taking advantage of using our grill as much as possible.  One of our favorites is grilled chicken, and we always make extra so we have leftovers for wraps, sandwiches, or salads.

When it comes to grilling, I let my husband do the actual grill work.  I, on the other hand, do the most important part - the prep.  He insists that the food is so good because of the "way he grilled it" (are there ways?), but I am convinced it's all in the prep.

We made grilled chicken cutlets, home fries with onions, corn on the cob, and salad.  We bought the thin chicken because it grills faster and more evenly.

I started by marinating the chicken per my usual routine (you can read about it back HERE).  For the home fries, I used baby red potatoes and sliced them fairly thick.  Because they take so long on the grill, I cook them about halfway in the microwave first.  I put the slices of potatoes in a big (microwaveable) bowl, fill it with water, and then drain them to rinse them.  Then I just add about an inch of water to the bottom of the bowl and cover it with Saran Wrap.  I microwave them for about 3-4 minutes and stir them, and then I usually put them back in a few more minutes.  You want them to be tender but not falling-apart-soft. 

While they're microwaving, I slice up onions and put those in a big foil casserole pan with some vegetable oil.  Once the potatoes are somewhat tender, I add them to the foil pan and add lots of salt, pepper, dried parsley, and dried paprika.  You pretty much can add any spices you like at this point; these are just the ones we prefer.  I give it all a good stir so the potatoes and onions are coated with a thin layer of the vegetable oil, and then my husband puts the foil pan out on the grill so the potatoes can finish cooking and get all brown and crispy. 

Mmmmmm.  I love potatoes.

We do something similar with our corn on the cob.  I put the cobs in a foil casserole pan and chop up a whole stick of butter into smaller slices all over the corn (I know, I know - lots of butter - but you don't really eat all of that - you'll see).  My husband puts the pan on the grill and keeps turning the corn in the melted butter.  It doesn't take that long to cook - maybe about 10 or so minutes - but keep it over medium heat.  It will start to slightly brown towards the end.  Then you remove it from the foil pan and serve!  You can pour the browned butter that's leftover in the bottom of the pan over the cobs if you want, but that's optional.  I like to top my corn with a mix of a little salt, paprika, and parmesan cheese.  Soooooo good. 

My salad was simple this time - I just chopped up some romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and sharp cheese, and then I added Brianna's Asiago Caesar dressing. 

This is such a yummy, easy meal that all of us love, especially my 5 year old!  Plus, like I said before, I always have my husband grill extra chicken.  We ended up having chicken Caesar wraps the next day, and they were delicious!  Of course, I forgot to take a picture.

Then, last night, I was invited to a ladies' dinner at a friend's house and - get this - I remembered to take a few pictures (before I had wine...duh).

 

She had a beautiful spread out for when we arrived: homemade bread, cheese, homemade hummus, olives, pistachios, and wine.  That was enough for me!  I could have just snacked on that stuff with my wine and been just fine.

 

My friend made Ina Garten's curried chicken salad.  It was perfect for a warm spring night - light and refreshing.  I am not a big fan of curry, but this was DELICIOUS!  She served it on lettuce and one of her other guests brought a cold asparagus salad.  It was a great complement to the chicken.

 

The asparagus salad had pecans in it - YUM - and its dressing was a mixture of olive oil, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, and a little sugar.

 

For dessert, we had a Williams-Sonoma recipe: raspberry rhubarb fools.  She used rhubarb she grew herself and added some pound cake in between the layers to make it more like a trifle.  Mine didn't last long!

Hope you had a good weekend.  Thanks for stopping by today, and happy Memorial Day!