Grilled Corn with French Onion “Butter”

Grilled corn on the cob is probably my favorite summertime veggie. When the husks burn on the outside of the corn, the kernels practically get a steam bath and become infused with a wonderful smoky flavor. When I grill corn on the cob, I make sure to grill a lot of it! Leftovers can be reinvented into so many delicious dishes… the options are truly endless.

You can cut off the perfectly charred kernels to throw into a salad, use them to make a cold corn soup, (whew… recipe for another day, pure deliciousness!) make a salsa or dip, or even just reheat them with a little salt and butter for an easy side dish on a busy night.

Grilling corn is super easy. There are a lot of theories on how to grill the perfect ear of corn but this one seems to work best for me. Sorry there aren’t any pictures…

First, with kitchen scissors, I trim the silk fibers that are poking out of the top of the ear. Then, I peel off the first entire layer of the husk. After that, I throw the ears on to the grill, set at medium-high heat, for 25-30 minutes, turning every once in a while. Once they come off of the grill, totally black and super messy, I peel back the husk and take off the silk fibers. I guess that’s called shucking?! Ahhhhh-mazing!

Nothing can beat an ear of grilled corn slathered in melted butter and dusted with salt. But for the sake of not boring my family with the same ole’ side dish, just because I love it so much, I started doing some experimenting.

Normally I don’t have French onion dip in the fridge. Chip dip is just something I never buy. I’d rather use Greek yogurt and sour cream to make my own. I like controlling my own flavors and nutritional content when it comes to things like that. But, alas, the 4th of July left us with a tub and I figured I could use it. What was born was truly delicious and I hope you enjoy it.

Grilled Corn with French Onion “Butter”

Servings: 2
Time: 2 minutes
Level: Easy

2 ears of corn, grilled and shucked
2 tbsp. French onion dip (I used Dean’s brand)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more…)
1/2 tsp. lime or lemon juice

Mix dip, cayenne, and juice together. Spread over all sides of the corn. Yum!

Tips
– I bet you could use any dip flavor… dill, ranch, etc.

In Honor of the First Day of Summer: A Delicious Chicken and Veggie Marinade for the Grill

It has felt like summer for a month now. But today marks the summer solstice and the official first day of summer. To honor the longest day of the year we’d better fire up the grill!

This marinade is one of my favorites. It is so simple… just two ingredients! And it packs a serious punch after marinating for only 20 minutes. It simply can’t be beat.

Grilled Chicken and Vegetables Marinade

Time: 5 minutes to make, at least 20 minutes to marinade.
Servings: I marinated 2 big chicken breast and about 3 c. of chopped veggies.
Level: Easy

2/3 c. Zesty Italian dressing (you can use lite or fat free)
almost 1 Tbs. Weber Grill Kick’n Chicken seasoning

Mix ingredients together in a large zip-loc bag. Add whole chicken breasts and various chopped veggies. Seal bag and rub marinade all through chicken and veggies. Lay bag flat on the counter and let marinade sit for at least 20 minutes, turning bag a few times.

Grill over medium heat for 15- 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Yum!

Tips
– I had leftover red and green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and white button mushrooms from my Steak and Veggie Kabobs. I used those veggies plus a roughly chopped onion.
– I grilled my veggies in a grilling basket.

Steak and Veggie Kabobs

This marinade isn’t true to the original recipe because I couldn’t remember it exactly but comes from a great friend and amazing lasagna maker, Web. He made it for us a few weeks back and they were amazing!

Summertime screams “Turn on the Grill!” so that is just what we did. What better way to beat the 100° weather than to spend time outside over a fiery grill? Kidding… it always takes some convincing in this hot humidity to get the grill going in our house but tonight, it was well worth it.

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Steak and Veggie Kabobs

Time: 24 hours… but seriously about 10-15 minutes to prepare
Servings: 4-6
Level: Easy

Marinade:
1 c. Zesty Italian dressing
1/2 c. Worcestershire
1/2 c. Dale’s Low Sodium Steak Seasoning (picture in slideshow)
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Kabobs:
1 1/2 lbs. chuck roast, or your favorite cut of beef… almost anything will do, cut into big bite sized pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into big bite sized pieces
1 green bell pepper, chopped into big bite sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped into big bite sized pieces
1 onion, chopped into big bite sized pieces
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 package white button mushrooms, cut in half, length wise

In a long dish, whisk marinade ingredients together. Add meat and veggies.

Toss to coat. Cover dish in plastic wrap and let sit overnight in the fridge, stirring once or twice throughout the day.

When ready to grill, thread meat and veggies on skewers.

Grill over medium heat for 10 minutes, turning often to ensure even grilling.

Yum!

Tips
– Serve with a side of brown rice.
– Skewer pineapple and grill for a sweet addition.
– Use leftovers to make steak fajitas.

Signature Steaks

This steak recipe is a great one to have in your back pocket. It is super easy and besides the actual steaks, all of the ingredients are things you probably have on hand. We found this recipe in a newspaper article. It happens to be the favorite steak recipe of Adam Levine from the band Maroon 5.

The honey in this recipe is the key. Don’t try to use honey Dijon mustard as a short cut… well, you can and it would probably work, but the honey makes these steaks! When they char over the heat of the grill, they get toasty and smoky, and just plain awesome!

Signature Steaks

Time: about 45 minutes from beginning to end
Level: Medium
Servings: 4-6

4 rib eye steaks

Marinade:
1 c. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. honey
salt, to taste
generous splash of Worcestershire

Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high. Remove chilled marinade from refrigerator and coat the steaks. Grill over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes each side for medium rare.

Serve steaks whole or, for a large group, slice steaks thin and arrange on a platter so guests can serve themselves. Yum!

Tips
– These steaks are great served with fingerling potatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with thyme, salt, and pepper. Just throw them in the oven after you make the marinade.

– Keep your leftovers for use in quesadillas, fajitas, steak sandwiches, steak salad, etc.