Get Your Grill On!

Spring has FINALLY arrived (kind of!), and besides the obvious signs (flowers blooming, spotting the first robin, or all of these thunderstorms!), another staple of Springtime is the smell of charcoal in the air: it’s grilling time! Our team here at the Iowa City Moms Blog has pulled together some our favorite dishes, sides, and drinks for a night out on the patio. We hope you enjoy these recipes and try them out with your own families soon! Bon apetit!

 MAIN DISHES:

Yummy Taco-Flavored Grilled Chicken

By Sara

Ingredients:IMG_20130416_175548 (1)

  • 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we buy frozen, and just thaw out what we need)
  • olive oil
  • one package of taco-seasoning (any brand)

Directions:

Cover the chicken breasts in olive oil, then add taco seasoning. Marinate (either overnight or short-term; we’ve never really noticed a difference). Place on a medium-heat grill and cook until done all the way through. This is such an easy dish, but it’s SO good! I served it with an easy pasta dish (cook some thin spaghetti and toss it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and a dash of lemon juice), and some juicy grilled pineapple (recipe in dessert section). Yum!

 Easy Grilled Pizza

By Katie

Ingredients:Katie - pizza

  • ·         One tube of pizza dough (we use Pilsbury)
  • ·         Olive oil
  • ·         Pizza sauce of your choice
  • ·         Mozzerella cheese
  • ·         Toppings of your choice

 Directions:

Rollout the pizza dough on parchment paper. Brush the top side with olive oil. On a grill heated to about 325-350, flip the pizza dough onto the grates so that the oiled side lands on the grates. While the underside is grilling, brush the top side with olive oil. Grill until the top starts to turn golden brown and then flip sides. Top with pizza sauce, toppings and cheese while the bottom is grilling. Cook until cheese is melted.

 

SIDE DISHES:

 Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Dried Cherries

By Lianna

Ingredients Lianna - brussels sprouts

  • 1-2 pounds Brussels sprouts (or enough to cover a shallow baking pan without crowding them too much. There should be a little room in between each sprout on the pan.)
  • Balsamic Vinegar (just a few splashes)
  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Cup Pecans
  • ½ Cup Dried Cherries

 Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Cut them in half or quarters if they are really big, just to make them all about the same size. Leave small ones whole. Spread them in a shallow baking pan, drizzle olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar over the top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Stir every 10 minutes or so to brown evenly. Go ahead and eat the crispy brown leaves that have fallen off—delicious Brussels sprouts chips! Add the pecans about halfway through baking time, around the 15-20 minute mark, and add the cherries for the last five minutes only.  Serve immediately. 

 Easy Summer Pasta Salad

By Katie

Ingredients:Katie- pasta salad

  • 1-2 boxes of pasta of your choice
  • Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (this is the key ingredient, do not use a different brand of dressing)
  • 1-2 cups of parmessan cheese (I use the kind that comes in a bag in the shredded cheese section)
  • Additional vegetable toppings of your choice (I often use red or green peppers, black olives, baby tomatoes, etc.)

 Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. After you have drained it, add cheese, toppings and salad dressing. Toss until coated. Refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving.

 SIMPLE Fruit Salsa

By Lana

Ingredients:Lana- fruit salsa

  • 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
  • 2 granny smith apples (or whatever you have on hand), diced and peeled if you’d like
  • 8 ounces berries (blackberries or raspberries are best), cut in half
  • 1/2 – 1 lb. strawberries, diced
  • 3-4 tablespoons jam or preserves (I often use homemade strawberry jam)

Directions:

Place the cut up fruit in a large bowl with the jam.  Stir well and place in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Stir again and serve with cinnamon and sugar pita chips or homemade cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips.

 **This is a VERY flexible recipe, but these are the amounts and types of fruit I used this time around.  We served it with Stacy’s pita chips. Yummy!

 TOSSED SALAD

By Kelsey

Ingredients:KelseySalad

  • 1 bag romaine lettuce
  • 1 apple
  • 4-5 strawberries
  • Honey Roasted Peanuts
  • Salad Dressing (I used Italian because I had it on hand…a poppy seed dressing would be delicious!)

Directions:

Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy!! Simple and delicious!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

By Tara

Ingredients:Tara - bean dip

  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies
  • 1 can black beans – rinsed and drained
  • 1 can corn – drained
  • 2 handfuls cilantro – chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic – minced
  • 5 squeezes lime juice

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together! Enjoy with your choice of tortilla chips!

 

DRINKS:

 Cherry Limeades

By Tara

Ingredients:Tara - cherry limeades

  • 2 liter lemon-lime soda
  • 1 cup lime juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 10 oz jar maraschino cherries with juice
  • 5-6 lime slices

Directions:

Chill all ingredients before mixing. Combine ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve with a ladle, including cherries and lime slices with each serving!

 

DESSERTS:

Snicker Apple Salad

By Kaitlyn

Ingredients:002

  • 1-1/2 cups cold 2% milk
  • 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 tub of Cool-Whip
  • 4 granny smith apples, chopped
  • 4 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until serving. If you don’t like pudding, you can just use the Cool-Whip!

Juicy Grilled Pineapple

By Sara  (pictured with the Taco Chicken Breasts)

Ingredients:

  • 1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
  • between 1/2 cup and 1 cup brown sugar, depending on size of pineapple
  • 1-2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Directions:

Place the chunks of pineapple onto a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar, and add butter if desired. Wrap the sheet of aluminum foil tightly around the pineapple, and place onto a medium heat grill.  Cook until all of the brown sugar (and butter) has melted.  Adding butter makes it even juicier, but to be honest it’s delicious with just the sugar!  *We also do this with peaches and pears, depending on what’s in season or what’s on sale at the store!

Iowa City Moms Blog
At Iowa City Moms Blog we’re a group of local moms who are passionate about connecting other moms to one another and to our community! Whether you’re an experienced mom, a newbie, expecting, or aspiring to be a mom someday, this blog is for you! Join us as we navigate this journey that is motherhood in the Iowa City area!

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