Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad with Avocado and Parmesan.

I think it should come as no surprise to you that I'm not much of a healthy eater. I don't eat salads very often, and when I do, it's usually loaded with non-salady things. Like ranch dressing. And pizza.


I came across this recipe in my REAL SIMPLE: Easy, Delicious Home Cooking (Spring / Summer 2012) magazine. Eric and I decided to give it a whirl because it looked fairly uncomplicated and also because it involved Parmesan cheese. I love Parmesan cheese.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND CORN SALAD WITH AVOCADO AND PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS
1/4 fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 6-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 ears corn, shucked
5 oz. baby spinach
1 avocado, cut into bite-size pieces
2 oz. Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer half of this dressing to a small bowl; set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining dressing and coat.

2. Rub the corn with the remaining olive oil and seasons with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Grill the corn and chicken, covered, turning occasionally, until the corn is tender and charred, 4-6 minutes, and the chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cobs and slice the chicken.

3. In a large bowl, toss the chicken, corn, spinach, and avocado with the reserved dressing. Top with shaved Parmesan.

NOTE:
We've always pan-grilled both the chicken and the corn, instead of grilling them outside. I'm sure the outside grills gives it a great charred taste, but just know that if you're in a pinch, a frying pan will work just fine. Also, if you're going to pan-grill the corn, try parboiling it for a few minutes first to soften up the kernels.

We've used both corn on the cob and canned corn. Both work fine.

This recipe is pretty much foolproof. Even after a few slip-ups on following directions, it still comes out just as tasty as the time before. I've gotten to the point where I combine all of the oil and herbs together at once, split half for chicken and half for corn, and then don't need any to dress my salad because everything else is already so flavorful. (As you can see in the salad above.) Really, it's foolproof.

This meal is surprisingly easy to make and leaves you satisfied and filled, without feeling heavy. The rosemary and lemon are the stars of the show, so make sure to buy fresh when it comes to those ingredients.

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Recipe: Oven Fried Chicken.

I bought a new cookbook.

It's this one.

The other night, Boyfriend and I decided to try out our first recipe.

This recipe was destined to go one of two completely different ways: Boyfriend loves fried chicken. I'm not really a fan.

Here are the details.

OVEN "FRIED" CHICKEN
According to Real Simple magazine

Ingredients:
-Canola oil for the rack
-1/2 teaspoon paprika
-Kosher salt and black pepper
-1 cup buttermilk
2 3/4 pounds bone-in chicken parts, skin removed
1 cup crushed buttery crackers, like Ritz


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375. Oil wire rack and place it inside of a baking sheet.
2. In a shallow dish, combine paprika, buttermilk, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add chicken and turn to coat.
3. Place crackers in a shallow bowl. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and coat in crackers. Press gently to help stick the crackers.
4. Place chicken on wire rack and bake until crispy (or until thermometer reads 160F for white meat and 165F for dark meat). Make sure to turn chicken halfway through the cooking process, at roughly 20 minutes.

Notes:
-For the wire rack, we used olive oil.
-We don't have kosher salt. We used cheap-ass Morton.
-I let the chicken sit in the buttermilk for about 20 minutes because I've heard all the fancy chefs on TV say that the enzymes in buttermilk are good for breaking down the meat.
-I only like chicken breasts. So that's what we used. Before beginning any of the recipe, I placed them in a Ziploc freezer bag and beat the shit out of them with a rolling pin. That way, they'd be nice and tender. Then, I cut each breast into 2-3 strips. Because I like chicken strips.
-We used grocery store brand "butter crackers". I wasn't disappointed.
-Since we used "tenderized" breasts, we also only cooked it for approximately 35 minutes total.

Review:
This chicken never got "golden" or "fried" looking like the picture in the magazine. And it didn't really TASTE like fried chicken either. With that said, this chicken was really good. The meat was juicy and tender. The coating really was rich and buttery. And if there's one thing I like, it's RichAndButtery. It reminded me of something I would have eaten when I was little. Like, if I lived in the south or something. Because they eat a lot of fried chicken in the south, right? Anyway, it was definitely a kid-friendly meal, that's for sure.

Serving up this plate of belly-filling goodness made me feel like a real life June Cleaver. It seems really wholesome and familyish. The leftovers were even good the next day. I think next time, I might try adding more paprika to the buttermilk and salt/ pepper to the crushed crackers.

This recipe was easy to make and yielded a filling result. Make this on Friday night and you'll have a great snack to take to the beach on Saturday.

Boner'ppetite!

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