Coleen's Stuck in a Grilling Rut!!!!

We are enjoying all the yummy farmer's market finds. The girls and I have been going to the Farmer's market on Saturday mornings and loading up on fresh veggies. Our meals tend to focus on those these days with a protein thrown in....Have you tried grilling corn on the cob? Yum! I soak it for at least 15 minutes then throw it on the grill (direct medium) for 10-15 minutes turning it every 3 or 4 minutes. Once it is done cooking it peels beautifully! The natural sugars in the corn caramelize and wow! you don't even need butter or salt! How about roasted beets? I dice the beets into similar size pieces (like that of a dime) and throw them in an aluminum foil packet (spray your foil first with PAM) with some olive oil or butter and salt and place on the grill (direct medium) for 20 minutes or so! Delicious! This works well with potatoes as well.
These packets (I make mine from the heavy duty aluminum foil) are wonderful for grilling anything. I stick chicken, fish or pork in them. If you are in a hurry simply dice the meat into chunks and mix with your favorite marinade. Dump it into a packet and grill! A simple chicken dish is to dice your chicken into kebob size pieces and toss with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. Throw it into a packet and grill on direct medium for a few minutes. The chicken almost steams creating a tender meat with not (crunchy) grill markings that children won't eat!

We have been pairing fun fruits together as a side dish. Our latest favorite is fresh peaches and strawberries!

Smoothies have been delicious in the morning with all the fresh fruits and berries available. My kids love this one....One cup of Banilla yogurt (stoneyfield farms organic yogurt) vanilla would work fine with 1/2 of a banana thrown in) one cup of milk and a cup of mixed berries or a peach and some strawberries. Blend and serve! Add a touch of splenda or honey if they (or you) like it a bit sweeter. If you prefer a "milk shake" consistency freeze your berries or banana the night before and add the frozen fruit to the smoothie. Morgan and I love ours like this. For mine I add a scoop of vanilla flavored protein powder. It is delicious and fills me up and keeps me satisfied for a good 4 hours. My kids like the smoothies. It makes for a quick healthy breakfast on school mornings. I pair it up with a muffin. I think my kids love this breakfast so much because they think they are eating cake and a milkshake for breakfast!