Another take on the hotdog!

Now that Summer is in full swing.... grillin' is also in full swing!

I have a serious love for hotdogs on the grill!!!

The Food Network Magazine (June 2011) had a great layout with

World-Class Hotdogs .... we decided to give them

a try (I think some people were getting sick of the plain dogs!!)!

We chose their American Dog...

Hotdog,

BBQ Sauce,

Pulled Pork....

topped with some coleslaw!

Serve with a side of Marinated Mediterranean Salad

and a yummy Strawberry drink (recipe coming soon!).

Caribbean Lime Pork Chop with Mango-Lime BBQ Sauce

These pork chops are simply DE-vine!!

So much flavor-so little work!

I had so many limes in my fridge and these chops in the freezer just waiting to get together:)

I worked on the flavor combo for quite a few days before I just started throwing the ingredients over the top of the pork. I was bouncing ideas of whoever would listen:)

I think this is a total winner and perfect for the Memorial Day weekend grill-out!

~~

First off the marinade:

Juice and zest of 2 or 3 limes

Mrs. Dash Caribbean Citrus Spice blend

Cilantro

Marinade for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Throw 'em on the grill until cooked through.

Mango-Lime BBQ Sauce

Mangoes

Lime juice+zest

Favorite BBQ sauce

Caribbean Citrus spice-Mrs. Dash

salt and pepper

Mash mango and add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until thickened.

Top pork chops with sauce and serve.

Wasn't that super easy?!?

Deeelish!:)

Printable Recipe

BBQ Pork Panini

Let me start by telling you up front... you need to plan ahead

to make this delicious panini!!! One of the first things

we learned in Home-Economics in middle school was to read the recipe

completely through before even starting but it is the one

thing I forget to do!

This panini is a Neely's recipe from Food Network and is a awesome

one with all the right ingredients... bbq, cheese, pork and yep, love the pickles!

Start by making a dry rub with sugar, paprika and onion powder.

Pat the rub into the pork until it is covered. Cover with plastic wrap

and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour.

Place roast pork into oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

When cooked, tent roast with foil so juices will settle.


Slice thin.

Slice your bread... I used a good Ciabatta bread!

Mix butter and garlic in small bowl.... spread on bread, followed

by your favorite bbq sauce.

Layer on the thinly sliced pork......

Top with cheese....

And finally the pickles... one of the best parts for me!!

Heat your panini press and grill the sandwich until the bread is toasty

and the cheese is melted.

Slice and serve warm!

Wouldn't a big dollop of potato salad just top of this plate?

Yumm!!!

Printable Recipe

Blackberry BBQ Meatballs

This one is a quick and easy meal for those crazy busy school nights!

The kids really loved it {the adults did too;)}

You'll need a bag {gasp} of meatballs

If you want you could totally make your own meatballs,

I just don't happen to have a ton of time on my hands these day:)

1 c. blackberry jam

2 c. barbecue sauce {your favorite brand}-I used Sweet Baby Rays

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange the meatballs in an 8x8 baking pan and heat in the oven for 10 mins.. Place the jam and BBQ sauce in a medium sauce pan and simmer on medium heat for about 5 to 10 mins. Pour sauce over meat ball and return to oven for 15 mins. Let cool for 5 mins. Serve with your favorite side dish.

Enjoy:)

Printable Recipe

Chili-Rubbed BBQ Pork Chops

Here's a Summers almost here type of a meal for you-but it's all done inside!

Yes I do realize that the first day of Spring was only days ago;)

Chili-Rubbed BBQ Pork Chops

4 pork loin chops 3/4 to 1 inch thick

garlic salt

ground black pepper

2 T. chili seasoning

1/2 c. or more bottled barbecue sauce

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet or broiler pan with foil. Place chops on baking sheet. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Rub with chili seasoning.

Broil chops 6 inches from heat for 4 mins per side. Brush chops with BBQ sauce; broil for 1 min. Turn chops and brush with additional BBQ sauce. Broil for 1 more min or until cooked through {160 degrees F}. Serve hot.

On the side of these pork chops were Bourbon Baked Beans.

2 cans {16 oz. each} baked beans, drained

1/2 c. chili sauce

1/4 c. real bacon pieces

1/4 c. bourbon {optional}

2 T. packed brown sugar

1 T. molasses

In a medium sauce pan, combine baked beans, chili sauce, bacon. bourbon, brown sugar, and molasses. Bring to a boil over med-high heat; reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 min.

Serve hot.

This was this evenings delicious supper-even the kids thought it was good:)

It is very quick and easy to prepare too!

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Dessert First~

Nothing wrong with having your dessert 1st right;) This recipe I saw at Mama Makes it Best blog by Cassie and it was so good plus the kids loved it!! I took the recipe straight from her blog-but I did change a couple things and I will let you know what they were following the recipe.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Nigella Lawson

Bottom:

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup of creamy peanut butter
Top:

9 ounces (1 cup + 1 TB) milk chocolate pieces or chips
4 ounces (1/2 cup) bittersweet chocolate pieces or chips
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Mix all the bottom ingredients by hand until they are well incorporated. It may look sandy and that's ok.
2. Press the mixture into a pyrex or brownie pan, the size really depends on how thick you want your bars. I used a 7 x 11 glass baking dish which I thought was perfect. Make the surface as even as possible.
3. Melt the chocolates and butter in a saucepan on low, then spread evenly on top of the base. If you have leftover chocolate chips, toss on top.
4. Put the dish in the refrigerator to set. When the chocolate has hardened (it takes approx. 1.5 hours for the chocolate, but the longer the better for a firmer peanut butter base) cut into squares

{First I didn't use bittersweet chocolate I used German sweet chocolate and I used 1/2 c. chunky peanut butter and 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter. I also didn't have any unsalted butter on hand so I used regular sweet cream salted. Overall we really liked them and will make them again!}

Printable Recipe

~~~

Now this is what we had for Saturday night supper-The Deen Brothers' BBQ Chicken, with Polenta and Potato Salad. We used a boneless chicken breast instead of using bone-in chicken pieces. I have alway wanted to try Polenta and when I saw a simple recipe for it I decided this would be the perfect time to try it out.

Above is the chicken- I kinda wish I would have grilled it though.

BBQ Chicken

1 c. ketchup

1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar

2 T. orange juice

1 t. Worecestershire sauce

1 t. liquid smoke

1/2 t. dry mustard powder

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 3-1/2 lb chicken cut into 8 pieces

or

use 4 to 6 chicken breast boneless

Preheat oven to 375* or prepare grill-brush the grill grate lightly with oil.

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except the chicken. Reserve 1/3 c. of the sauce; set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining sauce in the bowl, turning to coat.

Arrange the coated chicken in a roasting pan or on the grill. Cook {covered if grilling} for 40 to 45 mins or until cooked through, basting with the reserved 1/3 c. sauce after 20 mins.

Printable Recipe

Polenta

1 c. cornmeal

3 c. water

1 c. water {cold}

1 c. cheddar cheese

1/4 c. cream

1 t. salt

1/4 t. smoked Paprika

1/2 t. grill seasoning

In a large saucepan bring the 3 c. water to a boil. In a bowl combine cornmeal, 1 c. cold water and 1 t. salt; gradually add to the boiling water. Add the cheese, cream, paprika and grill seasoning-cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat; stir occasionally. Spread onto a sheet pan and cool slightly, cut into squares and serve. You don't have to do this last part if you want to you can just pile it onto the plate. I wanted to serve it under the BBQ chicken:)

Printable Recipe

This is a really quick, easy, and delicious meal:)

Try it soon!

Enjoy!