Grilled Chicken with Mandarin glaze

My Summer Solstice dinner was a success!! So much so that I'm pretty stoked I made extra so I can have the rest tonight. I was planning on doing a little Panko breadcrumb dip and baking the chicken in the oven, but after I got home from my 3 mile run (Yes! Day 1 of marathon training done!) I was hungry and figured grilling on my livesaver George Foreman would be the fastest way to fill my growling stomach.

The picture of my summer celebration cocktail didn't turn out delicious looking, but trust me when I say it was a party in my mouth and pretty much everyone was invited. Looks like I need to bust out my passion fruit vodka a little more often. I'm thinking....vodka granita? Yes, please.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken tenders (I seasoned mine with Weber's Mango Lime seafood seasoning and it was perfect)
2. 1 small can of mandarin oranges
3. 1 tablespoon sweet and hot grainy mustard
4. Less than 1/4 sugar
5. Golden Yukon potatoes
6. Frozen green beans

Instructions:
1. Boil the potatoes over high heat in salted water for about 30 minutes or until you can easily poke them with a fork and they are tender
2. Season your chicken and place it on your in-house grill or if you can, grill it outside!
3. Add the mandarin glaze, see instructions below
4. Plate and enjoy!

Mandarin glaze:
1. In a small pan on medium heat, add half of the mandarin juice from the can, the sugar and mustard.
2. Add 1/4 cup of the oranges and let simmer.
3. Spoon over chicken and green beans for an extra kick!


Mandarin Orange Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients:
1. Shot of mandarin juice from can
2. Shot of passion fruit vodka
3. 3 mandarin slices
4. Hint of lime juice
5. Stir and enjoy!!

Enjoy this delicious summer meal!

Summer Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice bloggers!! June 21st is most definitely one of my favorite days of the entire year. Why? Sunlight!!! Now, unfortunately, this year in "The Good Life" that is Nebraska, we are experiencing some torrential downpours, thunderstorms, straight 80 mph winds and tornadoes. Whah whah....But, alas! I will not let a little thing like that get me down on this longest day of the year. I had hoped to wake up early this morning to officially start my half marathon training with a 3 mile run, but after taking a magical little Tylenol PM last night, waking up early was just not in the cards for me. I'll get that run in after work instead ;) Although I want to seize the day and be outdoors, a quick 45 minutes at the gym won't kill my spirits - especially since I would probably look like a wet dog after spending any time outside. Boo, rain.

Now, onto my Summer Solstice menu! Tonight, I plan on baking up some "fried" chicken aka, not fried at all but covered in Panko breadcrumbs and baked in the oven. Then, I'm going to whip up a mandarin orange glaze for the chicken and have a side of boiled small potatoes and some green beans! Sounds pretty summery to me. But you know what would make it better? You guessed it, a cocktail! I happen to have some passion fruit vodka chilling in my freezer (wow, I've had that for a long time...shows you how much liquor this girl consumes) that I think I will mix with a little OJ and mandarin slices. Yum Yum!

Happy Summer 2011, everyone! I hope you seize the day and make the most out of the longest day of the year!

Wait. Am I in Sweden or America?

A few things about food in Sweden: they have a lot of American foods. Let's recap what I ate in one day. Pizza Hut and McDonalds. That's right, you heard me. How hilarious is that? I will say that the Pizza Hut is much different than in America and I don't even remember the last time I actually ate there. I had a prosciutto pizza and it was quite tastey. Then, after we were out and about enjoying a few beverages at...wait for it....wait for it....T.G.I. Friday's, we had to stop at Micky D's for a cheeseburger and fries!

The next day I insisted on eating lunch somewhere that I couldn't go back home. Wayne's Coffee was the place of choice and I had a yummy yummy chicken salad with quinoa, edamame, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, avocado and lettuce. It was so good. Like, so good.

Enjoy!

Enjoying a lyxshake chocolate from Max. A yummy chocolate milkshake with chunks of chocolate - holler.

Prosciutto pizza from Pizza Hut.

The order board at McDonald's. Cheeseburger and fries, please.

Delicious salad from Wayne's Coffee.