I am a big fan of cooking once and eating twice, but how about firing up the grill and cooking enough meat and poultry to make dishes to last all week long?
That’s the beauty of the grill; you can get the coals or grill to the perfect heat, then cook any meats you have prepped. This time of year, it’s a great way to minimize how much you heat up your kitchen. Chicken and beef cooked ahead can be warmed and used in tacos or in sauces over pasta; cold chicken and beef can be used in chef’s salads or the chicken in chicken salad; and beef, pork or chicken can be layered in lasagna.
If you like cold chicken as an entrée on a hot night, marinate chicken legs or other parts and have them ready to cook when the grill heats up. If you cook vegetables on the grill that have been seasoned and tossed with olive oil, you can pull them out to combine with tofu or other protein, add them to a wrap spread with hummus for a healthy sandwich, use them on naan or other flatbread for a veggie pizza, or serve over cheesy polenta with an egg on top.
Grilled flank steak can be used in a quesadilla or a dinner-worthy caprese salad, while grilled corn can be used for salads, burritos or huevos rancheros.
So now that grilling season is officially here, take advantage of it by making your weeknight suppers easier to pull together. You can even grill pineapple, then use it in granola or fried rice.
Here is a simple chicken recipe from allrecipes.com that can be grilled on the weekend, then used for weeknight meals.
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1. Blend vinegar, oil, garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper in a blender until well combined. Place chicken in a glass dish or bowl and pour marinade over top. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours.
2. When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess. Discard remaining marinade.
3. Cook chicken on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 6 to 7 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees.
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