Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken & Salad w/Lemon Pepper Dressing

Category: grilling, poultry | Difficulty: easy & fun!

Hi folks, I'm breaking my vacation cause I can't stand to be away much longer! It's been a cruel four days! YIKES! I miss my foodie friends so much, I miss blogging and looking through recipes and I miss twittering. I thought I could stay away and I have to reward myself for not doing anything for three days but I simply couldn't take anymore! Don't kill me!! But today I started doing my research and I have a bunch of grilling recipes to share with your over the next few weeks so be sure to come as often as possible!!!!!!! Today, I've got lemon pepper chicken for you, I love using lemons in my chicken cause you know how bland chicken is on its own and it needs big flavors to help it out. Lemons are great for doing just that!

You might be asking, "What did you do on your vacation?" Well, Thursday, I slept late (I was dog tired) and then hubby and I went out for lunch to China Buffet and we filled our faces with honey chicken, sweet n sour chicken, green beans, pork fried rice, white rice with sweet n sour sauce, teriyaki chicken, baked fish, buttered potatoes, dinner rolls, ribs, and chocolate vanilla pudding. It was so good and after we got home, I took a wonderful nap - oh yeah baby I was FULL! I watched movies that night and stayed up late!!! I never get to stay up late as I want and it was just refreshing to do whatever I felt like doing. Hubby served me Friday whatever I wanted and boy did I enjoy that! Saturday I went out and worked in my back yard and just enjoyed the plants and the weather was nicer, not so hot so I stayed out there a bit. Then I went to bed to nap more and I can't tell you how refreshing it was to let my mind wander and not think about bills, emails, deadlines, or even answering the phone. I hope to take time off more often!

But of course, I never take a vacation from cooking and I love to marinate my chicken prior to grilling for as long as possible and oftentimes if I have time overnight. The longer you can do this, the more intense the flavor will be and the longer it has to get into the chicken and merry. Since lemon is our theme for this meal, I'm going to also serve it up with a salad using lemon pepper salad dressing and I'll have that recipe for you further down, but first to talk about the marinade...

For the Marinade:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. EVOO
1/3 c. lemon juice also use lemon shavings
2 tbsp. parsley
6 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
1 small garlic clove, peeled, sliced thinly
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper (McCormick California Style)

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in bowl (except the chicken). Melt butter in microwave or in saucepan until it melts and pour in mixture. Then add chicken and marinate it for at least 1 hour.

Grill about 4 inches from heat 3 to 5 minutes per side or until cooked through turning once and basting with sauce until fork tender.

Now to serve this main course up right, let's put it with a salad with lemon pepper salad dressing!


Lemon Pepper Salad Dressing



Mix any green you like with carrots, olives, and anything you like! Serve with the lemon pepper salad dressing and please try making your own, this recipe is so easy and you'll know exactly what you're eating! I still buy salad dressings but I really like making my own.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. each whole pink peppercorns and green peppercorns
1 c. EVOO
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. white rice vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. sugar

Preparation:
Lightly crush peppercorns with a mortar and pestle then pour crushed peppercorns into a medium bowl, add remaining ingredients and whisk until blended. Pour into a jar. It will make 1-1/4 cups and will store for one month. This way you'll have more whenever you make another salad!

So what did I learn from taking my vacation? Well, truth be told I wasn't taking care of myself too well - trying to control too many things in my life instead of letting them go and letting God take care of them. I even convinced myself that I couldn't afford to take a vacation cause I needed to work. What a load of crock? Everybody needs a break, how can I expect to be at my best when I work 365 days a year? So, my body actually taught me a valuable lesson, if I don't take regular time off, my body will take it for me. And, I don't want to be that tired going on vacation again! WHOO!