Posts in orange juice
sweet citrus grilled chicken

this morning on my way home from yoga, i stopped at the store for a few ingredients for some cake recipes i am testing later this week. i walked out of the store with three of the four ingredients i went in for (of course i forgot the almond milk), bobby pins, a giant bag of blood oranges and a giant bag of pink zebra lemons. you know, just in case they run out before i get back in there again. 

the woman had to ask me what most of my items were (not uncommon). what i'm rambling on about is that i think i have a citrus addiction. i just can't get enough citrus in all it's many shapes, sizes and colors. lately, my favorite use is for meat marinades. this chicken marinade is quick to whip up and packs a lot of flavor. grilling the chicken is quick, easy, healthy and it adds even more delicious flavor. i'm usually in some sort of a hurry so i usually eat it over some sort of bed of greens with a dressing, but you could serve it over rice, roasted vegetable or mashed potatoes. whatever your little heart desires. 

sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving. 

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start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. 

then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. 

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whisk the marinade together. 

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drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). 

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place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). 

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once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. 

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if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. 

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serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction. 

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xo, a
sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving.
start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. whisk the marinade together. drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction.

friyay happy hour: sun kissed cooler

this week was the calm before the storm. i took a little "spring break" along with all the kiddos i teach and gave myself the week off from cooking. next week is the beginning of what i'm hoping will be a very busy spring and summer season for our businesses. 

so i'm going to be hitting easter weekend with the family hard. i have to soak up every last second of freedom before i'm back in the kitchen for hours on end. it is a dream job, but still a job. 

with spring in full force and easter this weekend, i was feeling something, light, bright and fruity for cocktail time. wes and i found this delicious blood orange soda at our local produce store and i knew just what to do with it. 

sun kissed cooler
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 cup citrus juice (i used a mixture of orange and blood orange). .25 cup citrus soda (or club soda if you don't like the extra sweetness). 1 tbs grenadine. 1 cup ice. start by filling your serving glass with ice. make sure you pour this drink in order and don't stir it. otherwise it will become one color before serving. 

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start by combining your citrus juice and vodka. stir well to combine. 

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pour your juice over the ice. 

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then pour in your soda. 

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finally add in your grenadine.

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 garnish with an edible flower or citrus wheel and serve. 

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xo, a

sun kissed cooler s
erves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time 3 minutes
ngredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 cup citrus juice (i used a mixture of orange and blood orange). .25 cup citrus soda (or club soda if you don't like the extra sweetness). 1 tbs grenadine. 1 cup ice. start by filling your serving glass with ice. make sure you pour this drink in order and don't stir it. otherwise it will become one color before serving. start by combining your citrus juice and vodka. stir well to combine. pour your juice over the ice. then pour in your soda. finally add in your grenadine. garnish with an edible flower or citrus wheel and serve.