Tag Archives: grill recipes

Mexican Chicken and Avocados on the Grill!

Believe it or not, my RV does actually come with a stove and oven, but I love any excuse to cook on the grill.  It is that added smokey flavor makes things taste wonderful.

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Oh and there is the fact that the husband insists on being the one to cook on the grill.  Who is going to argue with that?

Anyway, let’s talk about the food!

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Mexican Grilled Chicken and Avocados

2 Chicken breasts
2 Avocados
Olive Oil
Shredded lettuce
Tomatoes (chopped)
Mild Thick and Chunky Salsa
Refried Beans

Marinade

8 scallions (chopped)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Once the chicken has marinated, it is ready to grill!

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes.  Half the avocados and remove the seed.  Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill.  Cook for 5 minutes.

mexican grilled chicken and avocados

Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with  taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream.  Add a side of  refried beans to your grilled avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive meal!

Mexican Grilled Chicken and Avocados
Recipe Type: Mexican style dinner
Author: Suzy Myers
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 servings
A spicy Mexican combo made special with the grill!
Ingredients
  • 2 Chicken breasts
  • 2 Avocados from Mexico
  • Olive Oil
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Tomatoes (chopped)
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • Old El Paso Mild Thick and Chunky Salsa (need a coupon?)
  • Old El Paso Traditional Refried Beans (need another coupon?)
  • [b]Marinade[/b]
  • 8 scallions (chopped)
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.
  2. Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Once marinated, place chicken on heated grill to cook.
  4. While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes. Half the avocados and remove the seed. Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.
  5. When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with Old El Paso taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream. Add a side of Old El Paso refried beans to your Grilled Avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive Cinco de Mayo meal!

What is your favorite meal to cook on the grill?

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When in Maine, we eat Lobster!

I’m a firm believer that I should make an attempt to try out life as a local where ever I end up.  So with that said, apparently those that live in Maine have a thing for lobsters.  Which means I will have to make the sacrifice and eat a lobster meal.

It will be tough, but we will just have to do it…

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

So where to go?  Well, I could name fifty restaurants in the Bar Harbor area and hundreds more along the Maine coast that sell lobster.  You see signs of that red pinchered thing everywhere.

bar harbor oceanside koa

See all those white floats in the water just off the shore?  Everyone of those is a lobster trap.  They go as far as you can see in all directions.  A passing lobster just doesn’t have a chance in Bar Harbor.

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

Lobsters, lobsters everywhere.  Lobster shirts, lobster signs, lobster salt and pepper shakers, lobster Christmas lights, lobster cookie cutters, lobster calendars…

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

Even Lobster Ice cream!  And yes, it had real chunks of lobster in it. Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium located on Main Street in Bar Harbor has lots of fun flavors in their homemade ice cream selection including Dulce de Leche, Bubblegum, (KGB) Kahlua and Bailey’s Irish Cream base ice cream with a Grand Marnier fudge swirl, Rum Raisin, Root Beer Float, and many more!

My personal goal is to try each flavor before the summer is out.  Will let you know how that goes!  For the record- I  have already tried the Lobster Ice cream.  It was ummm…. interesting.

Dave just asked me about that diet I was planning to go on… Ice cream has lots of calcium, right?

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

And speaking of diet, let’s take in a bit of seafood, why don’t we?  For our first stab at eating a real lobster, we checked out Stewman’s Lobster Pound.

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

Ever eaten a whole lobster?  Well, it is an adventure.  Our waitress recognized the slightly alarmed looks on our faces as these red crustaceans were set in front of us and took us under her wing.  She showed us how to break the the claws off, and then how to twist the tail off the body to get to the tail meat.

After warning us that we needed to remove the “chute” in the tail, she left us to our adventure.

Okay.  I’m not thrilled about looking for a “chute”, but here goes…

So, here is what we learned.  DO NOT twist the tail off the body while holding it over your plate!  Bleh!  There  is green stuff that will fall onto your plate.  This is the lobster tomalley, which is apparently the lobster’s liver and pancreas.  Many people, especially in New England, consider it a delicacy, and eat it along with the rest of the lobster.

We did not.  I will only take this “eating as the locals do” just so far!

But we both did agree that the lobsters were delicious.  Especially the tail and claws.  Now that we have officially been broken in, we plan on trying a few more before we leave the area.  After all, we are experts now!

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

On the home front, the dogs are getting used to their new surroundings.  Ralph has discovered red squirrels (which are the pretty red cousins to his nemesis the gray squirrel in Georgia).  Turns out that they are not afraid of him either.

Ralph now spends an enormous amount of time staring out the window looking for a squirrel sighting so that he can bark like a girl.

It’s a thing.

how to eat a lobster in bar harbor maine

And Dave is busy breaking in the grill.  This week we made Spicy Chipotle Burgers and Grilled Corn on the Cob.

It wasn’t as exciting as the lobster, but it certainly was delicious.

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A look at Statesville, NC

Our first stop out of Atlanta was Statesville, NC.  Dave had previously mapped out our route to Maine and randomly chose four KOA’s to stop at on the way up.  Strategically, he wanted them to be no more than 300 miles apart, as driving a huge RV in traffic can be extremely tiring.   And I am currently not approved by either one of us to take on that task…

statesville north carolina koa camping

Our plan is to stay a few days if we love it, or leave the next day if we don’t.  Arriving in early April to Statesville KOA was a treat with beautiful spring flowers to greet us.  We were quite happy with this location!

statesville north carolina koa camping

Statesville is located in Iredell County, in north western NC, east of Asheville.  It was named an All-American City in 2009. The city itself was founded by Scots-Irish Presbyterians and German Lutherans, who originally settled in Pennsylvania, and then moved down to Statesville to plant crops in the fertile soil where game and water were plentiful.  

statesville north carolina koa camping

One of the big draws of the area is Lake Norman.  It is a man made lake created between 1959 and 1964.  The dam was constructed by Duke Power and is reputed to be the largest manmade body of fresh water in NC.

Seems we always end up at dams, doesn’t it?  We love the big beautiful lakes.  Oh and there is the fact that you can say dam in just about every sentence.

A stress reliever, right?

statesville north carolina koa camping

If you love to fish, then Lake Norman is for you.  There are yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, and striped, largemouth and white bass.  Lake Norman State Park features 33 campsites with tent pads, picnic tables and grills. The park is open year round for campers.

statesville north carolina koa camping

While perusing the lake and saying dam a lot, we ran across Eddie’s Seafood and Raw Bar.  Since it seems to be named after my brother, naturally I was interested in stopping.  But I have to admit that the main draw was the fact that it sits right on Lake Norman.

statesville north carolina koa camping

There was plenty of seating inside and the atmosphere was awesome.  However, we chose like everyone else that day to eat out on the back porch.

statesville north carolina koa camping

Dave doing his manly-man pose.

statesville north carolina koa camping

We sat back and enjoyed the view.  There were folks already out on the lake water skiing, and a few children playing on the shore.  A very pretty spot.

statesville north carolina koa camping

And if you are wondering about the food, we can say that it was delicious.  We both ordered the Blackened Fish Sandwich.  Dave suggests that you add the slaw to the sandwich before eating it.

Excellent.

If you are in the Statesville area and looking for a nice place with great atmosphere for lunch or dinner, be sure to check out Eddie’s Seafood and Raw Bar.

statesville north carolina koa camping

That evening, I needed to do a post for Suzy’s Sitcom on Easy Tangy Barbequed Pork Chops.  Believe me, this is a simple recipe.  It is easy to make and delicious.

See, even Ralph thinks it looks good.  Something tells me that I shouldn’t turn my back on him…

statesville north carolina koa camping

I put my handy-dandy grill cook to work, and sat back to enjoy the atmosphere.

We are really enjoying this journey so far. Our next stop is Staunton, VA.   We will be staying in another KOA there.  With a beautiful weather forecast of sunny and in the 70’s, we should have a great time.

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Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs Recipe

We took another trip in our RV this past week and visited the cool crafty town of Franklin, NC.  While we were there, I tried out my latest campfire recipe, Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

This is an easy recipe that you can make ahead of time so that when it comes to dinnertime while on vacation, you don’t have to put out a lot of effort.  That is my kind of cooking!And they are pretty darn good too!

Want to know how to make them?

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs

1 lb. cubed beef
1 lb. sausage
peppers (green, yellow and red)
mushrooms
1/2 onion

Marinade:
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

Use a gallon size ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it along with the sausage pieces and beef cubes.  Create a separate marinade batch and marinate the mushrooms separately in their own ziplock bag.  (I don’t like to mix raw meats and veggies).   Put both bags in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

Just before cooking, go ahead and cut up the peppers and onion and prepare them for the skewers.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

String your meats and veggies on wooden skewers.  Kind of a messy process, but totally worth it.  Keep your Wet-Nap wipes close and you won’t have to worry about sticky hands.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

Then place them on a hot grill.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

You will need to cook them until the beef is done.  In our case, about 15 minutes over hot coals, turning them a few times over the time period.  For even cooking, it is sometimes necessary to move the kebabs around a bit to give them all a chance at the center of the coals.

teriyaki orange beef kebabs grill recipe

These kebabs turned out fabulous!  They have a sweet and spicy mix of flavor with the tang of teriyaki and the sweetness of marmalade.  A simple meal to make, but so full of flavor and fun to eat too!

Teriyaki Orange Beef Shish Kebabs Recipe
Recipe Type: Dinner
Author: Suzy Myers
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 servings
This is an easy recipe that you can make ahead of time so that when it comes to dinnertime while on vacation, you don’t have to put out a lot of effort.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. cubed beef
  • 1 lb. sausage
  • peppers (green, yellow and red)
  • mushrooms
  • 1/2 onion
  • Marinade:
  • 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1/3 cup orange marmalade
  • 1 tbsp. vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  2. Use a gallon size ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it along with the sausage pieces and beef cubes. Create a separate marinade batch and marinate the mushrooms separately in their own ziplock bag. (I don’t like to mix raw meats and veggies). Put both bags in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
  3. Just before cooking, go ahead and cut up the peppers and onion and prepare them for the skewers.
  4. String your meats and veggies on wooden skewers. Kind of a messy process, but totally worth it. Keep your Wet-Nap wipes close and you won’t have to worry about sticky hands.
  5. Then place them on a hot grill.
  6. You will need to cook them until the beef is done. In our case, about 15 minutes over hot coals, turning them a few times over the time period. For even cooking, it is sometimes necessary to move the kebabs around a bit to give them all a chance at the center of the coals.

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Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs Recipe

I lived in Atlanta for many years, but I’m not originally from the south.  We moved to the Atlanta area from the north when I was 15.  I’m not going to say how many years ago that was, but suffice it to say, I did learn a little southern cooking.  So I want to share with you a great camping recipe, Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs!

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs

When we first moved to the south, the culture shock was pretty significant.  Learning the dialect was daunting.

Here are just a few examples of the colorful local vocabulary:

All Y’all – You, you and you!  Every one of you!
All bowed up– Ready for a fight
Mash the button : Nobody ever pushes anything around here, it is all mashed.
Buggy: That thing you probably refer to as a shopping cart
Might Could: More than likely it can be done!
Fixin-to: About to do something, or at least thinking hard about it
Eat up- Go out in the yard at night and you get eat up by mosquitos.  Seriously.

So lets practice: “All y’all are fixin-to get eat up if’n you don’t mash that button and spray those suckers.  Don’t get all bowed up.  You just might could carry yourself down to the quickie mart and fetch a buggy and some bug spray.  Reckon?”

Got it?

But vocabulary wasn’t the only thing we had to get used to.  Southern food is a whole new adventure.  Steak for breakfast, chicken and waffles, collard greens, cornbread, sweet tea, pecan pie and cobbler.  The veggies are all fried.  Which is good in a way because boiled okra is just disgusting.

Oh, and then there are grits.  Yep, not just one grit, but many.   That is one southern standby that just has never grown on me.

Recently, I tried a southern version of hotdogs.  You see, in the south, they put slaw on their hotdogs!  And you know what?  It’s actually pretty good!  So, I decided to make my own version of Southern Style Slaw Dogs.

Created by a northerner who now pretty much blends.  Want to know how?

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

 Southern Style Bacon Wrapped Slaw Dogs

Coleslaw
1/2 cup Kraft mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons vinegar
2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 cups shredded cabbage (I used pre-shredded cabbage, carrots and red cabbage)

Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs
1 (16 oz) package Oscar Mayer beef hotdogs
1 package Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar
1 package bacon
toothpicks

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Make the coleslaw ahead of time.  It needs to sit in the fridge at least two hours.  Overnight is good too.  In a large bowl, mix together all the coleslaw ingredients except the cabbage.

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Use a whisk to mix the ingredients well.

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Add in the shredded cabbage and toss well, then refrigerate.  Simple right?  My favorite kind of recipes only take a few moments so that I can get back to my craft room.  Just saying.

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Now lets work on the hotdogs.  Slice the hotdog horizontally, not going all the way through.  Then place narrow slices of cheese in the crack.  (Another option is to place your cheese in your bun.  When you add the steaming hotdog, your cheese will get all melty and delicious).

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Wrap each hotdog with two slices of bacon.  Starting at one end, anchor it with a toothpick.  Wrap around the hotdog, adding the second piece of bacon at the middle and continuing it to the end.  Anchor that end also with a toothpick.

Did I mention that most anything tastes great with bacon?

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Here are the wrapped hotdogs ready for the grill!

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

I guess you could cook these in the oven, but since we are traveling a lot, we love to find new recipes for the grill.  This one fits the bill.

southern style bacon wrapped slaw dogs camping recipe

Because this is bacon over a hot flame, it is a good idea to lower the coals a bit to give the hotdogs some breathing space.  And then be sure to supervise, turning the hotdogs frequently with a pair of tongs.  We found that it takes about 15 minutes to cook the bacon all the way.  The hotdog inside will be ready at the same time.

bacon wrapped hotdogs

 

Now add your slaw to the top of the hotdogs.  Some folks add mustard at this point, but I like it just the way it is.  You will be surprised at how well the sweet slaw goes with the saltiness of the bacon wrapped hotdog.

This is one southern dish that I definitely stand behind!

Grits?  Well not so much.  But maybe one day it might-could grow on me.  Reckon? 

What is your favorite southern dish?

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