Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Chicken and Pineapple Skewers

Chelsea and Dan made these the other Sunday and they were delicious!

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

1 - 2 pounds bacon

About ¼ cup brown sugar

1 ½ - 2 cups barbecue sauce – mixing KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Ray’s is yummy.  Set aside ½ cup for brushing on during grilling

1 large pineapple cut into chunks 

Combine chicken pieces with barbecue sauce and marinade for 2-3hours (this step can be omitted if pressed for time, but add some extra barbecue sauce while grilling)

 Lay out bacon strips on a cookie cooling rack and place rack in a regular cookie sheet (so the bacon grease will drip into cookie sheet) brush each strip with the brown sugar and bake at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes just enough to make sure the brown sugar cooks into the bacon. This step is important for wrapping the chicken and getting crispy on the grill. 

Let bacon cool enough to handle and wrap bacon strip around each chicken piece and skewer. Then thread pineapple and bacon-wrapped chicken. I like to alternate pineapple chunk, bacon wrapped chicken, in a pattern until skewer is filled to my liking.

Grill kabobs until chicken reaches 155-160 degrees F. Slather remaining barbecue sauce onto bacon-wrapped chicken when they are nearly cooked.

Serve with a green salad with avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons.  Enjoy!

Grilled Garlic Cajun Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers

Another winning summer recipe from Chelsea.

For marinade:

½ cup unsalted butter

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun Spice (process light heat; it's not spicy, but it gives great flavor)

1/2 tsp salt - omit if using salted butter

1 T. lemon juice

Other ingredients:

2 lbs. large tail-on pre-cooked peeled and de-veined shrimp (phew that was wordy!) Usually 20-25 count. (I get mine already pre-cooked and de-veined, etc from the butcher. You can do uncooked but pre-cooked grills and preps faster and I'm all about quick meals ha!)

1 large pineapple cubed into 2 in cubes

Combine all marinade ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once heated and butter is melted remove from heat and pour half of marinade into a bowl - you'll brush on half the marinade now and brush on remaining marinade while grilling and after.

Thread a shrimp then a pineapple cube alternating until skewer is filled.  I use metal skewers instead of wood because I don't like taking the time to soak the wood ones - again easy prep. Once skewers are filled lay them out on a baking tray.

Brush one side of the skewered shrimp (shrimp only not the pineapple) and place in the fridge for 2 minutes until butter marinade firms up, then flip over and marinade the other side, again placing in fridge until marinade firms. 

Place skewers on the grill with lid on 2-5minutes per side until heated through (and no longer transparent if working with uncooked shrimp) with some nice grill marks. Brush on remaining marinade while shrimp is grilling and use any leftover and brush again once taken off the grill. Be careful not to overcook or they will become rubbery. 

Serve with Caesar salad, watermelon, and breadsticks. Enjoy!!!

Fairy Bites

Cute little shortbread.  Make with or without the nonpareils.

1/2 cup butter, slightly softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 1/4 cup All Purpose flour – start with 1 cup and see from there

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp multi-colored nonpareils

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 8-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap (or cut parchment to fit) leaving 1-inch overhang. 

Combine butter, sugar and almond extract in medium bowl.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour and salt. Beat until well mixed. Stir in nonpareils if using.

Knead mixture 4-5 times in bowl until dough forms a ball.  Pat dough evenly into prepared pan. Use overhang to lift dough from pan. Cut dough into 1/2-inch squares. Gently place squares 1/2 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake approximately 15 minutes or until bottoms just begin to brown.  

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

From the Our Best Bites gals (again).  If you want a little tiny amount of cookies, this is your recipe. If you want more than that, double or triple it.  I use a small size scoop so the cookies are only about 2 inches across.  I usually do a mix of mini M&M's, white chocolate chips and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I will measure the extra chips into Ziploc bags and put them in the freezer, then I just pull a bag out and throw into the cookie dough.

3 tablespoons real butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch table salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips, or add-ins of your choice 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place butter in a small-medium sized mixing bowl and microwave for about 8-10  seconds. It should be soft enough to mix easily with a spoon, even semi-melted to  completely melted is okay. Add sugar and beat with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon till  fluffy. Add in egg yolk and vanilla and mix well until fully incorporated. Add flour,  baking soda, and salt all at once and mix until all combined. Add your chocolate chips or  other add-ins and mix.

Use a cookie scoop, or roll into balls. Bake for about 9-10 minutes. Cool for 1-2 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to cooking rack.  Makes about 15.

Notes

     You can make this recipe with softened butter, or completely melted butter.

Crystal's Sourdough Pancakes

Mix up the night before you want to serve them and put the salt, soda and sugar in a ziploc and just throw that in with eggs and oil right before serving.  Easy!  These are wonderful served in the canyon or out of doors.  They are great for a crowd and cheap.

2 cups flour

1 T. dry yeast

2 cups very warm water

Stir flour and yeast together.  Add water and stir together.  Let sit overnight.  In the morning add:

1 t. salt

1 t. soda

1 T. sugar

2 eggs

2 T. oil

Cook on a griddle with a little oil and enjoy.  Serves 6.

If you are making more than one batch at a time, for 4 cups flour still use just 1 T. yeast.  For 10 cups flour use 2 T. yeast.