All Up In My Grill!

We've purchased a new gadget and I'm excited to say that it's a keeper!!  I've been wanting to find a way to grill meats (mainly chicken) without having to use an outdoor grill.  Our George Forman grill (while we enjoy it for making turkey burgers & grilled sandwiches) just hasn't been cutting it with grilling chicken without taking away the juicy nature of the chicken.  So, the hunt began and started with a this panini press that I purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond.  The result: semi-liked it, same problem as with the GF grill--the chicken was somewhat burnt on the outside because the chicken had to be grilled longer to fully cook the inside.  So, this was not a keeper!

Second attempt, this grill.  And my friends, she is a keeper!!

For my first trial run I marinated several chicken breasts in a jerk marinade and several others in Kraft's Sweet & Spicy Chipotle BBQ sauce (this BBQ sauce is DELICIOUS!! like, for real!).  I marinated the chicken overnight and the next day I took the grill out for her first test drive!!

p.s. I am so enjoying these mixing bowls I recently found on excellent sale at Macy's for $15!! Bought me and my friend Sonja a box!!  They are great for marinating, storing left overs, preparing food, traveling with food (sturdy lid), you name it! [I have used them for all of the above in the past week alone!]

Anywho, back to the grill--who has yet to be named.  So, to make her work you fill a tray that sits under the rack with water (that makes the steam to give it that smokey taste like you get on the grill!), and then you just plug her in and set the temperature.  Next, spray her down with a little PAM olive oil spray and wait while she preheats.

 can you see the pan of water underneath?

sprayed down with this PAM

Here's how the test run went down....

 BBQ on left, Jerk on right

see the smoke?!

 

close up of BBQ

close up of Jerk

So, around here, the ultimate test is whether I, or my picky eater, Troy, gives the food 2 thumbs up!  Troy LOVED the BBQ chicken and talked about it for a week.  The grill did not toughen the outside of the chicken and it was still nice and juicy when we ate it (even when we had leftovers!!). 

So, she's a keeper and I actually made chicken tonight--marinated in Italian dressing--I usually bake the chicken when I marinate it in Italian dressing-remember this post from last September?  But Troy said, let's give the grill another spin!! So I did.  A few pics from tonight...

Well, there ya have it!  A new gadget to welcome into our kitchen family! Our kitchen is pretty much filled to the brim now.  The cabinets are full, the counter tops are almost full, and the tops of our cabinets are full....so idk what we're going to do when our next kitchen gadget arrives (we don't have one in mind right now.  But I am really hoping to add a stand mixer to the family in December!!) 

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the grill!! 

Yay for all things hot & steamy, (*wink*)

SG

3 Years Ago Today...

Troy proposed!  And so I thought I'd share the story for those of you out there that don't know it!...

It was a Wednesday.  Wednesday, August 8, 2007 to be exact.  I was visiting Troy (and friends) in Greenville for the week because I had just finished up my summer clerkship in Atlanta.  Anywho, that Wednesday night Troy and I went to bible study and Troy told me that we were going downtown for ice cream (which I had been asking to do all week long!).  I was excited because we were going to one of my favorite ice cream spots in Greenville--Spill the Beans! I was also excited because going for ice cream and walking downtown was one of my favorite things for us to do when we were in college and we hadn't done it in a long time.  

So, we get to Spill the Beans (which is only like 2 minutes from church, since our church is downtown) and I already knew what I wanted of course--vanilla ice cream mixed with almonds, cookie dough, and oreo!  I ordered and ran to the restroom to wash my hands!  When I came back my ice cream was ready, Troy had his ice cream and out we went to walk downtown across the super cool bridge!  We walked, we talked, we ate, etc... It was very low key and very much so romantic to me.  I was in heels so I was ready to sit at a bench at the end of the bridge to finish my ice cream.  So we sat and about fifteen seconds after sitting down I bit down on something.  And NO I was NOT happy!  I thought the girl who made my ice cream dropped something in my delicious treat!  I looked at Troy and said something along the lines of "Oh no! Yuck!" I pulled this object out of my mouth to find that it was a ring.  Was I happy? NO!! I thought this girl had dropped her ring in my ice cream and I was so disgusted that it had been in my mouth! 

Troy took the ring out of my hand and licked the ice cream off.  Did I get the hint yet? NO! But then, the light bulb came on when he got down on one knee!! I got over my disgust thinking that I had some random girl's ring in my mouth, and then I got excited that the ring in the ice cream was for me!  Troy said some sweet things and then attempted to sing a few bars of a song (quite funny!) and asked if I would marry him!  I said "YES!" and he sat on the bench with me and we hugged!  We then called my parents and then his family.  We hung out for a little while longer then he dropped me off to Regina's apartment where I was staying that weekend.  And of course Regina and I sat up for a little bit acting like little girls--giggling and talking.  

And that's the story.  Pretty simple! I love how the place he proposed is here where our relationship developed and where we've made our home.  Every time we go downtown for ice cream and walk across the bridge I am reminded of where this phase of our lives started.

Well, that's the story!  If you ever you find yourself in Greenville, SC, stop by Spill the Beans and walk across the bridge.  When you get to the end there's a bench on the left.  That's where Troy proposed!  One day I hope to take our children there and show them!...(and no, I'm NOT pregnant!)

Back down memory lane,

SG