Skip to main content

Zesty Italian Grilled Chicken Thighs

My mother was a very inventive and resourceful cook.  With 7+ kids and usually a few dinner guests to boot, she had to be pretty ingenious and creative.  She too, loved a good cookout and last night, I made one of her more "regular" recipes.   She would buy Zesty Italian Dressing by the caseful.  Not cause she loved Italian dressing, in fact, I cant even remember having a salad ever in our house with Italian Dressing.  No, this was her marinade.   Now remember, this was back a few years ago....before any of the dressing companies


got clever with their marketing their product as anything but what it was!  She would buy a family pack of chicken thighs, then throw them into several Ziploc bags (or before she used those, she would put the thighs into a large baking pan and pour the dressing over) and marinate for most the day.   There was nothing else you would need to do to it.  Nothing.

So in tribute to Arlene and summer grilling - Here is the very simple, very affordable and incredibly scrumptious recipe.

Arlene's Italian Grilled Chicken Thighs

1 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing (I have tried several brands and I still come back to Kraft)
1 pckg of 8 Chicken thighs (can be in the bone or skinless-boneless if you like - just remember to reduce the cooking time and spray your grill well with Pam Grilling Spray.

Place the chicken thighs into a large gallon-size Ziploc bag.  Pour the entire contents of the dressing into the bag.  Seal, removing much of the air out of the bag.  Then roll the thighs around in the dressing, until well coated.  Place in the fridge and marinate overnight or all day, turning the bag occasionally to distribute the dressing.  

Fire up your grill.  Spray it liberally with Pam Grill Cooking spray.  Place the thighs on the rack, skin side down, and grill approximately 7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the thighs.  Watch them carefully, since the dressing contains oil and will have a tendency to burn a bit.  I don't mind a nice char on mine, but that is all personal preference.

ARLENE'S GRILLED ITALIAN CHICKEN THIGHS PRINTABLE RECIPE


As part of our dinner, we also had Grilled Zucchini and Carrots.  Here is the recipe for those tasty sides as well:

4 Zucchini - washed, ends trimmed and cut length-wise into quarters
8 large carrots - washed, peeled, ends trimmed and cut length-wide into quarters.
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian Seasoning

Place the prepared zucchini and carrots onto a baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil.  Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, coating generously.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and italian seasoning. 

Place on the grill rack, ABOVE the main rack.  Too close to the flame and you will char these puppies!  Let cook at the same time as the chicken. By the time the chicken is done, so will your veggies!

GRILLED ZUCCHINI AND CARROTS PRINTABLE RECIPE

ENJOY!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chess Squares, Nieman Marcus Bars, Paula Deen and Gooey Butter Cake....The real origin

Kevin & Amanda's Chess Squares So, I saw this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago and thought, hmmm.  I need to try this! With my daughter's open heart surgery, starting my final year of school and then a few major work projects, the blog got lost in the shuffle for a bit.  Last week however, I started on a cooking binge and the first thing on the clip board to try were these chess squares.  I read the blog that posted the recipe and realized they were reminiscent to her of another recipe.  I thought they sounded (and looked) like something I used to have at my grandmas.  So the sleuth in me kicked in, and a hunting I went, trying to find the progression on the variations of  this recipe and ultimately, the origins. Nieman Marcus Buttermilk Pie Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake Searching for "Chess Squares" took me to Nieman Marcus Bars, which led me to the Nieman Marcus Website and their Butter Cake . I then found the Paula Deen "Gooey Bu
2 comments
Read more

Chocolate Chip Reeses or Rollos Brownie thingys?

I have no idea what to call these, but oh my goodness are they easy and good.  This recipe comes to you via Pinterest.  I tried to trace it all the way back to its originator, but failed.  It just kept going.   So, I do not claim these as mine - although I have tweaked them and will try something new this weekend.   As the picture indicates, these were done with premade cookie dough, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and box brownie mix.  Thats the "easy" no frill recipe.   Here it is: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the insides of a square all edges brownie pan with Pam spray.   Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of premade cookie dough and press into the bottom of each square.  Top the cookie dough with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup placed upside down.  Then fill up the well with your favorite prepared brownie mix up to 3/4 full.   Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes.  Remove and cool slightly. Here are some tips:   You can use cupcake/muffin tins (either small o
18 comments
Read more

Stuffed Cube Steak

The other day, I had a hankering for cube steak, but did not want Swiss Steak or Chicken Fried Steak - my usual go to's.  I wanted to do something else with cube steak and remembered I had bookmarked a recipe from Pinterest that involved cube steak, bacon and goat cheese.  I tried it, we liked it, and it is now in the regular dinner rotation. I also discovered that this recipe can be done on the grill and is quite tasty either broiled or grilled.  You dont need a potato or rice dish with it.  A really nice salad and some crusty bread with some homemade lemonade really makes this a great summer meal. It is also very quick.  Just what we all want out of our summer dishes! Stuffed Cube Steak Serves 4 4 Cube steaks salt and pepper to taste 4 oz cream cheese (or goat cheese) softened - very soft. 2 T coconut oil 1 small sweet onion (Vidalia or Maui) finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2 c baby spinach - stems removed and coarsely chopped 6-8 slices sun dried to
Post a Comment
Read more