Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken Tenders

We love to grill. It's probably the most used appliance (is a grill technically an appliance? I should be!) at our house during the hot summer months. We don't stop after the summer is gone. Nope, we grill all year long. Even when the snow is falling.

I've never been a big fan of fruit being cooked with meat but I really do enjoy the sweetness that pineapple adds to chicken, pork and shrimp and the marinade in this recipe can be used on any of them.

Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken Tenders

1- 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken tenders, thawed

Marinade & Sauce (make 2 separate batches):

1/2 c. crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 c. bottled sweet & sour sauce
1/4 c. bottled spicy sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp. water

Pour 1 batch of the marinade/sauce ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken tenders and shake to coat the chicken with the marinade.

Refrigerate chicken for 2 hours or up to overnight. Grill chicken tenders for 4 minutes on each side or until the insides of the tenders are no longer pink. Discard leftover marinade that was in the bag.

Warm second batch of marinade/sauce and pour it over chicken before serving.

Delicious served over rice.

Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Has there ever come a time when you're not in the mood for a chocolate chip cookie? For me...nope, never! My family prefers soft and chewy chocolate chippers so these cookies from the Goose Berry Patch, aptly named Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, fit the bill for a quick and easy cookie recipe.

I don't own a Kindle (hopefully one day!) but I've been enjoying the free downloads on Amazon through the Kindle for PC. I found this recipe in one of those free downloads called "The Goose Berry Patch Circle of Friends Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes".

The recipe uses instant vanilla pudding to keep the cookies soft and moist. I found the batter to be a little stiff so I added 2 tbsp. of milk at the very end of mixing. This thinned the batter out a bit, making it easier for the cookies to spread out just a bit.

Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the Goose Berry Patch Circle of Friends
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookbook  
Kindle for PC edition

2-1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 c. margarine
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
packed
1 t. vanilla extract
5-1/4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
2 tbsp milk (my addition)

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, margarine, sugars, vanilla and dry pudding mix; beat until smooth and creamy.

Beat in eggs; stir in chocolate chips.

Stir in milk and mix until creamy.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden. (I baked my cookies for 7 minutes on the middle rack and then moved the tray to the top level in the oven and continued baking for another 1 1/2 minutes.)  Let cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen.

Linking up with:
Tuesday Time Out

Menu Plan - Week of June 26- July 2

Let's see if I can get back on some sort of schedule this week. With my kids out of school, we seem to lose our ways around the house. I'm hoping to start back into a routine again.

Our menu for this coming week looks like this:

Sunday - Turkey & stuffing roll-ups with mashed potatoes and corn

Monday - Baked mastacolli

Tuesday - Ginger soy pork tenderloin with garlic roasted red potatoes and glazed carrots

Wednesday - Croissant pizza

Thursday - Rosemary Thyme chicken strips, rice & gravy, salad and green beans

Friday - southwestern mac and corn bread

Saturday - taco meat loaf and Spanish rice


My goal for this week is not to go out to eat anywhere. Wish me luck!

Linking up to:
Menu Plan Monday

Secret Recipe Club: Easy Oreo Truffles

I have had such a sweet tooth lately. I decided ahead of time, before receiving my secret blog name, that I would search for something sweet to make for this round of the Secret Recipe Club.

I was totally thrilled to receive A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures as my secret name. Erin's blog is full of sweet treats with beautiful pictures accompanying her recipes. In fact, her pictures of the Easy Oreo Truffles is what drew me in to my recipe of choice to begin with!

With just 3 ingredients, you can't go wrong making these. It does take a little time if you want them to turn out as beautiful as Erin's did. Mine didn't look quite as nice but they are still pretty. One thing is for sure...these little gems are rich and chocolaty and absolutely delicious. I have 4 more recipes from Erin's blog bookmarked for me to add to my menus this summer!

Easy Oreo Truffles
original recipe from Kraft 
my version adapted from A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures

1 regular-sized pkg of Oreos
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
toppings: sprinkles, nuts or crushed Oreos

Add entire package of Oreos to a large food processor. Chop until the Oreos turn into coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/3 cup of crumbs for the topping on the truffles.

Add cream cheese to the cookie crumbs. Process until the crumbs and cream cheese are blended together.

Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Once the baking sheet if full, stick it into the freezer for 5-8 minutes (or you could stick the tray into the frig for a while longer). This step makes dipping the truffles so much easier. I tried dipping them without freezing them and the balls fell apart in the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove or by melting it in the microwave. Dip each truffle one by one, laying each one back onto the wax paper lined tray. Immediately sprinkle the candies or crushed Oreos on top of the truffles.

Refrigerate the truffles on the tray for at least 1 hour. Store in a tightly sealed container. For maximum flavor, refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

MMM! A prefect choice for those sweet tooth cravings.

I've enjoyed another month in the Secret Recipe Club. If you would like to join us, here's what you need to know.