Grilling

Grilling... I promised myself I wouldn't start this post off with a long list of excuses as to why I have neglected Dahlicious for TWO MONTHS, but I think I have to just explain myself a tiny bit. For starters, I accepted a new job (same company but big functional move) which is super exciting but has also meant that I'm a bit busier and a bit more exhausted at the end day to whip up creative new dishes worthy of posts. And secondly, this summer we have been in total grill mode, and while everything has been wonderfully Dahlicious, I didn't quite deem it post worth. That being said, I don't know why I thought my simple grilled meals weren't worthy but they are... they deserve their spotlight too - right??

So without further a do, an update on the Dahlicious grilled things we made this summer.

Burgers:
Bunless burgers and pretzel bun burgers alike we did a lot of these this summer. Served up with a bunch of veggies, it's the quintessential summer grilling meal.

Flank Steak/Skirt Steak: 
Before this grilling season I never realized that flank steak could be hard to find. Turns out our local Whole Foods only gets them every couple weeks so if you aren't one of those first few customers you are out of luck! Good news is we found that skirt steak was an equally Dahlicious choice as well. We did a lot of steak & veggies which, while not a very exciting meal, when cooked correctly it can be extremely tasty and satisfying (plus low carb!) My go to here is simply marinating the steak in Trader Joe's Soyaki for anywhere from 3-24 hours before grilling. The veggies are just lightly tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Skirt steak, grilled portobello, sauteed rainbow chard

Skirt teak & green beans

Flank steak, grilled asparagus, oven baked homemade sweet potato fries

Grilled Boneless Skin On Chicken Breasts:
Generally speaking I hate chicken breasts, I think they are a waste. However I know they're a healthful protein and my roomie/landlord tends to grill them so perfectly that even this chicken breast hater really enjoys them. I think the skin on adds a lot of flavor and crispiness that would be missing otherwise, and the lack of bone just makes it easier to eat. As far as marinating, I was pretty lazy and went the same route as the steak - Soyaki to the rescue!

Grilled chicken, asparagus, oven roasted cauliflower

Grilled Chicken, grilled bell peppers & yellow squash

The best part about the chicken & steak are that if cooked correctly (for the steak a bit more on the rare side) they can be great leftovers for lunches:

Using my favorite meal delivery containers for weekly lunches! Skirt steak with peppers & zucchini

4 days of grilled chicken! Perfectly portioned

Pork Loin:
This was new for us but it turned out so well. I was bummed I didn't have time to whip up a more interesting marinade or that I didn't marinate it for longer, but I ended up just drizzling the guy with olive oil and sprinkling liberally with this lovely spice blend I found a while on a quick day trip to Milwaukee with my mom. The blend includes: Tellicherry pepper, coriander, cumin, cloves, saigon cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, & tien tsin chile peppers. It was a warm, deep, sweet & peppery combo and made for a lovely flavor on the pork. We served it up with acorn squash (hello fall!), applesauce (duh), and burnt broccoli. This meal will definitely be replicated.

Perfectly grilled pork loin, juicy on the inside!

Pork loin with acorn squash & broccoli

We did also utilize the grill to make pizzas & of course some fish but the ones listed above were definitely our go-to options this summer and I can say for certain that we'll be using our new grill until it's just too freezing for my grill master to step outside (which I'm hoping is still a couple months away!!!)