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Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze

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Hi Friends!

I am so excited about what I have to share with you today! I grilled up some cedar planked chicken thighs with soy ginger glaze. My mouth is watering at the sound of that! This chicken was so juicy and tender. It was a great Saturday evening meal! I must add it was still spectacular as leftovers for Sunday lunch! 🙂 And c’mon, anything grilled on a cedar plank is just plain fun to eat. I used skinless chicken thighs for this recipe to cut down on calories and fat. To cut down even more calories and fat, you could substitute dark turkey meat for chicken meat. Dark turkey meat naturally has less fat and calories than dark chicken meat.

Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze

Quick note about these Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze:  1) Easy to make 2) No long marinating times 3) Tasty, tasty, tasty!

The process begins with the marinade. In a saucepan, reduce the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, then add fresh ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. After the marinade cools a bit, whisk in the sesame seed oil. Combine the chicken thighs with the marinade in a large bowl, reserving 1/2 cup for basting the chicken thighs while grilling. The bowl of chicken thighs can be placed in the fridge while you prepare your grill for medium heat. As soon as the grill is ready, heat the cedar planks for 5 minutes, flip the planks, and add the chicken thighs to the planks for grilling.

Cedar Planked Chicken with Soy Ginger Glaze

The chicken thighs took about 20 minutes to grill. During the last 5-10 minutes, baste the chicken a few times to add extra juice and flavor. It is important to remember to keep the overall temperature of your grill below 350 degrees to prevent the wood planks from catching fire.

Cedar Planked Chicken with Soy Ginger Glaze

Cook up some wild rice for the perfect accompaniment to this chicken. Especially because the chicken glaze mixes in with the rice to give it an extra pop of flavor! I must say that I rarely never make anything with soy sauce or sesame oil in it. I just did not grow up eating much of them, and I never was drawn to cooking with either of them because I did not even know where to start. However, I think that will begin to change around here because these tasted amazing!

Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze…make ’em!! You will be glad you did!

 

Cedar Planked Chicken with Soy Ginger Glaze

Happy Grilling!!

Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs

For the glaze:

  • 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 2 cedar planks for grilling

Instructions
 

  • 1. Place cedar planks on baking sheet and cover with water. Place water glass or bowl on top of planks to prevent them from floating.
  • 2. Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove pan from heat and add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of glaze for basting chicken thighs.
  • 3. Place thighs in a large bowl and cover with the glaze, remembering to reserve 1/2 cup for later. Refrigerate chicken until you are ready to grill.
  • 4. Preheat grill to medium heat. Place cedar planks on grill, cover lid, and let sit for 5 minutes or until it starts smoking. Turn cedar plank over and add chicken thighs to cedar planks. Grill for 20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. During last 5-10 minutes, baste chicken thighs with reserved glaze.
  • 5. Remove from grill and serve with rice.
  • Recipe adapted from Jamie Purviance His recipes are amazing!!

Love,

3 Scoops of Sugar 🙂

cedar planked chicken thighs with soy ginger glaze

30 Minute Chicken Pesto Panini

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Hey guys! Good to see ya!

Have I mentioned that I love paninis? I mean they are usually incorporated into our weekly menu in some shape or form. I love that you can mix and match meats, veggies and cheeses and create an entirely different meal. These 30 minute chicken pesto paninis are simply delicious! Even in the summer, there is nothing like a quick yummy meal using my handy-dandy panini grill. It is probably one of the most used appliances in my kitchen.

30 minute chicken pesto panini

One bite of this panini and you will be wondering why you aren’t eating this sandwich outside of some trendy cafe under an umbrella with a fruity lemonade or something. 🙂 Haha! The flavors of the sautĂ©ed shallot, spinach, and tomato complement the pesto chicken perfectly. You want to know what was not so perfect? Okay, okay I will tell you. Watching me eat this mouth-watering, can’t hold back, crazy delicious panini that I can’t stop eating until my mouth is unable to hold one more bite. 😉

30 minute chicken pesto panini

Seriously, this chicken alone is a great meal! Add it to the ingredients below and what do you get? Something that quickly gets scribbled on a recipe card and gets put in the VIP section of your recipe book. And yes, I still have a recipe book that is hand-written because I really enjoy looking back at old recipes and being able to relive the memories of when I previously made them. And today, my inner recipe book junky self is doing the Carlton dance from Fresh Prince because I know I have scored big in my own way with this recipe.

And to be honest, this is not one of those recipes that I spent hours tweaking and changing to get the perfect mix of ingredients. It was near the end of a hectic day when my dietitian-self was having mixed feelings about the fact I slapped down some fish sticks and fresh fruit for the kids because I was only hoping they would actually eat what I put in front of them. I provide countless options to them and what happens….smack dab on the floor. So today, I wanted to fix them a meal they would eat without a single tantrum for selfish reasons. I wanted to test out a new panini recipe I had been thinking about in my mind and I nailed it. I just have to share this with you!

Another thing I love….

30 minutes my friends! Only 30 minutes to get this nice little panini on the table!

 

30 minute chicken pesto panini

The chicken is so easy and fast. Bake it at 350 for about 18 minutes. It is seasoned with salt and pepper and a spoonful of pesto slathered on top. While the chicken is baking, there is plenty of time to saute the veggies and prepare the slices of ciabatta bread with a touch of miracle whip on one slice and pesto on the other slice. Finally, preheat the panini grill, load your ingredients and grill the panini for about 4 minutes.

That is it!! So yummy, delicious, fantastic, the list goes on and on!

 

30 Minute chicken pesto panini

Hope you enjoy!

30 minute chicken pesto panini

30 Minute Chicken Pesto Panini

3 Scoops of Sugar
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Course Sandwiches
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound chicken breasts skinless
  • 4 slices ciabatta bread
  • 1 tablespoon miracle whip
  • 4 tablespoons pesto I used Mezzetta basil pesto
  • 1 to mato sliced and then cut slices in half
  • 1/2 shallot cut into rings
  • 1/4 cup baby spinach
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Grease baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Place on cooking sheet and spray non-stick cooking spray to tops of breasts. Season with salt and pepper and spread 1 tablespoon pesto on top of each chicken breast. Bake for about 18 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
  • While chicken is baking, heat oil in small saute pan using medium-high heat. Add shallot rings and saute until translucent. Look ahead to step 3. Add tomato slices and spinach to pan and saute just until spinach begins to wilt. Remove from heat.
  • Preheat greased panini grill to medium heat. Prepare ciabatta bread slices with miracle whip on one slice and pesto on the opposite slice. Add vegetables to one side with slices of the pesto chicken on the other side. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the vegetables. Arrange sandwich together.
  • Using panini grill, cook panini for about 4 minutes or until desired doneness.

 

 

Love,

3 Scoops of Sugar and my panini obsession self! 😉

Fresh Peach Pizza Pie

by

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Monday again! Time to get that menu together for the week! Are you running low on new recipes? Wanting something easy and yet delicious! Well, I have got a great suggestion! My latest fresh peach pizza pie is light but great tasting. It is a perfect meal choice on these hot and muggy days when you need to eat just enough to satisfy you followed by a tall glass of ice water over your head as well as in your stomach!

fresh peach pizza pie

I absolutely love fresh peaches! I just always forget how much I like them because I can rarely find them. Maybe I need to start a fruit of the month club so I can stock up on delicious and juicy peaches one month out of the year! Yes, that may be in my future.

Attention fruit of the month club, here I come!!

Or I wonder if I can find a fresh peach club! 😉

Because I found fresh and ripe peaches, I decided to stock up on the yummy stone fruit. I wanted to make a meal that would satisfy my hubby and the kids… so I made peach pizza obviously. The gorgonzola cheese gives the pizza a strong, pungent flavor while the peaches add sweetness. The end result= DELICIOUS!

A few tips about peaches: peaches are known as a stone fruit because of their large hard seed in the middle. Other stone fruits include nectarines, apricots, cherries, and plums. Peaches found in grocery stores are often not the most desirable to eat. Peaches are usually picked from orchards before they are ripe to prolong their shelf life. And if they are subject to a cold temperature prior to getting on the shelf they can become dry, brown, and even leathery. For this reason, good fresh peaches are hard to find. If you are looking to buy peaches at a supermarket remember these three things: 1) Pick white-fleshed peaches with a creamy white background color that have just a little green or none at all. Pick yellow-fleshed peaches with a cream or yellow background. 2) Peaches are one of the highest contaminated fruits with pesticides. If you eat the skin, it is a good idea to buy organic peaches. 3) Look for peaches at farmers markets. They are usually both ripe and fresh. A lot of times they are grown organically as well. Happy peach hunting!

Fresh Peach Pizza Pie

 

These flavors mix together perfectly to create a light and healthy meal. When I think of pizza, I think of the usual hamburger and mushroom combo. This pizza puts a new twist on the meaning of pizza. And I like it!!!!

And I think you will too! Don’t you love eating yummy and pretty things?!?! Now go have a great Monday!

Fresh Peach Pizza Pie

Fresh Peach Pizza Pie

Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Mama Mary's whole wheat pizza crust
  • 1 fresh peach sliced
  • 3 ounces Canadian bacon
  • 1 - 2 ounces gorgonzola cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • few baby spinach leaves stems trimmed
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions
 

  • 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • 2. Lay pizza crust on baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over crust and even out over entire crust. Layer with Canadian bacon, cheeses, peach slices, and spinach leaves.
  • 3. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
  • 4. Let cool for a few minutes. Enjoy!
  • Author: 3 Scoops of Sugar

 

Love,

3 Scoops of Sugar 🙂

Reference for tips regarding peaches:
Eating on the Wild Side

Peach & Can Bacon Pizza 4