Now this fajita rub recipe is an adaptation from the most trusted grill master, Steven Raichlen.  I've never had one of his recipe turn South on me.  In fact, his recipes make me look like rock star.  I didn't have the exact ingredients his recipe called for, I had to improvise instead.   In the end, all was a success and the men-folk went ga-ga over the fajitas!  Everyone uttered groans of happiness with cheeks filled with smokey spicy beef entwined with grilled onions and bell peppers.  Oh what a dinner!

HERE'S THE WET RUB
Makes plenty for 2 pounds of skirt steak.

• 1/3 cup onion
• 4 to 5 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons neutral tasting oil, plus more for coating meat

• 2 tablespoons New Mexico Chili Powder
• 1 tablespoons course salt
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh cracked pepper
• 3/4 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Chihuahua de Mexico smoked salt (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon dried cilantro or 2 tablespoons fresh
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Process the onion, garlic and oil in a one cup food processor until they practically pureed.  Add in all the remaining ingredients and blend well.

Arrange the meat in a glass baking dish.  Massage the wet rub into and onto both sides of the meat, be generous and completely coat the meat.  Drizzle a little extra oil over the both sides of the meat to prevent sticking when it's time to grill.  Cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

Use this smokey combination of spices on skirt steaks, chicken breasts, or whatever other food you plan to grill for the fajitas.  Cover and marinate in frig for 30 minutes to 2 hours before grilling.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

This recipe is about the marinade I soaked the chicken boobs in.  That colorful vegetable medley on the side is Sweet & Zesty Fiesta Salad.  It works as an addictive dip or a beautiful side to the chicken.  I've also eaten it all by itself for a light lunch.  It's very versatile.

As for the marinade, the perky lime juice mingles with the fresh onion and spicy garlic.  The parsley and rosemary add color and a fresh taste of bright green to the chicken.  All together, they make an incredibly flavorful chicken that only needs a hot grill to finish it off.  You could easily roast the chicken after marinating it, but I like firing up the grill any chance I get.

BRAZILIAN GARLIC-LIME MARINADE
Makes 1 cup; enough to marinate 2 to 3 pounds of meat.

• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 small onion, enough to make 1/3 cup
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary

Place garlic, onion and salt in a 1-cup food processor until finely chopped.  Scrape into dish or bag you will use to marinate meat.  Add the lime juice, vinegar, parsley and rosemary.  The marinade taste best used within a few hours of making.

Use this marinade for pork, chicken or lamb.  Marinate thin cuts of meat (steaks, chops, and chicken boobs), covered in the frig for 1 to 2 hours; larger cuts of meat, such as pork loins or shoulders, for 6 to 8 hours or even overnight.

IF YOU'RE GRILLING THE CHICKEN

Make SURE to coat the chicken with cooking oil before placing on the grill, to prevent sticking.  Grill chicken as you normally prefer.

IF YOU'RE ROASTING THE CHICKEN

Make sure to coat the chicken with cooking oil.  Heat oven to 350ºF degrees. On a baking sheet covered with heavy duty foil, drizzle and coat breasts with light cooking oil. Bake covered for 35 to 40 minutes for bone-in breasts. For boneless breasts, roast for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

INCREDIBLE FLAVOR! & the BEST grilled photo I've ever taken.  Let's take a moment to drool together, shall we?

Pork chops are not all created equal.  Until now, I've never been a big fan. That's because I was buying them from the grocery store and not straight from the farm.  I found these while shopping the Sulphur Springs Farmers' Market and bought them from Sloans Creek Farm. Go to their website SloansCreekFarm.com to learn more and order from them.

The flavor of their pork chops is tender and clean, not gamey.  For the bacon lover reading this, the fatty trim, yes I said fat, tastes like candy.  We ate every morsel on our plates.  My husband said after cleaning his plate, "I've never in my life enjoyed eating the fat off of a cut of meat, until now.  Can we have these in the weekly meal rotation?"

I came up with my own wet rub for these chops and it's VERY GOOD, if I do say so myself.  The ingredients are not common pantry items, I'm sorry.  I bought them from my closest foodie mart, Central Market in Dallas, Texas.  It's not often I cook with non-typical items.  But hey! I gotta add a kick of variety into life sometime, right?

HERE'S THE WET RUB

• 1 teaspoon Chihuahua de Mexico Smoked Salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon New Mexico Chili Powder
• 2 tablespoon bacon drippings, melted

Mix all the dry ingredients together and massage into thawed meat on both sides.  Use the melted bacon drippings to moistened the meat to prevent sticking on the grill.  Allow the meat to rest on the counter for about 30 minutes.  Store the meat in a covered container in the ice-box, if you're not going to grill right away.

GRILLING TIME

You'll need a drip pan, such as a small cookie sheet covered with heavy duty foil.
Get the grill hot to around 375º to 400ºF. Prepare it for indirect grilling.

Grill the meat over drip pan between the heat.  Depending on the thickness of the meat, 3/4-inch thick chops may only need 6 minutes on one side 4 or 5 minutes the other side, where as 1-inch may 8 minutes on one side side, then 5 or 6 minutes on the other side.  It won't take long to cook them, so no wandering away from the grill.

I set my grill marks last. Just before I'm ready to take them off, I move the meat directly over the heat for that last minute or two of grilling.  Flip the meat when you see the grill marks.  Once fully cooked, transfer meat to a plate/platter and cover with foil, then let them rest for 10 minutes.  Use the time to set your table.

If you have ANY leftovers, these chops are good shredded and mixed into bean burritos with sauteed onions.

Check out Sloans Creek Farm for high quality meats.  Or visit with Ellen at the Sulphur Springs Farmers' Market.

Here's Ellen sharing with the kids at market about grass-fed meats.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

My first attempt at grilling a chicken with a beer can in its butt.  Uh, fun? Slightly challenging.   Most definitely delicious.  But I don't think the beer had anything to do with it.

This qualifies as a Simple Daily Recipe because there was barely anything to do.  I wanted it to be a little more than it was, but it just turned out to be plain ol'simple.

HERE'S ALL IT TOOK

• 1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) whole chicken, thawed
• 2 tablespoons of oil or soften butter
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• Seasoned Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 can of beer

Make a drip pan by covering a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place under grill grid away from heat.  Get the gas grill prepped for indirect heat and let it get to about 350ºF degrees.

Slather the chicken with oil or soften butter, rub the crushed garlic clove all over the skins, then sprinkle with the seasoned salt and pepper to your liking.  Wash your hands.

Pop the top on the beer can a poke a few extra holes in it, using a church key-type can opener.  After drinking pouring off half of the beer, hold the chicken with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom, lower it onto the beer can so the can fits into the cavity.

Pull the legs forward to make like a tripod so the chicken stands upright.  Tuck the wing tips behind the chicken's back. Carefully move the chicken to the grill and stand on grill grid but over the drip pan area.  Make sure the can is not over the heat source.

The chicken will take 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours to cook through.  Using tongs, carefully transfer the chicken in its upright position on the beer can to a platter and present it to your family or guests.  Let it rest for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the chicken from the can.  Tare care not to spill the hot beer on yourself.  Quarter or carve the chicken and serve it up!

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Grilled fresh zucchini can be eaten alone, on the side, or my favorite way, as a topping on grilled pizza.  It can be prepared ahead and eaten at room temperature or hot from the grill.  Anyway you slice it, it's takes about 10 minutes to cook on a gas grill and it's super easy to prepare.  (Yellow Squash can be grilled the very same way.)

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

To keep this quick and simple, use a gas grill set to high heat (450ºF) or a grill pan over medium high heat.

• 2 to 3 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt & fresh ground pepper

On a cookie sheet or shallow dish, drizzle oil over zucchini to coat both sides.  Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Arrange the zucchini on the hot grill grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side.  Transfer to a  plate or platter.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

When you're in the mood to bring on the heat, go ahead and grill up a batch of jalapenos to have ready for spicing up your other recipes.

Start with two skewers, wood or metal is up to you.  With the two skewers parallel to each other, push the pepper onto both skewers so there's a skewer on each end of the pepper. Continue adding one pepper at a time until the skewer is full.  Spray the peppers with a little oil and they're ready to go on the grill.

On a gas grill, turn one burner on medium high and place the skewered peppers directly over the heat. Close the lid and check on them every 3 to 5 minutes.

Continue grilling until the pepper skins are blistery and black, then remove from heat.  Allow to cool before handling.

Using latex gloves, remove most of the blacken skins, but leave some for a smokey flavor later on.  Remove stems and seeds, and discard.  You should be left with soft, smokey pepper flesh.  Store in an airtight container until ready to use.  Good for 7 t0 10 days in the refrigerator.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

There's nothing like grilled chicken boobs, especially when they've been slathered with barbecue sauce. MMM!

PREPARING A CHARCOAL GRILL

For direct grilling, first light the charcoal in a chimney starter. Crumple 1 or 2 sheets of newsprint loosely in the bottom of the chimney starter.  Place the chimney starter on the bottom grate of your grill.  Pour the charcoal briquettes, lump charcoal or even chunks of wood in the top of the starter, filling the cylinder to the top.  Light the newspaper using a gas lighter with a long metal snout or a long kitchen match.  You'll see a thick column of smoke.  This is normal.  Then, the charcoal or wood will ignite.  The coals are ready when all glow orange-red, a process that takes 15 to 25 minutes.

Dump the lit coals from the starter into the bottom of the grill.  Wear a heavy glove to protect your hand.  Using a long handled implement, rake the burning coals to make a even layer across 3/4 of the grilling area.  Leave a zone without coals for keeping food warm without overcooking.

PREPARING A GAS GRILL

Depending on the type of grill, follow the manufacturer's instruction.  With the most basic two burner grill, preheat only one burner on medium high.  When it gets hot, place the food over the unlit burner.

CHICKEN BOOBS ON THE GRILL

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate.  Arrange the breasts on the hot grate, all facing the same direction, 45 degree angle to the bars of the grate.  After 2 minutes, rotate each breast 90 degrees to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks.  Grill for 4 to 6 minutes per side.  To test for doneness, poke a breast in the thickest part with your finger.  It should feel firm to the touch.

With the last few minutes of grilling, slather on your favorite barbecue sauce.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Still House Barbecue Sauce carries its heat right up front on the tongue, but it has the right amount of dark brown sugar to keep it bearable.  For folks that enjoy milder barbecue sauces, cut back on the Tabasco sauce.  Even using 1 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce makes a kickin' sauce.

From Barbecue! Bible : Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes ~ Steven Raichlen

STILL HOUSE BARBECUE SAUCE

• 1 cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup onion, very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Combine all the ingredients in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and briskly simmer, uncovered, until richly flavored and slightly thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time with a wooden spoon.  Use right away or transfer to jars, cover, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.  The sauce will keep for several months.  Makes about 4 cups.

Brush this sauce on ribs, chicken, or pork during the last 10 minutes of cooking.  And serve plenty of it on the side.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

I improvised this dish from the Herb Marinated Lamb Kabobs recipe from A Mingling of Tastes to get make these delicious chicken kabobs and the garlic yogurt sauce to go with them. Both recipes ROCKED!

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into large cubes
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• fresh ground pepper
• wooden skewers soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
• 2 red onions, cut into large chunks
• white button mushrooms, whole
• 1 can chunk pineapple, drained
• course salt

Place the chicken cubes in a one gallon resealable plastic bag. Add in the oil, vinegar, rosemary, thyme, garlic and ground pepper. Seal the bag tightly, removing as much air as possible. Massage the oil and spices in and around the chicken until it looks well covered. Refrigerate the chicken and allow to marinate for 1 to 3 hours.

Before you fire up the grill, go ahead and prepare the kabobs. Alternating the meat and vegetables and fruit as you like on each skewer.

VERY HANDY TIP HERE
Try to put small meat cubes with small mushrooms and vegetables, and large meat cubes with large mushrooms and vegetable/fruit pieces. This way, they will cook evenly and in the same amount of time.

After you have the grill good and hot, lay the kabobs across the hot zone. Grilling should only take 6 to 8 minutes or so, not long at all because the chicken is cut into bite size pieces. You will want to give them at least one turn after a few minutes.

BEFORE

AFTER 6 to 8 minutes

I learned to pull the smaller kabobs off to the cool side of the grill to keep them warm, while the larger kabobs needed more time. These tasted great over a bed of rice and garlic-yogurt poured on top.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

My husband, Charlie, bought a new charcoal grill and I have come down with Grilling Fever because of it. It doesn't help that my friend Bryce from Chilefire.com gave me that grilled pizza cookbook, Grilled Pizzas and Piadinas. You know what they say, "What comes around, goes around." So, grab a bag of coals, a chimney starter, and your favorite chilled refreshment and let's go OUTSIDE and PLAY!

Grilling is thought of by many as "too much work." It's actually less work. It's essential that you have everything prepped and ready BEFORE you start cooking. That includes your carrying pans, tongs, oven mitts, as well as, the food. It only takes just a little planning to make it run smoothly and quickly.

It's been a few years since I've worked a charcoal grill. That first time out, I learned the hard way all the steps I did out of order. Working with a chimney starter was brand new to me, as well as the type of hardword lump charcoal I was cooking with. Both made heating up the grill, MUCH MUCH FASTER than I was accustomed to. It didn't take me long after that, to get the swing of it and get my mojo on. (Can a woman get her mojo on? Or should I just get my groove on?) Anyhoo.

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED

You could make enough here to feed two adults with leftovers, or four and no leftovers. So, depending on how many you're serving, use as much toppings and condiments as you need.

The Italian Marinade Blend I posted last week was used again to start these tostadas off right. The great thing about marinading chicken is that it doesn't take all that long, 30 minutes minimum. Of course, the longer, say 2 hours, the better.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Italian Marinade Blend
• 1 large orange bell pepper, cut in half, seeds removed
• 1 large onion, cut into 1 inch whole slices
• 1 package of Multigrain flour tortillas
• shredded lettuce
• sour cream
• goat cheese or shredded cheddar or both!
• chopped tomatoes or salsa or both!

For quick and even cooking, place the chicken breasts in a large resealable freezer baggy and pound with a rolling pin, until they're evenly flat. Leave in the bag and add in the Italian Marinade Blend. Allow to marinate 30 minutes or longer.

Next, prep and set up for assembly the lettuce, tomatoes and dairy toppings. Prep bell pepper and onion in a small bowl, drizzle or lightly spray with an even coat of oil, so they won't stick to the grill.

HANDY TIP
To keep the onion slices from separating on the grill, use a skewer to hold them together. Or, only cook them on one side; the side that has the small cut so the slices sit inside each other like nesting bowls. Don't try to flip them, they'll just come apart and fall through the grill rack. Trust me.

You'll need a cookie sheet, long tongs, an oven mitt, a lighter, a couple of sheet of newspaper, hardwood charcoal, chimney starter and a charcoal grill.

Watch this video on using a chimney starter. I will never ever start a grill without one.

When you can hold your hand about 6 inches above the grill and count to five WITHOUT burning yourself, it's time to cook. Look for the hottest and coolest areas of the grill before starting. Put the chicken on the hottest area and run the bell pepper and onion around the hot edges. Since the chicken is around 1 inch in thickness or less, it should only take 4 minutes on each side to cook through. Make a test cut on the thickest piece and check that there is no pink before removing from heat.

Allow bell pepper skins to turn black. Discard the skins after they've cooled and dice the pepper. The onions only need to become softened, then they're ready. Pull everything off the grill onto your cookie sheet. Slice up the chicken for topping tortillas and set aside.

GRILLING TORTILLAS

Depending on the heat of the grill, it could 30 seconds on each side or it could take 60 seconds. You're on your own here. But I will show you what to look for when the tortillas are ready.

TOO LONG (makes the tortilla dry & brittle like a cracker)

NOT QUITE LONG ENOUGH (tortilla is soft for folding)

JUST RIGHT (It's crispy and strong with flavor!)

Let's see them assembled, shall we?

NOW GO OUTSIDE AND GRILL!

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Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.