Spring Dinner

We've been fortunate to enjoy some more reliable spring-like weather lately.  Although there are still days with more chill in the air than I prefer, we seem to be making some definite progress towards warmer, sunnier days.  I hate to jinx it, but I think our days of seeing that horrible white stuff flying in the air are over, for now anyway.

On a recent warm'ish day, and shock-of-shocks, a night when none of our kids had soccer, softball, tball, baseball or choir practice to run off to and neither Kevin or myself had a meeting to attend, I set forth on preparing a deliciously yummy and healthy meal for my family.  Knowing all along that it would be appreciated by about 70% of my family.  Picky eaters be darned!

I'll share the menu with you here:

Si Si Cerveza Grilled Chicken

Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Lemon-Parsley Asparagus

I don't know about you, but when I fix dinner, I typically just focus on a really good, homemade main dish and round it out with some steamed veggies and maybe brown rice or bread. Once in a while, I'll go the extra mile and put together a special side dish as well. On this night, I went the extra two miles and prepared a pair of healthy and flavorful sides to compliment the chicken.

Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Here's What You Need:
1 1/2 pounds large red-skinned potatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 sprigs rosemary
3 smashed garlic cloves
salt and pepper

Here's What You Do:
Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into eighths. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, tomatoes, rosemary and garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper according to your taste preference. Pu cut-side down on the hot baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Flip the mixture and roast 10 more minutes. Your kitchen now smells heavenly and you'll have to sample a potato right about now. You know, so it's okay for the others to eat.

Before Baking

Moving right along. I realize the next recipe is one that few people will want to prepare. We don't eat asparagus often in our house. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've brought it into our house. I've eaten it several times at a restaurant though. The recipe for the asparagus and the potatoes above came from my last issue of Food Network Magazine, which, by the way, is probably one of my favorite Christmas presents I received last year. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Lemon-Parsley Asparagus
Here's What You Need:
2 bunches asparagus
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Here's What You Do:
Boil the asparagus for 4-5 minutes; drain. In a small bowl, mix the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and top with the parsley mixture. Serve it right away! Asparagus is much like broccoli; it gets cold fast!



The chicken recipe is one I acquired from my neighbor, Mindy, who sells Tastefully Simple food products. I had purchased a bottle of the Cilantro Spicy Dip Mix and was looking for other recipes in which to use this seasoning. Mindy shared a great recipe with me and I have been making it regularly throughout the summer grilling season ever since.

Si Si Cerveza Grilled Chicken

Here's What You Need:
Juice from 2 limes (limes in the ingredient list always get my attention!)
3 Tablespoons Cilantro Spicy Dip Mix
1 teaspoon honey
12 oz beer
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Here's What You Do:
Combine the first four ingredients in a large, resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. Grill the chicken over medium heat until no longer pink. If you don't have any of the Tastefully Simple seasoning in your cupboard, feel free to peruse the wide variety of spice mixtures that are available at your local grocery store. Just look for something that sounds like it has a Tex-Mex kind of flavor to it and I'm sure you'll still turn out positive results.

And that, my friends, was dinner. I'm sure the kids did some rooting around in the cupboards or the freezer looking for cookies or ice cream or something afterwards. I don't remember. I just revelled in my sweet satisfaction of our family enjoying a delightful, slow-paced meal together!