Sweet Tea Fried Chicken

Did we say sweet tea? And fried chicken? Yes, we did! Two traditional foods of the South come together here: The sweet tea works as a brine to make this fried chicken extra juicy and extra flavorful.

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Simply Recipes 2019 Meal Plan: June Week 3

This week's meal plans are all about comfort foods doing double duty! Sink your teeth into Italian Meatballs, Buffalo Wings, or Cheesy Tortellini Casserole. Double a dish, and save it for when lazy summer days get the best of you!

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9 Essential Grilled (and Marinated) Chicken Recipes for Summer

Chicken is the bird of summer. It’s relatively healthy, grills up fast, and changes its character, depending on what you marinate it with, and how you sauce or glaze it. Whether you’re making grilled chicken breast, grilled chicken thighs, or grilled chicken wings, we’ve got a recipe for you. Here, to inspire three months full of grilling, are 9 of the best grilled chicken recipes to make the most of this most seasonal of proteins. Go ahead and serve it up with some of our most interesting BBQ sides for summer, too.

1. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lime Cilantro Marinade

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Some of the same stuff that flavors good guacamole—lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro —goes into the marinade for these. It’s a dish as laidback as guac, too, whether cut up fajitas-style or served whole. Get our Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lime Cilantro Marinade recipe.

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2. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Easy Lemon Marinade

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Light and zesty as summer itself, the marinade gives these boneless skinless chicken breasts a bright hit of lemon, chile, and black pepper. This is a recipe you’ll lean on often, as it’s the perfect easy main dish for summer. Get our Grilled Chicken Breasts with Easy Lemon Marinade recipe.

Related Reading: 11 Healthy Grilled Chicken Recipes in Under 30 Minutes

3. Spicy Yogurt Chicken

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In vivid style, yogurt, lemon, fresh ginger, garlic, smoked and hot paprika, cumin, and cayenne flavor cubes of boneless chicken thigh. Thread the pieces onto skewers, fire up the grill, and enjoy a perfect taste of summer. Get our Spicy Yogurt Chicken recipe.

4. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Rosemary Marinade

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Marinate your chicken breasts in this high-flavor marinade that combines balsamic vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and fresh rosemary, creating an unusually bold flavor profile. Get our Grilled Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Rosemary Marinade recipe.

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5. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Honey-Dijon Marinade

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Honey and Dijon go into a time-honored dipping sauce for fast-food chicken nuggets, why not apply them to the marinade for grilled chicken breasts at home? Sweetness and pungency in perfect balance, to give chicken breasts the oomph they need. Get our Grilled Chicken Breasts with Honey-Dijon Marinade recipe.

6. Grilled Chicken Thighs with Soy Marinade

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Simpler and lighter than teriyaki, this marinade of soy sauce, extra-virgin olive oil, and garlic is a three-ingredient wonder for making grilled chicken thighs taste delicious. Since you probably already have the marinade ingredients in your pantry, it’s good for an impromptu meal, too. Get our Grilled Chicken Thighs with Soy Marinade recipe.

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7. Grilled Chicken Thighs with Miso Marinade

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Sweet, earthy yellow miso blends with fresh ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy, and chile garlic sauce to make the fullest-flavored marinade imaginable for chicken thighs. Get our Grilled Chicken Thighs with Miso Marinade recipe.

8. Easy Thai Grilled Chicken Breasts

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Marinated with cilantro, garlic, brown sugar, white pepper, Asian fish sauce, and soy sauce, this take on grilled chicken breasts packs a flavorful punch. This recipe serves as a great last-minute main dish, as it only takes 30 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook. Pair with a simple green salad and you’re all set! Get our Easy Thai Grilled Chicken Breasts recipe.

9. Easy Grilled Buffalo Wings

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Marinating these chicken wings in a mixture of buttermilk, garlic powder, and barbeque sauce ensures that they won’t get dry out on the grill. Use a barbecue sauce of your choice to adjust the hotness of your chicken wings, and pair with your favorite dipping sauce. Get our Easy Grilled Buffalo Wings recipe.

Keep Reading: Grilling Tips, Techniques, Tricks, and Tools: Everything You Need to Know About BBQ

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How to Make Sushi at Home: It’s Easier Than You Think

If You Love S’mores, You Have the Girl Scouts to Thank

Now that it’s summertime, you’ve probably found yourself lounging by the fire pit, or maybe you’re basking in the glow of a bonfire down at the beach. No matter what open flames you’re gazing into, you’ve probably been tempted to roast a marshmallow or two. Better yet, combine them with chocolate and graham crackers for the ultimate outdoorsy treat—s’mores. First you have one, and then you have s’more. A lot more.

Isn’t it strange how the combination of these three basic ingredients instantly transforms into something altogether magical when united in ooey-gooey harmony? While a campfire snack staple now, it wasn’t always this way. After all, someone had to come up with this ingenious idea to put them all together.

Related Reading: 7 Foil Packet Meals That Are Perfect for Camping

Let’s start with one key ingredient: marshmallows. The concept of toasting these sugary pillows over campfires began in the late 1800s. Beach towns in the Northeast popularized the idea by hosting parties at summer resorts with the specific intent of heating up marshmallows. At the time, this idea was novel and even romantic. According to one 1892 newspaper article that recounted a roast that took place in Asbury Park, N.J., “Marshmallow roasts are an excellent medium for flirtation…appropriately exhibited by nibbling the marshmallows of each other’s sticks.” The innuendo speaks for itself.

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But who decided to add the chocolate and the graham crackers? Turns out we have the Girl Scouts to thank for that pivotal pairing. The first-ever recipe for this delightful sweet snack can be traced back to a publication from 1927 titled “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.” The book includes lots of tips and tricks for enjoying a successful hike. But what’s hidden within its 118 pages lies one of the culinary world’s greatest gifts. Just below instructions for how to perfectly roast an apple is a recipe simply titled “Some More.” It’s directions are as simple as the result is divine:

“Toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp gooey state and put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The heat of the marshmallow between the halves of chocolate bar will melt the chocolate a bit. Though it tastes like ‘some more’ one is really enough.” That last part is really deceptive though. After all, you can always have s’more dessert!

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The recipe is credited to Loretta Scott Crew who made the treat for her troop during a camping trip. And while the name would eventually take on an abbreviated form, we still have her to thank for popularizing an amazing and rather ingenious idea. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised though? Girl Scouts have been ruling snacktime since 1917 with their vast array of cookie offerings, so really, it makes total sense.

If you’re looking to elevate your s’mores game beyond its humble scouting origins, there are plenty of ways to update the classic recipe. For instance, this variation adds bacon for a meaty kick. Or try giving it a fondue finish for an extra decadent twist. And if you’re just looking for other dessert options that still contain this gooey trifecta of ingredients, try making s’mores-flavored brownies, ice cream, and this incredible icebox terrine, so you can enjoy the taste of a campfire all year long.

Read More: Go Beyond S’mores with These Marshmallow Recipes

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Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Is a Treat for Your Waistband

Today is National Strawberry Shortcake Day, though I probably didn’t have to tell you that. Strawberry shortcake is one of those special summer dishes that never goes out of style and can follow any meal. The name of the dessert alone conjures up an iconic feeling of sitting outside with family and friends as the sunlight slants golden in the distance, as you dip a fork into a tasty combination of cake, whipped cream, and fruit.

With innumerable ways to serve the dish, it deserves a spot on tables everywhere, from modest picnics to high-fashion dinners. And since strawberries are relatively easy to grow and plentiful in the warmer periods of the year, a good strawberry shortcake recipe is a must-have for your kitchen cookbook.

Related Reading: Say Hello to Spring With These 7 Strawberry Shortcake Recipes

But while strawberry shortcake is a treat for your taste buds, it’s not always the healthiest dish on the menu. Especially when it becomes a regular on the table, as it does in a lot of homes throughout the summer months when strawberries are plentiful. There are, of course, countless ways to put together this favorite recipe and if you’re looking to impress, we’d suggest our Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake recipe.

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Our healthier take on Strawbery Shortcake:

If you’re hoping for the same great taste but trying to spare the calories, there are several ways that you can trim down that shortcake recipe to a healthier treat that is still worth craving. First, we recommend focusing on the cake. While a fluffy, sweet shortcake is hard to pass up, you might want to opt for a biscuit that won’t pack quite as many calories. We have a recipe for a Strawberry Shortcake that features a biscuit too. And it’s not too difficult to make quick substitutions to our dish—consider putting the biscuit together without sugar. If you want to cut back even more, try opting for a scone recipe, like this one, and maybe use a 2% milk instead of heavy cream.  

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When choosing strawberries for your dessert, the best advice is the same that we give for any produce: buy local. Nothing tastes better than a batch of strawberries that were picked in the past few days. And supporting local farmers will always be a great decision. If you can’t get to a farmer’s market, try going organic. Unfortunately, the strawberry market is rather monopolized by region—roughly 80% of the strawberries in the United States come from California—so it always seems difficult to find quality organic strawberries. If you’re not buying organic, be sure to soak the berries for a while to wash away the pesticides and other chemicals that might be clinging to them.

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The final ingredient included in strawberry shortcake is whipped cream, and even if you’re counting calories, it wouldn’t be fair for us to suggest an incomplete dessert. But there are plenty of tasty alternatives to whip-from-a-can. This homemade recipe is easy to make and tastes much fresher than those tubs of whipped cream that you might buy from the supermarket.

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When serving this iconic dish, there are plenty of ways to dress it up; a strawberry drizzle is always a safe option, but don’t be afraid to experiment—just remember, you might add in some extra calories. If you’re really feeling outside-the-box, try a chocolate sauce finish or a light caramel. But whatever you choose, make sure that you enjoy this dish with friends.

Read More: A Bushel of Recipes to Make Now That It’s Strawberry Season

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Friday Food Finds: Fire Cider, Bloody Mary Olives, Chili Pistachios, and More!

Now that the unofficial arrival of summer is here, your weekend schedule is surely jam-packed with backyard barbecues, beach parties, and picnics in the park. And if you’re like any typical American whose cooking skills are questionable at best, we’re here to offer a few store-bought suggestions from this week’s Chub Chub Chowdown segment on the Taylor Strecker Show. Scroll down to check them out, including the ones that didn’t get our official seal of approval. (You should try them and decide for yourself. We all have different tastes, after all.)

Wandering Whistler Alcoholic Tea (Earl Grey and Elderflower)

Who needs beer and hard liquor? We may have just found our new favorite drink for summer. And at only 140 calories, these may one-up hard seltzers as our preferred poolside libation. Nothing about it tastes artificial or cheap and we’re excited to try its sister flavor, jasmine, for what will surely be a more floral experience. Good on you, Wandering Whistler!

Prana Sumsuma Sesame Squares

If you love sesame seeds, you’re in for an absolute treat. If you’re kind of meh about sesame seeds, you’ll be meh about these (since they’re literally just sesame seeds and cane sugar). Taylor and I were big fans of the texture and think they’re an excellent alternative to something a little more unhealthy. I’d actually recommend breaking these up and throwing them in a yogurt or oatmeal for added crunch.

Divina Bloody Mary Olives

These. Are. Addictive. They have an awesome level of horseradish heat and would pair excellently with bacon in a traditional bloody mary.  I also can’t wait to throw them on a charcuterie board with salty cheeses and cured meats. There is obviously a significant part of the population that despises olives, but these may be the ones to change some minds and some unforgiving palates.

Setton Farms Pistachios (Chili Limón)

It’s pretty hard to mess up a pistachio. The chili lemon flavor is quite subtle and we would have preferred a little more spice, but we devoured these almost immediately, leading us to believe that they’d make a perfect on-the-go snack. Yay, healthy fats.

Spiritus Vitae Botanicals Fire Cider

Drinking vinegars are all the rage for their digestion, metabolism, and immunity-boosting benefits, though they can sometimes be difficult to swallow. Not with this Nebraska-based line of fire cider! There is a perfect balance of heat, sweetness, and tang, which means you can also toss the fiery elixir into a salad dressing or bloody mary. I swear by the health properties of apple cider vinegar and this company is a great introduction for those who may be skeptical. You’ll also be supporting a small local business!

Sailor Jerry Savage Apple Spiced Rum

We’re not sure if this will replace Fireball as your go-to for a round of shots at 3 a.m. in a sketchy dive bar, but this apple spiced rum is definitely flavorful with notes of vanilla and cinnamon. In fact, it would probably pair best in a spiced rum concoction during fall when the temperatures cool and you’re crying about the end of summer. If you’re a rum drinker, it’s worth a sip or seven.

Cafe Valley 7Up Cake Bites

We wanted to hate these, we really did. But we loved them (despite having sugar as their first ingredient). They don’t taste like traditional 7Up, but the lemony goodness in the form of crumb cake and cream cheese is divine. Ugh.

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