Resident Life, meals

Originally posted by Accord17
thanks spoogenet..my roommate has a Foreman Grill, so you just throw plain chicken in it or what? I've actually never cooked chicken or hamburger or steak or anything..i know..i know..i'm lame, but that's why i'm asking!

Well that depends on how you want your chicken cooked....

Here's a couple real simple ones:

Fajita Chicken....or what I do for fajitas. Start warming Foreman grill. Rinse off the chicken breasts and then pat them dry on a paper towel or something (not one that leaves little paper lint). Put them on a plate or something and douse them with some lemon juice. Plop them on the foreman grill and cook them until done and they have crispy dark brown spots on top/bottom where in contact with the grill. I think it doesn't taste very great until these crispy parts develop but I like it a lot when it gets crispy on top/bottom.....but your tastes may vary. One thing that can help it get crispy is to put some pressure on the top of the grill when the chicken is almost done to force more contact of the hot grill with the chicken. Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks or just slice it up.

I sautee some onions and red bell peppers with some honey and a small amount of oil in a pan, serve with soft flour tortilla, hot picante or Tabasco Chipotle sauce, sour cream, and cheese.

Chicken Monterey: Start warming foreman grill. Rinse off chicken and pat dry...sound familiar? Douse chicken with a good Italian salad dressing. Cook on grill till done (don't need the crispy spots, just make sure it's done). When done place Monterey Jack cheese on them and melt it, maybe use heat from foreman grill to help you melt it. Can be served as-is or is great with some hot salsa or picante sauce.

Great served with rice pilaf and sweet corn. Frozen sweet corn is cheap and super easy to cook in microwave, takes about 10 minutes and no work.

And in case you run into any trouble with cleaning the foreman grill (I don't use oils unless it's in a dressing or sauce or something, so things stick more)....right after you take things off and it's unplugged but still very hot, put a little water on it. I have a squirt bottle and just kinda squirt a little on there, then you can wipe it off with a paper towel (be sure not to burn yourself!!!). It's pretty simple.

One thing on chicken marinades.....chicken is very dense, it doesn't absorb marinades like beef does. Some people say to make sure you marinade chicken overnight....I don't bother, I just dump stuff on it and cook it immediately. But it doesn't absorb lots of flavor like that. You can get a jackardizer or something to pierce the meat to help it absorb the marinade, or you can do it the cheap way and just poke it some with a fork. I usually don't bother, but I don't mind mildly flavored chicken either.

Edit: Since you haven't cooked chicken, you probably don't know when it's done. It should take anywhere from 3-7 minutes on a Foreman Grill depending on how hot yours is, how cold your chicken is before going on, how well it contacts the grill, etc. When it's done it should be pretty firm when tapped with something like the flat part of a fork or knife or something. Raw chicken is pretty jiggly and soft, cooked chicken is very firm. Since my guess is you're not trying to impress anybody with your cooking, don't be afraid to take the chicken off and cut into it to see if it's done (you'll lose some juices though....). It won't be pink when it's done, it'll be white, but don't cook it till it turns into dry sawdust.

Hope this helps.

b