Crabby Housewife

Do you ever have a hard time figuring out what you’ll cook for dinner? If you haven’t already signed up for my weekly mailing list, you can get a free copy of What’s For Dinner? which includes a 14-day menu rotation plan. However, I’m also thrilled to announce some new dinner plans I’ll be sharing here that feature a shopping list, recipes, and include the main dish and sides. I’ll even throw in dessert ideas occasionally.

If you don’t want to eat out but have no idea what to make, you can pull up one of my Dinner Plans, print out the shopping list, top on your way home from work and put something truly delicious on the table. Most of these recipes will be fairly healthy, too, but I may throw in an occasional one that is just plain yummy without worrying about calories, carbs, or fat.

These will always be dishes that I’ve cooked, tweaked and created something fabulous. If it isn’t fabulous, don’t worry, I won’t share it. Sometimes when you experiment as a cook, it is not great. Sometimes it is brilliant. My goal is to share only brilliance with you.

[AdSense-A]

On the Menu

Today’s meal consists of:

• Jamaican Jerk Chicken
• Pineapple and Cilantro Rice (Caribbean Rice)
• Veggie Kabobs
• Grilled Sweet Corn with Grass-Fed Butter

Shopping List

Highlight just this portion and print to take to the store or pull up on your cell phone. Don’t worry, Crabby Housewife is mobile friendly and responsive, so you can pull this page up right on your smart phone or tablet. Cross off the items you already have in your pantry or freezer/fridge.

You’ll need:

• 8 chicken breasts (you can also buy bag-o-chicken tenderloins for smaller pieces – 3 lbs. worth)
• Box of Minute whole grain brown rice
• Splenda brand brown sugar (less carbs, but you can use regular light brown sugar if you aren’t watching carbs)
• Canola Oil (can sub peanut oil or grapeseed if you have Monsanto concerns)
• Soy sauce
• Red wine vinegar
• 1 bunch green onions
• Pineapple (1)
• 4 Limes
• 4-8 ears of corn
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 2 o
• Pre-made veggie kabobs (or if you want to save money, buy the veggies you love and just grill them up in a grill pan or put on metal skewers)
• Garlic (2 heads but always good to have extra on hand)
• Caribbean jerk seasoning
• Sea Salt
• Grass fed butter (it just tastes better, but can use regular butter if you must)
• Aluminum foil

Prep the Meal

One of the hardest parts of putting a meal on the table can be all the prep work. I suggest things like pre-made veggie kabobs because you take them out of the package, throw them on the grill and you’re done. However, you can certainly do a little more prep work and make your own, plus it will save you money. It depends on your budget and how much time you want to put into cooking.

Step # 1: Make the Jerk Marinade

The first thing you should do is make your marinate so that your chicken breasts can be soaking up that flavor while you prep the other food. 

Step # 2: Prep the Kabobs and Corn

While your chicken is marinating, prep your veggie kabobs and corn on the cob.

If you bought ready made veggie kabobs, then you can add some seasonings or drizzle some Italian dressing on them. If you bought veggies, chop and place on the skewers.

To prep the corn, I do the following:

• Remove husks and silks and soak for five minutes in water (I sometimes buy them prehusked to save more time)
• Measure out sheets of aluminum foil to place the corn in. You’re going to make pockets, so they need to be good sized. Heavy duty foil does best on the grill.
• Place an ear of corn on a piece of foil. Add two pats of grass-fed butter (trust me that the taste is worth the cost), salt and pepper. Now, make a little pocket but pull the edges straight up, folding in right, then left, and then rolling the top down.  Repeat for each ear of corn.

Step # 3: Preheat Your Grill

Don’t just start your grill and plop your food on it. It will cook so much better if you allow it to preheat and then turn the heat down as low as possible. 

Cook the Meal

I got lucky on this one. My husband grilled the food for me. Basically, you should start the corn first as it takes a while to cook. Place it on the upper rack. About ten minutes later, pull your chicken from the marinade and add your chicken to the lower rack. Finally, place the veggie kabobs on the upper rack (or lower for a few minutes if you have space).

Cook until the chicken is heated through or about 8 minutes on each side.

This should be enough chicken to easily serve 6-8 people. However, we typically have two, three, or four eating, depending on if our grown daughters are around, working, or eating elsewhere. So, tonight, he and I ate and I made lunches for him and oldest daughter for tomorrow. There is still enough left for another dinner or lunch.

I like to cook enough to do this because it means less occasions I have to cook and is a much thriftier way to prepare meals. You can buy chicken when it’s on sale for dishes like this and save a bundle, or purchase larger quantities from wholesale clubs. 

I hope you enjoy this meal that was inspired from my trip last summer to Jamaica. While there, we met Mama Carrie, our tour guide, and got to enjoy a meal overlooking the ocean. At that meal, they served us this amazing rice and Jamaican jerk pork along with some delicious fresh veggies. The skewers and corn were a bit different than what we ate there, but still went well and were in season locally for us.

Let me know if you make an adaptation or what you think. Follow my page on Facebook or Twitter to get updates about future posts.