Yummy Chicken Marinade

We love to grill at our house. And on the super hot days of summer, it's always nice to grill outside instead of heating up the house. But grilling can get old if you don't have different marinades for your meats. This is one of my favorite chicken marinades. It has a nice sweet citrus flavor. Everyone will be sure to love this chicken!! If your running low on time, 2 hours will be fine to marinade the chicken, but the longer you marinade the chicken the more the flavors will penetrate into the chicken. I hope you all enjoy!

Yummy Grilled Chicken Marinade

¼ cup vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
ground black pepper
6 chicken breasts or thighs boneless or with bone

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour into a Ziploc bag. Place chicken into the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for anywhere from 2 hours to overnight. Remove chicken from the marinade and grill until juices run clear.

Loaded Brownie Chipper Cookies

I came up with the idea for this cookie one afternoon while looking at a plate of brownies on my counter. I'm sure that my kids would have eaten the last 4 brownies, but I wanted to see how a cookie with leftover brownies inside of it would turn out. So, I set out to make these cookies. They turned out pretty good!! With the peanut butter and chocolate chips inside, it gives for a nice flavor. And the chunks of brownie inside the cookie are nice and crispy and chocolaty. I'll be making these again for sure if I have any leftover brownies!

Loaded Brownie Chipper Cookies

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups pre-made brownie chunks, cut into ¼” pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a stand or electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening. Add the sugars and mix until well combined and creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt, making sure that the mixture is thoroughly combined. Add in the peanut butter and chocolate chips, mix until combined. Lastly, add in the brownie bits, only mixing until just combined. Do not over mix with the brownie bits inside of the dough. Place dough onto ungreased cookie sheets with a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, or equivalent. Make sure the cookies are about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Humburger Steaks with Creamy Mushroom Gravy

I tend to notice that my kids will eat dinner a whole lot better if it's something with a gravy or sauce. Are your kids like that? Maybe they just like to dip their foods into things, I don't know. But, my kids loved this dinner. It's down home cookin' at it's best! I served these hamburger steaks with gravy over my mashed potatoes, but you could serve this over egg noodles or rice with great results. Just pick what your family likes best!! I really liked making these hamburger steaks, which ended up being kind of like a mini meatloaf that was cooked on the stove-top instead of in the oven. They were easy and tasty and my family gobbled them up! I used extra lean hamburger when making them, so if you use fattier burger, just be sure to drain any excess fat.

Hamburger Steaks with Mushroom Gravy

2 pounds lean hamburger, divided
½ onion, minced
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon season salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon nature's seasons

Gravy:
½ cup reserved hamburger meat
1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
3 cups fat free milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Mashed potatoes, cooked rice or egg noodles for serving

To make the hamburger steaks, combine the hamburger meat (reserving half a cup for the gravy), onion, egg, breadcrumbs and seasonings in a large bowl. Mix well so that all of the ingredients are combined. Form eight hamburger patties and cook in a skillet that has been heated on medium high heat until they are just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. You may have to cook in batches if your skillet isn't large enough to cook all of them at once. Once done cooking, place in an oven safe dish and place in a warm oven, about 200° F until ready to serve.

To make the gravy, brown the remaining hamburger in the same skillet that was used before. Add in the mushrooms and cook until soft. Place cooked hamburger and mushrooms into a bowl and set aside. Heat butter in the same skillet until melted, over medium high heat. Add the flour once the butter is melted and cook, stirring with a whisk until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Slowly add in the milk and whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Let the gravy come to a boil, stirring constantly. If the gravy is too thick for your likings, add a bit of water until the consistency that you like is achieved. Once the gravy is thickened to your likings, add in the reserved ground beef and mushroom mixture. To serve, place a serving size amount of either mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles on each plate, followed by a hamburger steak that has been kept warm in the oven and then mushroom gravy. Enjoy!