Grill Recipe

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was learn how to grill. Well, I've done it once so far. But clearly I'm good at it!

I found this recipe for artichoke-stuffed chicken and it was amazing.

For the stuffing:
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 jar (7 oz) artichoke hearts
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp minced sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

4 large boneless chicken breast halves (with skin)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saute pan, combine the olive oil, thyme and red pepper flakes. Set the pan over medium high heat to warm the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, rinse and coarsely chop the artichoke hearts and add along with the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Add the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Mix to evenly distribute the ingredients and allow to cool.








Rinse the chicken breasts under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and, with a meat mallet, pound to flatten to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Place the breast, skin side down, and spread each one with a quarter of the stuffing. Fold the breasts in half over the stuffing and use toothpicks to skewer the sides closed (I used about 4 per breast). Brush or spray both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill the breasts over Direct Medium heat until the meat juices run clear and the cheese is melted, 8-12 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Remove from the grill and carefully remove the toothpicks.

My tips:
Make sure you use real toothpicks. The second time I made this, I didn't have any and instead used large sandwich picks which did not work at all. The filling just wouldn't stay in.
If you can't find a 7 oz jar of artichoke hearts (as I couldn't), go slightly larger rather than smaller. The second time I made this, I used a 6 oz jar and it was not enough. Also chop the artichokes into fairly large chunks. They'll sort of slip out of the cheesy filling and into the gril if they're too small.

Riding a "Toot Toot"

Our friends, Martin, Becky and Lillie, were visiting over the 4th of July. Elaine loves trains - has books about trains and toy trains that she and grandpa play with - but she'd never seen a real train, let alone been on one. We decided to ride the Georgetown-Silverplume train with our friends. Elaine had the time of her life. It's two weeks later and she tells everyone she sees "Elaine ride toot-toot." Clearly, we'll be doing that again. Here a couple of pictures of Elaine and Lillie on the toot-toot.

Thank Heaven...

for little girls. We're having another girl! (I have no idea what exactly we're seeing in the 2nd picture but apparently....it's a girl.) Now we just have to come up with a name....
















This is a busy girl. I've been feeling a little movement (flutters mostly) for several weeks. Now she's kicking and turning around and just generally making her presence known....to me at least. Phil hasn't been able to feel her yet - but that's mostly because every time I tell him to feel for her either a) she stops moving immediately (which is what Elaine always did) or b) I start giggling because I'm ticklish and then he can't feel anything but me laughing and breathing. Oh well.

If she's busier than Elaine....we're in big trouble!