Simple Cherry Wine Marinade for Chicken

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Have you heard the Pure Michigan ad for Coldwater, Michigan yet? It is seriously heart warming, as is all of them. I’m the weirdo that you see at the light with her windows down listening to the Pure Michigan ads on full blast. I love them; something about Tim Allen’s voice.

I have been experimenting with wine lately and lucky for you, some recipes are good (ha)! There will be plenty more recipes with Michigan wine as I am a snob and will not drink a wine that is not Michigan. Now maybe I am missing out on something amazing…. BUUUT….. I am quite content with drinking/baking/cooking with Michigan wine.

Michigan Wine

Michigan Ingredient: Cherry Riesling Wine.

This is a sweeter blush type of wine that is made with Michigan cherries.  The Riesling portion of the wine (white)  is always good for making a “marinade” if you will for the chicken.

You can use this chicken for anything. You can eat it by itself (with sides of course) or you can chop it and put it in a nice summer-y salad with fruit and a nice vinaigrette.  The wine flavor is not overpowering, but you can tell that you definitely used wine in the marinade.

Chicken wine

Place your chicken breast in a bowl and use the zest of one lemon. I love the freshness that lemon gives chicken.  Roll the lemon (to release the juices) and cut said lemon in half and use the juice of half a lemon.

Wine chicken

Pour one cup *gasp* of wine over the chicken. Take a look around to make sure no one is looking, and take a sip. Seriously, how great is wine while you are cooking? At this point, you are going to want to pour the chicken and the liquids into a plastic ziplock bag (or if you want you can cover your bowl with clear plastic wrap) to place the chicken in the fridge. IT IS THAT EASY! <– sorry for shouting 🙂

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Chicken in a plastic ziplock bag is not very photogenic; sorry. But I wanted you to see that the chicken is submerged in the liquid in the plastic bag. To be safe, I would place the plastic ziplock bag in a bowl in the fridge just to be safe.

Grilled Chicken

After you have waited 2-3 hours, fire up your grill and remove the chicken breast from the plastic ziplock bag.

Again, this is such a simple marinade, you can add some salt and pepper (if you wish at this point) to the chicken while it is on the grill. Since the wine is not a super sweet/dessert wine (i.e. liquid candy), I opted to not add cherries to the marinade this time and wanted to go with something a bit more simple.  But in the very near future, I will be creating a syrup that will almost be used like BBQ sauce.  Stay tuned for that!!

Simple Cherry Wine Marinade for Chicken
 
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Recipe type: Main
Serves: 4
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A simple marinade, that is delicate and not overpowering.
Ingredients
  • 1.5-2 pounds of chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 cup Cherry Riesling Wine
  • Salt and Pepper
Instructions
  1. Place your chicken breasts into a bowl.
  2. Zest one lemon over the chicken breasts.
  3. Roll your lemon to release the juices and use the juice of half of the lemon over the chicken.
  4. Pour 1 cup of Cherry Riesling wine over the chicken and pour the contents into a ziplock bag or cover your bowl with clear plastic. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
  5. Fire up your grill and grill the chicken breasts until the juices run clear. Serve with sides or onto of a summery salad
Notes
Note: Grilling/cooking times will vary due to the size of the chicken breast and your grill.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

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Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

This is a dish that I actually started making when my daughter started eating solids. It is a light and fresh tasting dish that is highly addictive. To this day, she still loves the peppers. She eats those first before eating anything else.

This is a great side dish to have a barbecue, as it is light and you don’t have to worry about the dressing (typically mayo based) being out too long.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

Michigan Ingredient: Meijer Orzo

I know, a bit of a stretch with the Michigan Ingredient here, BUT…. soon the produce season in Michigan will explode the scene  and there will be so many fresh ingredients, it will make your head spin.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

First things first, chop your zucchini and peppers in half. I would recommend using the other halfs for a stir fry or to snack on because I mean, come on, veggies are great. I could easily be a vegetarian except for the minor detail that I love steak… and bacon.

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Try to make the size of your veggies are the same to promote even roasting. When I was making this for my daughter, the “chunks” were much smaller. The size above is roughly 1/2  to 3/4 of an inch, give or take.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

Place your veggies into a bowl and pour your olive oil over them. A little goes a long way, so trust me when I say that a tablespoon is sufficient.  Salt and pepper to taste, which I know seems weird to say when in fact you might not be tasting your veggies at this point; BUT you know your family best. If you need more pepper, use more pepper, or if you are limiting salt, don’t use as much salt.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

Spread your veggies onto a greased, tin foil lined baking sheet in a single layer.

This is when I would start preheating my oven and getting my water boiling for the pasta.  I know it seems weird, but after making this all the time, I would go through this process so that everything times out where the pasta will be done around the same time the veggies are done (or close to it).

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta

Of course, if you would like to roast your veggies longer, by all means, please do so. I know what tastes my family enjoys and not enjoys. Roasting the veggies brings the sweetness out of the veggies and makes it like a healthy candy that is good for you. My daughter still can not get enough of the peppers.

Combine your pasta and your veggies in a bowl (preferably the one you will be using, because who wants to dirty multiple dishes, not this girl). Zest your lemon over the pasta and veggies. Roll the lemon (to release the juices), cut that bad boy in half and squeeze half a lemon over the pasta. Give it a stir and a taste. If you want more lemon, by all means, use the other half.  This can be served hot or cold. Both are equally amazing.

Lemon Zucchini Pepper Pasta
 
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6-8
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A light, fresh salad that will compliment any barbecue.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Orzo Pasta (dry)
  • ¾ cup Zucchini (half medium) - chopped
  • ½ to ¾ cup Red Bell Pepper (half red pepper) - chopped
  • ½ to ¾ cup Orange Bell Pepper (half orange pepper) - chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Zest of one Lemon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Half to one Lemon juice (depending on the size of Lemon and personal preference)
Instructions
  1. Chop your veggies and place into a bowl.
  2. Add your oil over the veggies in the bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well coated and spread your veggies onto a greased, tin-foil lined baking sheet in a single layer.
  3. Preheat your oven to 425 and roast your veggies for 20-25 minutes.
  4. While your oven is preheating, bring water to a boil and cook Orzo until Al dente.
  5. Once your pasta and veggies are ready, combine in a bowl and zest your lemon over top.
  6. Roll your lemon (to release the juices) and cut your lemon in half. Squeeze your lemon over the pasta and give it a stir. Taste the pasta with a veggie and if you would like more lemon, squeeze the other half into your dish.

Blueberry Muffins

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These muffins are amazing. Not too sweet, yet just the right  of sweetness to fully enjoy as a dessert. This is why it is acceptable to have them with dinner.

This is the recipe my family uses whenever we make macaroni and cheese. There is a slight lemon hint from the lemon zest, but not quite enough to put lemon in the title. It adds a great deal of freshness to the muffins. I’ve made the muffins before without lemon zest and you really can tell that it is missing.

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Michigan Ingredient: Sugar

Unfortunately, blueberries are not quite in season yet in Michigan; but I had to include this recipe with the mac and cheese because it would almost be sacrilege if I didn’t.  Blueberries are usually in season in July and August.

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First things first, combine the blueberries, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Doesn’t that look good? I could  just eat that by itself.

 

Combine the remaining dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. I usually use a fork because I would rather clean a fork than a whisk. I know horrible right? BUUUUUUTTTTTTTT….. normally I am prepping these and the whisk is already dirty from making the cheese sauce for the macaroni and cheese. SOOOOOOOO… priorities? Yes, let’s go with that.  Please note that a well is created for the liquid ingredients.

 

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Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour into the well. If it runs over, that is fine. It does not mean that the recipe fails. I promise. Stir until the ingredients are barely combined. When it comes to making muffins, you do not want to over-stir them. I want to say that I overheard a grandparent say this, so it must be true. If there appears to be a couple of “dry” lumps, that’s no big deal.

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At this time, I would preheat the oven at this point (to 425) and then pour (or spoon) your muffin batter into the muffin tin. I like to make “bigger” muffins, so usually this recipe yields 10 muffins for me that are “bigger”. The recipe can stretch to 12 muffins, your muffins will just be slightly smaller.

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If you have empty cavities, please pour water in them to promote even baking. My mom has always done this for as long as I can remember and whatever she was baking would always turn out great.  Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until the muffins pass the toothpick test.

Blueberry Muffins
 
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Cuisine: Breads
Serves: 10-12 muffins
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup of Fresh Blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons of Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon of Fresh Lemon Zest
  • 1¾ cups of Flour
  • ¼ cup of Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon of Salt
  • ¾ cup of Milk
  • ⅓ cup Oil
  • 1 Egg
Instructions
  1. Combine your blueberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Combine the remaining dry ingredients into a large bowl. Create a well in which the liquid ingredients will be poured into.
  3. Combine the milk, oil, and egg into a small bowl. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined (Do not over-stir).
  4. Add your blueberries and stir until just combined.
  5. Preheat your oven at 425 degrees while your pour your muffin batter into a muffin pan. *
  6. Bake for 20-25 until the toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
*Note: If you do not use all of the muffin cavities, fill the empty spaces with water to promote even baking.