No Pots, No Pans, No Clean Up!

Spring is here!!! At least it's here in Nashville, and this is my favorite time of year in general, and definitely the best time to cook outside! Using your grill to make the entire meal is a fun, and different way to cook, and it saves you LOADS of clean-up time and dish washing detergent! All you need is tin foil, your chosen meats, veggies, and even fruits for desert (think grilled peaches)! After you're finished eating, all you have to do is toss the used foil!

Last night we made delicious steaks, as well as this yummy side dish of grilled mushrooms and onions. I just made a pouch out of foil by crossing two pieces of foil, perpendicular to one another, and then piled on the cleaned, stemmed, and quartered mushrooms first, then the sliced onions, then a few pads of butter, and topped off with salt and pepper. Close up the foil and add one more piece to secure the packet if needed. With the grill on medium-high, place the packet with the butter and onion side down- this will allow the flavor of the onions to steam up through the mushrooms, giving them great flavor. Leave the packet on the grill for about 15 minutes, flipping once, half way through. After the shrooms are cooked, just dump them onto a plate, toss the foil, and enjoy! Of course you can do this with any sort of veggies- bell peppers, squash, zucchini- just about anything your heart desires will be fantastic!

Also consider some less traditional grill-able items, such as tomatoes cut in half- cover them in a bit of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper- place the tomato on the grill for about 5 minutes, flipping once half way through. This will leave pretty grill marks, and a nice smokey flavor. Once the tomato is off the grill (or even better, during the last minute while it's still on the grill) top it with a slice of fresh mozzarella! YUM! Serve the tomato alongside your chicken or steak, and mushrooms! Delightful!