Blackberry - Chipotle BBQ Turkey Breasts

Alright, if you made the blackberry sauce for the blackberry lemonade, then you're half-way to the BBQ sauce we're about to make! Trust me when I say, we're about to cook something so tasty, and fork tender, and perfect for sitting outside to eat!

Perfect for sitting outside in the shade... sooooo tender!

I am still keeping with a couple recurring themes of being efficient and cooking one day for the week, and eating very healthy. First, I try to cook as much as I can for the week simultaneously. If I'm going to grill something, why not grill several things, even if I don't use them that day. They keep just fine in the fridge! Secondly, I'm striving always to bring maximum flavor and uniqueness to healthy eating without breaking the bank, making it difficult, nor passing up on the foods we all love to have!
So, with this recipe we're going to tackle BBQ only instead of chicken, (although I used some chicken too!), we're going to smoke them a bit along with some sliced portabello mushrooms (used later in the week for my ramen bowl! Stay tuned), grill our veggies, and and just get it all done at once!

This does take a little forethought. I preferred to have a bit of smoke to this, so I soaked some pecan chips in water for a couple hours prior to putting on the grill. Drain the water out before you put them on a hot grill, in the aluminum tray or a smoking tray (if your grill has one).

BBQ and Lightly Smoked Turkey Breasts with Grilled Zucchini and Portabello Mushrooms

BBQ Sauce:

• 4 T        Blackberry puree
• 2 T        Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce
• 2 T        Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 t         Hot Sauce (Tapatio, Frank's Red Hot)
• 1-1/2 T  Ketchup
• 1/3 C     Water
• 1 T         Salt
• 1-1/2 t    Pepper

Mix well in a bowl, split into two bowl and a cruet or gravy boat for serving BBQ sauce on the plates.

GRILLING:

1. Put smoking tray on a hot grill for about 10 minutes prior to grilling food.
2. Have any veggies you'd like to grill already cut, and set handy on a separate (from the meat) plate/pan/tray, to avoid contaminating the veggies. I used zucchini spears, sprayed with a little cooking spray, sprinkled with oregano and lemon juice.
3. Place turkey or chicken on the grill, and immediately baste with some of the BBQ sauce from one of the bowls.
4. Close the lid down, and leave for 10 minutes.
5. Turn turkey or chicken, and baste.
6. Put veggies on the grill now, and put the portabello mushrooms on a rack above (if available) or very near the smoking chips.
7. 
8. Close the lid for 12 minutes.
9. Turn the vegetables, and remove the turkey or chicken to a plate, and cover loosely with foil.
10. Leave the vegetables on the grill for 5 more minutes, then remove from the grill.
11. Slice the turkey or chicken and serve with extra BBQ sauce.

I promise, everyone will enjoy this! Enjoy everyone!  - Michael!

Start summer off right with Blackberry Lemonade, then...

So, in the South it's summer already, with temperatures skyrocketing into the 80's daily. ALREADY! With that in mind, there's nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day, after mowing the lawn especially, than a glass of freshly made lemonade. Except, maybe...

Mmmm...

When living in Seattle, a friend of mine  got hooked on trying new flavors of lemonade - strawberry, raspberry, blueberry were usually early in the season when she would go picking them at a local farm. But, in late summer, the blackberries grew HUGE on the side of our house. We'd wait for them to get to the point that they were nearly falling off the vines, and PLUCK 'EM! Mah-gawd...

I recently saw some blackberries in the local grocery and said, "yep. It's time." So, I'm going to share with you my blackberry sauce recipe, which can be used here to make some blackberry lemonade, and then as well in a blackberry and Chipotle bbq grilling sauce, than can also be used as a pan sauce at the end (that's in the NEXT installment/recipe!)

And, if you're really adventurous... on a hot afternoon when you finished all your chores... why not a little somfin'-somfin' extra in that lemonade?

Highly recommended!

BLACKBERRY PUREE SAUCE RECIPE:

• 2 Pints of blackberries
• 6 packets of Stevia sweetener
• 1/2 C of water

1. Place all ingredients into a sauce pan, bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes

2. 

   Between low and medium heat on this pan, otherwise they will overflow!

3. 
   
4. Mash them with a potato masher, and return to the heat for another 5 minutes.
5. Let sit in the pan off the heat and cool, for about 15 minutes.
6. You can reduce these in a couple ways, in a blender or a food processor, crush these for about a minute. 
7. Finally, put a glass bowl on the counter, with a fine mesh strainer (sieve) over top of the bowl. Pour the blackberry reduction into the strainer and use a silicone/plastic spatula to mash this through the strainer. Every now and then, scrape the bottom of the strainer, into the bowl. Wrap or place into a storage container for future use.

BLACKBERRY LEMONADE RECIPE:

• 1/2 C of blackberry puree you just created above
• 1 C fresh lemon juice
• 2 C water
• Ice

1. In a tall 2 QT pitcher, mix together the first three ingredients.
2. After blended, add ice to bring the liquid to the top of the pitcher, and let sit a few minutes.
3. If you enjoy it, add a shot of moonshine to each glass!
4. If it's not sweet enough, add a spoonful of the blackberry puree to each glass and stir!