Becky's Grilled Potatoes

Katie here!  My escapades in grilling this summer continues with this fun take on potatoes.  My husband recently commented that we should maximize grilling out to keep our kitchen cool during the DC heat waves.  So I went in search of some easy way to cook potatoes on the grill instead of using our oven.  Luckily I remembered a great way my sister Becky would make potatoes.  This recipe can be made with or without dairy and has room for improvising.

Baking potatoes
Earth balance, butter or olive oil
Onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut slices in the baked potatoes.  The slices should go almost all the way down in the potato, but not all the way through. Microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes. Place each potato on a piece of foil, large enough to wrap the potatoes in.  Place small slices of the earth balance or butter in each of the slits, or if using olive oil drizzle alittle bit in each slice. Season with salt and pepper. Stick a slice of the onion in each slit.  Place the remaining onions on top of each potato.  Wrap tightly in the foil.  Place on grill over medium high heat.  Cook for at least 30 minutes. 

Grilled Lamb Chops and Veggies

Katie here!  It's summer and the grills are being fired up all over town.  Honestly I have been alittle weary of using the grill in the past. I love the results but was scared of manning the grill on my own.  My husband is an excellent grill master and over years past has cooked everything that I prepped. I recently was taken under his guidance to learn the ends and outs of grilling.  This week I tackled one of our go-to-tasty meals.  Super easy and really healthy.  My Son devours lamb every time we cook it, so needless to say this meal was a huge hit.  American chops may be bigger in size, but the little New Zealand chops have more powerful flavoring. I used indirect heating on the grill to cook the chops with low heat at the beginning to get the sear marks since the lamb fat tends to make the grill flame up and char the chops.  The veggies were cooked on direct heat.

Lamb Chops:
1.5 lbs lamb chops
5 large sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
Sea salt
Olive Oil

Veggies:
2 medium size zucchinis, thickly chopped
pint of cherry tomatoes
15 - 18 large mushrooms
sea salt
olive oil

Mince the rosemary.  Generously coat the chops with olive oil.  Sprinkle sea salt and rosemary on chops and rub to blend in the flavors.  For the veggies, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to taste.  String on a skew for cooking (if using a wooden skew, soak in water before hand). Heat grill to medium high heat (I had it around 400 degrees).  Place the veggie skews on the direct heat burners.  Cook the veggies for 10-15 minutes until tender, turning once.  Cook the lamb chops for approx. 5 minutes, turning once to sear on a low flame. If the grill starts flaming up, move chops away from flame.  Turn off burner under chops and cook using indirect heat from the veggies burner for approx. 10 minutes, until desired wellness is achieved.  Remove chops from grill, cover with tin foil and let rest for 5 minutes.