Orange Basil Grilled Chicken

Hey Folks! If you know me very well, then you know I am the master of throwing together a dish. Well Sunday after our family fun at the park, Joey was getting ready for bed and I was going to prepare dinner. Lets get real though. Who ever has every single meal planned out! Not in this household. We do try to keep a schedule for our meals, but most of the time with the hectic schedules for mom and dad, I have to go into fridge and pantry search mode. So basically here is how Sunday's dinner went.

Orange Basil Grilled Chicken

                                               
I had some frozen chicken quarters that I had thawed throughout the day. You can get great deals on chicken quarters at Walmart. Huge bags for cheap. They can go a long way. I saw some Orange marmalade (sugar free for you belt watchers) in the fridge. I like the taste of citrus flavors on the grill too. It fits well during the hot summers. I heated the jar right in the micro and added some olive oil to make the consistency good for basting on the grill. I then took some crushed dried basil leaves (I use dried often, because my herb garden does't exist yet, but hope to have one soon) and added them to the mixture. I like to crush the dried herbs to bring out lots of flavor. And thats it. You have yourself a great marinate to use on the grill for basting. Now grilling chicken isn't just for the pro's. Anybody can create a great piece of meat on the grill, remember to have patience. I grill my chicken on low and keep basting, basting, basting. Basting is what puts that nice crisp grill mark on the skin and provides lip smacking good flavor. Also, remember that the internal temp of chicken varies between books and websites. I keep my temp above 165 F (74 C) to make sure its cooked all the way through.

I plated this chicken with a sweet potato and some broccoli( Again my garden was all out > frozen ). Throw some parsley on to kick up the appearance a bit. Turned out great and I hope you enjoy too. Below is a preview of ingredients for sauce.

Sugar Free Orange Marmalade -
 <There are tons of marmalades out there, so whatever you have I am sure will work fine>

Olive oil -
<Just add enough so it will baste good on grill>

Crushed dried basil -
<Fresh will work also, just dice finely>