Now that it is Memorial Day Weekend, summer is unofficially upon us!  Do you know what that means?  If you haven’t started grilling yet, you should!

We have now been living in our house for almost a full week and are finally getting settled in.  There are still some boxes to unpack and lots of organizing to be done, but I’m excited to finally be able to cook and bake in my own kitchen again.

We just got a new propane tank and hooked it up to the grill.  And, the sun is shining!  We’ve got out outdoor furniture set up on our deck and it’s a great weekend to eat outside and enjoy the weather.

This glaze is super easy to make and comes together quickly.

Orange Marmalade Glazed Grilled Chicken
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts (or thighs)
3/4 cup orange marmalade
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
juice from 1/2 of an orange
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
orange slices (optional)

Method:

1.  Preheat your grill to medium-high heat.  In a small bowl, combine orange marmalade, juices from the orange and lemon, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the glaze for serving.  Slice the remaining half of the orange into slices and set aside.

2.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place on preheated grill and brush chicken with the glaze.  Cook 5 minutes and flip.  Brush with more glaze (discard any remaining glaze), and cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is done.  Serve with reserved 1/4 cup glaze.

Optional: When chicken is done, remove from grill.  Place oranges on grill and cook until softened 1 minute per side.  Serve with chicken and reserved glaze.

It is the perfect time to fire up the grill and try out this delicious chicken recipe.

I have recently seen some Jell-O cookies circulating around on Pinterest and was intrigued as to what they would taste like, so I decided to try them out!  My niece’s birthday is this week, so I thought I would make some for her as a fun, colorful, birthday treat.  Happy 8th Birthday, Chloe!

They turned out to be chewy, tart, and quite tasty!

First you start out with basic sugar cookie dough.

Then, divide the dough into 4 different pieces and add your favorite Jell-O flavors.

I chose cherry, orange, lemon, and lime.

My daughter had a blast playing with the dough and shaping it like play-doh!

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll in additional Jell-O mix and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.

They kind of look like big candy dots, don’t they?

Flatten with the bottom of a bowl.

Sprinkle with additional matching sanding sugar, if you like.

Bake, and voila!

These would be fun using your favorite colors for different party themes or holidays.  My favorite flavors of the batch were the cherry and lemon cookies.  I’m still curious to try out different Jell-O flavors like blue raspberry, watermelon, and grape.

For more vibrant colors, you can add a little gel food paste to the dough.  I did not add any color to mine but the green and yellow could have used a little more color (lemon/lime).  You can also enhance the color with various coordinating sanding sugars.

My husband calls these Obama cookies, but I call them…

Rainbow Jell-O Sugar Cookies
Yield:  About 3 dozen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 (3 oz) packages Jell-O, any flavor

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.  Gradually add flour and baking powder until just combined.

2.  Divide dough into 4 equal sections and separate into 4 bowls.  Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of Jell-O onto each section and knead to thoroughly combine.  (*If you have children, they love to help at this step!)

3.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and then roll the dough balls into their corresponding Jell-O flavor to coat.  Place onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart, and flatten slightly with the bottom of a bowl.  If desired, sprinkle with coordinating sanding sugar to decorate.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on baking sheets 3-5 minutes and move to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container.

Sources: Kraft Foods, and I heart Nap Time
You might also like to try these Jell-O cookies by Just Helen