Grilled Chicken Burgers

I apologize for the lateness of this post, as well as not posting recently. My work schedule has had me on a backwards schedule than the rest of the world so I wasn't really into posting. I'm back!

On Monday (November 8th) I wanted to do a date night with the hubs. Thinking of a more "cheaper" version than going out, I came up with this tasty meal and we dined down by the pool, i.e. where the grill is located. This was pretty simple to set up and put together, would be much easier if I didn't have to transport it down to the grill, but alas it was a "date night out" (to the pool!)

2 large chicken breasts, butterflied
2 small cans chopped green chilies
about 2 cups of Tomato-Basil Italian dressing marinade, or however much you choose
salt and pepper to taste

After slicing the chicken breasts in half to make thinner I cut them into sizes that would most likely fit onto a hamburger bun. Place into a casserole dish to marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Pour Italian dressing over the chicken to marinade. Any marinade of your choice would work, this went really well with the rest of the meal though. Then I put the green chilies on top of the chicken breasts. However, when grilling and flipping over, the chilies fell off but the marinade and grilling gave a lot of flavor to the chicken. I let this marinade for about 2 hours. Longer the better!

I wanted to roast a red bell pepper to put on the grilled chicken sandwich. I took 2 medium red bell peppers and put them directly on the grill. Turning after a few minutes on each side letting them get blackend but not chard. Then take them off the grill and I wrapped in foil for about 10 minutes. This allows the steam to really soften up the pepper. Then carefully remove some of the blackened outer layer, remove stem and seeds and slice to desired size. What a flavor from just the bell pepper!

Deep fried potato skins, at least its what I call it. My dad used to make this for my brother and I when we were younger. I think I probably should have kept them in the oil longer, because they turned out softer than crispy but either way, the potatoes were good!

I used 3-4 medium potatoes and sliced pretty thin, about 1/8". Heat vegetable oil in a pan about 1 inch deep. Tip: I'm not sure if its better for you, vegetable oil or olive oil, but I ran out of vegetable oil in the middle of this so I used half olive half vegetable. Still tasted the same. Once oil is hot, put enough potatoes in the oil to cover the surface and let "fry" for about 5 minutes, checking frequently. Take out carefully with tongs and put on a plate with papertowl to soak up the oil. Top with salt. Yum!

Homemade ranch dressing, as adapted from Rachael Ray. This is pretty good, and pretty close to the real Ranch dressing.

3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sour cream, I substituted regular Greek yogurt and wasn't much different
2 tablespoons hot sauce, depending how hot/spicy you want it. Recommended to use at least 1 teaspoon
Dill, Parsley & Chives herbs of equal amounts, but to taste

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix. This recipe really is a taste test, as you can add more of this and that according to how you want it to taste. I'm still trying to find a dairy-friendly way to make this. I think I've found a way to make dairy-free buttermilk with soy milk, but still trying.

Added the Ranch to my grilled chicken burger with the roasted bell pepper and had some potatoes, what a great date night.

This was a very delicious and inexpensive date night dinner, and for us it was and is still GORGEOUS weather outdoors!