Dinner of the week! and overdue Double Green tip + Dessert recipe is on the way!

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone else is enjoying beautiful change-of-season weather like we are in MS! Just getting a hint of fall is so exciting- I've been cooking squash, grilling out, burning spice candles and listening to flocks of geese through wide open windows... just typing these things puts a contented smile on my face.  I hope everyone else loves fall weather (or at least fall food) because I guarantee you'll be seeing a fall-ish trend on this blog for a bit (until I get sick of it and turn to Christmas!).

So... how about a SUPER easy Dinner of the Week with a side of Roasted Butternut Squash?

 FANTASTIC Marinated Grilled Chicken
(from the kitchen of one of my best friend's mothers)

Ingredients

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can also buy skin-on bone-in for cheaper and do it yourself- I'll give you tips!)
1 large bottle of basic Italian dressing (brand really doesn't matter- we went totally cheap-o when we did this)

Method

Tips to de-bone and skin chicken breasts yourself: 

Skinning it-

1. TOTALLY thaw the chicken if it's frozen
2. Put a large bowl/container, a large trash can, and a big paper towel roll by the sink BEFORE you start. A strainer is also useful for rinsing the chicken, but not completely necessary.
3. Turn the water on- you want very warm (but not hot) water.  A gushing stream is not necessary, however.
4. One piece at a time, hold the chicken breasts under the water.  There will be a slit somewhere in the skin- try to get the flow to go between the skin and meat there.  This helps separate them.  Place your thumb in the pocket between the skin and meat, and pull.  Discard skin in the trash as you pull.  Once you get the skin mostly off/mostly loose, you can use a paper towel to grasp it better and pull it completely off. 
5. I find it useful to place skinned chicken in a bowl as I finish it, then rinse them all in a strainer and pat them dry with paper towels.  It's easier to cut chicken that's not slippery wet.

Deboning it-

1. Use a slender, serrated knife.  Find the flat bone that runs along one side of the breast.  Slice into the breast as close to it as possible, and try to slide/scrape the knife between the meat and bone across the width of the chicken.  This gets you the majority of the breast.
2. Using a similar scraping technique, cut off the smaller pieces of meat remaining.  Discard the bone in the trash.

Cooking Method:

Fill a tupperware-type container with chicken breasts and pour the entire bottle of dressing over them.  Refrigerate/marinate overnight (you can even do it for two days- YUM!)
When your grill is ready, shake the excess marinade off the chicken, and grill for about 5-8 minutes a side, until no longer pink in the center. 

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
2-4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped coarsely
1 T fresh chopped or dried rosemary
1 T fresh chopped or dried parsley
1 t fresh chopped or dried thyme
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 T olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Method:

Microwave the whole squash for about 3 minutes on 70-80% power.  This makes it easier to cut.  Using a large butcher knife, cut it in half lengthwise.  Use a vegetable peeler to skin it.  Peel it until the orange flesh shows and the green veins are gone.  Use a tablespoon to scrape out the seeds.  Slice into appx. 1 inch cubes. 
Toss squash and all other ingredients except cheese in a large bowl.  Line a roasting pan or casserole dish with foil or parchment paper.  Put squash mixture in the dish and back at 450 degrees for about 35-45 minutes.  Ever 10 minutes or so, gently flip and stir the squash.  When it begin to get darker and a little golden, Sprinkle heavily with Parmesan cheese and broil for about 5 minutes.  Squash and garlic should be lightly browned. 

Enjoy!!