I've been exploiting the warm weather as much as possible by doing tons of grilled meals lately – besides making it easier to prep large quantities of food, be serious: doesn't everything taste a little better when it comes off of the grill?

Dry-Rubbed BBQ Chicken Breast

I know, I know, another chicken breast recipe.  But this one is quite a bit different from last month, and honestly, it never hurts to be well-equipped with options when it comes to making chicken breast.  This one is a bit more barbeque-influenced than last month's was and goes in a pretty different direction taste-wise.

• 3lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (we use frozen Perdue chicken breast from Costco because they're a bit thinner and cook better on the grill than thick pieces, but you could easily use thick breast and just butterfly it before you put the dry rub on)
• 1tbsp sea salt
• 1tbsp garlic powder
• 1tbsp onion powder
• 1tsp dried thyme
• 1tsp rubbed sage
• 1tsp smoked paprika
• 1tsp black pepper

As usual, I just added all of the dry ingredients into a small Pyrex dish and mixed it by putting the lid on and shaking it.  I used paper towels to pat all of the chicken dry, then put them in a big glass dish and added about 1 1/2 tbsp of the seasoning mix and mixed it with my hands until everything was covered well.  I let it sit while I heated up the grill (I do 5 minutes on high heat).  Then I dropped the heat down to medium and did 5-6 minutes per side on the chicken breast, then let it rest for a good 10 minutes on a cutting board before trying to cut it.  Don't cut it right away or you'll let all of the juice run out of it and you'll just end up with dry chicken.  Use a food thermometer if you're not confident it's cooked through all the way and it should temp at 165 degrees.

Cinnamon (Extra) Sweet Potatoes

Fair warning – we'll make up 5 or 6 sweet potatoes like this in our house and it will last maybe two days.  It's awesome

• 5 sweet potatoes, sliced or cubed
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1tsp sea salt
• 1 pinch of stevia powder (or 2-3 packets of Truvia)
• 1tsp sea salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut off the ends of the sweet potatoes and then cut into either 1/4" slices, or wedges.  If you want to do wedges and don't know how, I'm going to give you the same eloquent instructions I did last month:

How to Wedge Potatoes

Cut your potato in half, then cut that in half, then cut that in half.  Boom, WEDGED.

Melt coconut oil in a small dish, then add the cinnamon, stevia and salt and mix.  You can coat your sweet potatoes one of two ways:

1.  Put your sweet potato wedges in a large bowl and pour the seasoning mix over top, then mix and coat with your hands.  Then transfer to a baking sheet (we've begun putting a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet first lately as it keeps the bottoms from burning and it speeds up the cleanup when you're done)
2. Be lazy like I am and skip the bowl all together.  I just throw the slices onto the parchment paper as I'm slicing them and then pour the mix over that once I'm done, and mix with my hands.

There isn't a lot of oil called for, but it's enough to help basically bind the dry spices to the sweet potatoes and help everything cook a little faster and easier.  I'm not a big fan of a lot of oil on these as it takes away from the cinnamon/stevia combo too much.

Roast at 400 degrees for an hour.  If you're somebody who likes your sweet potatoes on the crispier side, you can turn them about halfway through.  They should pierce with a fork without being mushy (which they shouldn't be if you didn't go overboard on the oil).

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus is one of those veggies that 1) always tastes better on the grill, and 2) doesn't handle a lot of seasonings well.  Here is what I did:

Break the bottom stem off of each asparagus spear – if it's not past its prime you should be able to snap the bottom 2-3" off without needing any utensils.  In a large bowl or dish, put in all of your asparagus, and add 1-2tsp of olive oil depending on how much asparagus – I did 2 bunches and used 1tsp per bunch.  Sprinkle in some salt and pepper but don't go nuts – you want just a bit of extra flavor but don't drown it in salt.

Lay it all out on the grill and use medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning frequently (with tongs unless you're feeling like gambling with your fingertips).

Now, for a complete visual aid – enjoy!