All In My Grill...

One kitchen appliance I absolutely cannot live without (besides my coffeemaker) is my George Foreman Grill. His “lean, mean, fat-reducing grilling machine” has helped me cook up more quick meals than I can count. So I was surprised to find out that not everyone uses the grill like I do. In fact, most of my friends thought it was just something to give to kids going off to college so they could burn up their dorm rooms when they missed dinner in the residence hall.
I never even had a Foreman grill in college. In fact, George Foreman didn’t become the heavyweight champ until a few years after my freshman year (and by the way, his fight with Joe Frazier took place in January of 1973). I bought the grill a few years after I got married and have pretty much used the same one ever since.
I love the flavor of grilled foods and, since the weather where I live is not conducive to year-round outdoor cooking, I was thrilled to find something so simple and quick. I’ve used grill trays on cook tops that didn’t get hot enough and were hard to clean. I’ve bought broiler pans and grill skillets, but nothing works as well as the Foreman. The “Lean, Mean….Cookbook”, lists the secrets behind the grill as:
-The unique design that let’s fat drip away from the food as it grills.
-The nonstick coating on the grill plates. No additional oil or butter is needed and clean up is easy.
-The heating elements cook BOTH sides of your food at once so the food cooks quickly.
It’s a dieter’s best friend because you can cook your proteins, vegetables, and even fruits using little or no fat or sauce. Foods can be seasoned with light marinades and/or rubs and the fat falls into a drip tray that comes with the grill.
My grill is so old they don’t even make the model anymore, but they currently make quite a few different models ranging in surface size from 36 sq. inches all the way up to 240 sq. inches. Depending on the features that you want: removable grill trays, floating hinges (for thick cuts of meat), digital temperature readouts, griddle plates, waffle plates and more, there’s a grill for every budget and family size.
I normally use very lean cuts of meat, poultry and fish, brush each side LIGHTLY with oil (about 1T vegetable or olive oil for 3-4 servings) and use a variety of rubs (found pretty much at any grocery store) before I put them on the grill. You might have to try a few different ones before you find what you like, but most of the people who work behind the meat and fish counters usually can give you some suggestions.
My “go to” marinade is pure orange juice, low sodium teriyaki sauce, and a good quality Italian dressing: about 1 cup of juice, ½ cup of dressing, and 2 -3T teriyaki sauce to ¾-1 pound of meat, poultry or fish. The cookbook comes with marinade recipes and you can log on to their web site for more ideas.
http://www.georgeforemancooking.com/default.aspx
So instead of that fast food, frozen microwave stuff, or processed meal from the grocery store, save the calories and fat by preparing and grilling your dinner in less time than it takes to “nuke” and open your packaged McDinner. Foreman Grills, they’re not just for college anymore!