as promised...grilled chicken with blackberry- basil sauce

a recipe! 

in my last post I mentioned that i have found a new favorite store....  Sprouts.

Now I found it quite by accident.... while driving around aimlessly ( my new favorite pastime in the afternoons ) and I * purposely * took a wrong turn and saw the big green sign and just knew that I had  to stop in 

now if you are from one of the few states that House a Sprouts, then you are probably thinking, " yeah, big deal"  Buuut , I'm a New England girl, transplanted and currently in awe of so much that is around me.

Trust me... I am finding an excuse just about every day to make my way to this store.

it's a cross between a Trader Joes, A Health food store, A farmers market, a high end butcher and well, its a dream come true for this shoe-less girl..

imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I turned the corner to see this

I'll give you a minute... I certainly needed one.   I bought 3 containers and went home to make grilled chicken with blackberry- basil sauce.

I started by marinating the chicken breast in a mixture of crushed garlic, chopped rosemary & thyme, lemon juice olive oil & s&p

I covered it with plastic wrap and marinated for about an hour. ( not too much longer, or the lemon juice will start to ' cook' the chicken, resulting in a less than desirable texture.


when I preheated the grill I started to make the sauce on the stove top.

I added 1 container of blackberries ( blueberries would work here too) 
a handful of basil leaves, shredded.
about a tablespoon of honey  ( taste your berries, if they are overly sweet, then omit or decrease honey)
a few thyme leaves
pinch of sea salt

cook over medium het, stirring often and in a few minutes, magic will happen.

now since I had soo many blackberries ( and I knew I would look for an excuse to go again the next day) I made an arugula salad with goat cheese, almonds and blackberries with a simple vinegarette. 

Grill the chicken to an internal temp of 165, let rest for about 5 minutes, slice into strips and top with sauce.

summer flavors perfected. 

I did go back and get more blackberries.. I mean really, how could I not? 

If you find yourself with a deal on berries this summer and want to freeze them, it is super easy. Just rinse them, dry them, lay flat on a plate or platter and stick in the freezer

once they are frozen, then add them to a large freezer bag ( this keeps them from freezing into a big solid bunch, allowing you to take as many as you need at a time for the rest of the season) 

I froze 3 batches of these babies.

I can hardly wait for the next sale!

xoxoxo~ shel