For those of you out there without access to an outdoor barbecue, summer in the kitchen can be brutal. There are all these wonderful recipes for grilled meats and vegetables, and you fall further and further into a deep pit of depression as you scroll through your Pinterest fee. Well have no fear, The Lavender Apple is here! This is a wonderful receipe for barbecued chicken breasts, no grill required! The flavors are certainly on point for summer, but you could also make this in winter when your grill is buried under 3 feet of snow. Gulp. This chicken is moist and so full of smokey garlicy barbecue flavor. You will love it. We paired this with some delicious almond smoked (also baked) green beans that you will go crazy over. 

Ingredients for BBQ Chicken: 

2 tablespoons butter

3 chicken breasts

lavender salt and pepper 

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons peach preserves

16 ounces BBQ sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, diced

Directions: 

Melt your butter in an oven safe skillet. Add your onion, salt and pepper it, and saute on medium until softened. Add your Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 of your barbecue sauce, and your peach preserves. Stir on medium heat until everything is combined. Add your garlic to the sauce at the end. 

Salt and pepper your chicken, then place it in your skillet. Make sure it gets a nice coating of the sauce all over it. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your breasts, until heated to 165 degrees. Serve with the additional 1/2 of your barbecue sauce drizzled over the top of your chicken. 

Ingredients for the beans: 
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup smokey almonds, chopped

Directions: 
Wash and trim your beans. Chop your almonds into small pieces. Coat your beans in lavender salt, peppers, olive oil, and the smokey almonds. Scatter them across a baking sheet and place in your 400 degree oven for the last 15 minutes of so while your chicken cooks. 

These classic barbecue flavors marry so beautifully and come together without the help of a barbecue! Its such a delicious meal. Enjoy!

Tonight we made some tangy messy barbecue whiskey burgers for dinner. They smelled heavenly as they were marinating in the sauce, and they certainly lived up to my expectations once I was able to bite into these juicy babies. The burgers have a sweet tang from the barbecue sauce, and its kicked up a notch by the whiskey glaze. You will love this non-traditional take on a traditional week night burger. 

Ingredients: 
4 hamburger buns
2 tablespoons butter
16 ounces ground beef
lavender salt, pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup whiskey
1/2 cup bbq sauce

First, divide your meat into 4 round patties. Sprinkle each side of each patty with lavender salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a pan. Add your patties and brown/char on each side (about 5-6 minutes per side, until the middle is just barely pink). Remove the patties from the pan and set aside. To the remaining grease and your onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add your whiskey to deglaze the pan. Let that boil for a couple minutes. Then add your barbecue sauce and stir until everything is nice and bubbly. Add your patties back into the mix and heat/cover in sauce until everything reduces down. Its a big delicious looking mess. 

Add the burgers to your buns with extra sauce and onions to your liking. 

 This was such a wonderful tangy sweet burger. It will definitely make it into your regular rotation. 

Original Recipe Inspiration Here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/12/spicy-whiskey-bbq-sliders/

There are so many wonderful things I have to say about this salad, that I barely know where to start. This is the very first recipe I tried ripping off from a restaurant. My husband loved a particular island grill fast casual place and would make me go there constantly. I didn't really love anything on their menu particularly until I found this delicious BBQ Chicken Salad. I craved it constantly and spent a hefty portion of my meal budget on it weekly. I decided I could make it for much less at home, so this recipe was born. It took a little tweaking, but it is amazing. This is the type of salad where I want to lick the bowl when I'm done. Its hearty, tangy, full of goodness. Even my 2 year old gobbles it up, and you will too.

Salad Ingredients:

1 head green leaf lettuce, washed dried and chopped

1 avacado, sliced into cubes

1 chicken breast, grilled and cubed, cooled 

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup tortilla chips, crumbled

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Dressing:

1/2 packet of hidden valley ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons bbq sauce

2 tablespoons water 

Assemble your salad ingredients (lettuce, cheese, avocado, chicken, corn, beans, chips) in a large bowl. One quick tip is to use your salad spinner that you just cleaned the lettuce with, to also drain and rinse your beans and corn. Its a great way to wash all your ingredients while removing the excess moisture that can make a salad soggy. For your dressing, combine all your dressing ingredients in a mason jar or something similar with a lid. Stir it all together or shake it up until combined. Refrigerate dressing for at least 30 minutes. When you are ready to serve, add your dressing to your salad and mix until incorporated. This will serve approximately 4 people. 

I'm not kidding when I tell you that this is a salad that I crave. It has enough protein to keep you full and satisfied, the chips add a nice carb to keep us carb addicts happy too, and the dressing, well lets just say its a little bit of heaven. You will not regret making this for dinner. Enjoy!

Tonight we stumbled upon a very satisfying and filling meal that came together in a snap. Quesadillas and wraps are so easy to put together, but they can get a little boring week after week. Tonight I made a BBQ chicken Mexican pizza for dinner. It was so easy to throw together but had some unique twists that made it a lot more fun than a boring old quesadilla. It is crispy, ooey gooey, and crunchy all at the same time. The individual layers in this pizza filled with Mexican flavored goodness are like a cinco de mayo party in your mouth, while still being simple enough for a weeknight meal. 

Ingredients:

3 whole wheat soft tortilla shells 

1 can pinto beans 

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

2 tsp olive oil 

1 small onion

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper 

1/2 of an avacado 

1/2 lrg cooked chicken breast, shredded

3 tablespoons BBQ sauce 

Cilantro for garnish 

Turn on oven to 350. Take a tortilla and place it on a baking sheet. Cover it will 1 cup of cheese and then place the 2nd tortilla on top of that. Bake for 5-7 minutes while you complete the next step. 

Warm your oil in a frying pan and cook your onion with your salt until translucent. Rinse and drain your beans and add them to the pan with your other spices. Heat through then mash with a potato masher so they have the consistency of refried beans. 

Take your tortillas out of the oven and top the 2nd layer with beans. Add your 3rd tortilla on top of that. Add your chicken, cheese, and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Put it back in the oven and bake until crispy and the cheese on top is bubbly. Remove from oven.

Cut your avacado and place that and the cilantro on top. Cut into wedges and serve pizza style. 

Feel free to switch up the chicken with whatever type of extra protein you have laying around your house. This would also work well with black beans too. Add chili powder if you love heat. This is the beauty of this type of me, you can clean out your fridge! Just don't leave off the BBQ sauce, it will give your Mexican pizza a lovely Kansas City sweetness and tang. Enjoy!