Beer in the Butt Chicken

Last year I saw a chef on television make beer can chicken and have been wanting to try it. Robert and I were at Williams-Sonoma and saw this contraption and had to buy it.

You don't need this $30 Veritcal Chicken Roaster..you can simply make this dish using a beer can...but if you know me..you know I can't pass up a new cooking gadget.

We made our first beer can chicken and it was awesome! Better than I expected. Unfortunately, we were so excited to eat it..we never took photos! So, I will show you some of the ones from Williams-Sonoma until we make this again..which will be very soon.

Beer In the Butt Chicken

1 whole chicken approximately (4-5 lbs)

1 can of beer

1 cup of BBQ Sauce (we used Jack Daniels Spicy)

Kosher Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Chili Powder

4 Tbsp. Olive oil

Pre-heat grill to medium high.

Prepare chicken by rinsing it thoroughly inside and out and let it rest to room temperature. Pat dry and then coat chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder and rub in generously.

Pour half of the beer into the BBQ Sauce the other half of the beer into the cup on the roaster.

Place chicken atop roasted and then onto in-direct heat on grill. Close lid and allow to cook for 30 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, baste with beer/bbq sauce every 10 to 15 minutes until chicken reads 170 degrees in the thigh. (Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.)

Grilled Veggies

1 Red bell pepper

1 vidalia onion

3 potatoes

4 green onions

2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

Chop veggies into bite sized pieces, coat with olive oil and season with salt and/or pepper.

Place veggies on the outside of roasted after the first 30 minutes of cooking. Toss every 15 minutes or so until dish is complete.

Enjoy!

This Week's Menu 6/15/08

So, I've decided to make a menu this week and I am going to try to stick with it. You will see that Robert and I are trying our best to eat healthier, lighter and utlizing more natural products. I heard a great grocery shopping tip this week. Only shop the outer aisle of the grocery store...avoid going up and down the inside aisle. So you hit produce, bakery, meat/fish, and dairy. If you only shop the outside aisles..you also miss out on rice, beans and oatmeal...but you get the idea.

Sunday - Beer Can Chicken and veggies on the grill, included herbed potato packets.

Monday - Black beans, rice and fresh pico de gallo

Tuesday - Grilled Mojo Chicken Salads

Wednesday - Pasta with roasted garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion and broccoli

Thursday - Turkey Kielbasa with baked beans

Friday - Baja Fish Tacos with left over black beans.

Eat at Moes!

So, when I was in North Carolina my psudeo-cousin Christine Buff (Di Ceasar) took me to a place called Moes Southwest Grill. It is kinda like Baja Fresh and Chipotle and very good. We both said...we hope these come to Ohio someday...and someday is here. Moe's has opened across from the Parma-town mall on Day Dr. Robert & I took my nephews Jacob and Zach and we each had a burrito. We all enjoyed ourselves and the variety was good that even though each of us had a much different taste, we were all satisfied with our creations.

Moes is great for budget minded and quick dining. It is upscale fast food...but the food is fresh tasting and the staff very friendly. I would reccomend Moes if you want something fast and as an alternative to Chipotle or Baja Fresh for mexican express.

Simple Spring Supper

This dish literally takes less than 20 minutes, is very healthy and delicious. It is an easy main dish to cook on a weeknight...and would be great as a side dish for weekend or company dinner.
Orzo, Shrimp, Spinach & Roasted Tomatoes

1 lb. orzo

1 lb. shrimp, cleaned and de-veined

1 qt. grape tomatoes, halved

1 bag of baby spinach (washed)

1-3 cloves of garlic, sliced fine

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt/pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a saute pan over medium high heat saute the shrimp (seasoned with salt and peppers) in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until pink all over (about 3 minutes). Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. In the same pan with remainder of oil saute the garlic, tomatoes and spinach for a few minutes..season with salt and pepper. Add in the cooked pasta and toss. Toss all together and add shrimp. Now it is ready to eat!

I totally suck at Blogging!

I still cook daily...and I still love to share my recipes..but for some reason I have a hard time keeping up with my blogging. I will try to add some new and exciting recipes soon. I miss blogging and especially the comments. Thanks to all who have emailed me asking me to come back to blogging soon.

Is this blog worthy? This is my biggest problem. Are you interested in seeing the same foods day in and day out? Is grilled chicken salad and garlic bread blog worthy? What about when I take short cuts and buy the rotisserie chicken at the store and Sanda Lee my dinner? Do you still want to see that?

Keep an eye out for some new entries. I am not going to promise anything...but I have been missing my window to the world so I hope to make some positive contributions to the culinary masses soon!

Tina

Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie

Okay, so as much as I want to eat healthy and clean, I can't just throw food away, I guess it is my Catholic guilt and all those starving kids in China or Africa. So, this is another dinner from the clearing out the pantry resolution....and surprisingly it was actually very delicious! The girls on the What's Cooking board on the nest call all Campbell's cream soups.."Cream O Crap" and I am almost embarrassed to blog this recipe..but it was easy and rather tasty so I thought I would share the love.

Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced fine
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs of celery diced
2 cans of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups of skim milk
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies
1 can of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits

In a large skillet saute onion and chicken in a little olive oil until chicken is cook through (no pink showing). Add in celery and saute for about 2 -3 more minutes. Add in soup, milk and seasonings (DO NOT add additional salt...the soup has plenty in it). Bring to a simmer until the soup is incorporated, add in the mixed veggies and simmer on medium low for about 30 minutes. It should reduce and thicken nicely to the consistency of the inside of pot pie.

Cook biscuits according to package directions and serve hot.

Everything but the kitchen sink scones!

Like I said in my previous post, I am trying to clear our the pantry. We have a very small kitchen and limited cupboard space and I tend to buy a lot of variety of food. The problem is I like to eat a lot of variety and end up throwing a lot of food away. I have an excess of things left over from holiday baking and wanted to use them up. I didn't have a lot of one thing..so I made up this scone recipe. It was SOOOOOO good. These scones were moist, bright and delicious! The basic scone mix is a recipe that came with Cuisinart food processor...which also makes this recipe a quick mix.

Cranberry, Orange and Almond Scones
2 cups of flour, plus 1/4 cup more for bench
1/3 cup of sugar (I used turbinado)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 stick of cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup craisins or dried cranberries
zest of one orange
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Topping
1 egg for brushing
Sanding sugar

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
In the bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment, combine flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg and pulse a few times to sift and combine. Add butter and pulse into mixture resembles small beads. Add in cranberries, zest and almond, blend slightly. In a small bowl beat egg, vanilla and half and half pour mixture slowly into the flour mixture while processing. Process until dough is formed into a ball (may be sticky and be careful not to over-knead). On a counter coated with flour, pour out mixture and form into a large disk (about 9"-10" in diameter. Add flour as needed. Place atop parchment paper on a cookie sheet and brush with egg and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Cut into 8 wedges and bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned all over.