Beer Can Chicken

We got a new grill, and this was the first thing we made on it. At Lowe's we found this nifty stand for $4 to make this recipe so much easier since you don't have to figure out how to make the chicken balance anymore! I highly recommend picking one up!


Beer Can Chicken
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, guts removed, rinsed and patted dry (about 3.5 pounds is a good size)
1 hunk of onion
1/2 can of beer
1/4 cup of worcestershire sauce
spray butter


2-3/4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-3/4 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme


Directions
1. Preheat the grill to about 375. Mix up all the spices in a small bowl.


2. Chug half a beer and leave half. Pour in the worcestershire sauce. Place can in the stand. Violate the chicken and shove the cavity over the can and press down as far as it will go. The drumsticks should just barely touch the grill grate. I usually tuck the wings close to the body and tie a piece of string around the entire bird to keep them tucked so they don't dry up and burn.


3. Shove about half of the spices underneath the skin wherever you can. Shove the chunk of onion into the neck hole of the bird as far as you can. Spray the bird with butter all over then rub the remained of the seasoning all over.


4. Carefully place on the grill and cook over 375-400/medium heat for about an hour. Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 180 with a meat thermometer.


5. Remove from grill and let stand for about 5 minutes before cutting into it.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Yet again we were faced with nothing in the fridge and no good ideas for dinner. What we really wanted to eat was Buffalo Chicken Dip, but that is not really a meal. So I made it into one. It was freaking good. Please note, I found this recipe for the pizza dough and it is a no-wait, no-raise recipe, which is awesome when you are in a hurry. It makes the dough pretty dense so don't you dare complain about it or say that I missed a step because I didn't let it raise... that's the point!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
* 8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
* 6 oz Frank's buffalo sauce
* 4 oz Ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley)
* 1/2-3/4 pound ground chicken
* 1 cup shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese

*3 cups all-purpose flour
*1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 tablespoon white sugar
*1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly spray a pizza pan with non stick spray.

2. In a skillet, cook the ground chicken until no longer pink and add the cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch and heat over low until combined.

3. Meanwhile, combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Squish into a ball and then roll out onto the pizza pan. The crust is decently thick if you use a regular sized circular pizza pan. Squish up the edges to make an edge crust. Bake for about 10 minutes.

4. Remove the crust and dump on the chicken mixture and spread out. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is done.

Chicken O'Brien

This was another one of the 'what's in the fridge that I can throw together and make a casserole' recipes. It was pretty good, but definitely needs more seasoning. I'm sure you can think of something that will make it even more tasty.

Chicken O'Brien
Serves: 3-4

4 chicken breasts (or thin sliced breasts or tenders)
1 can condensed cheese soup
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2+ cups of frozen potatoes o'brien hash browns
1 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375. In a 9x13 pan, spray with non stick spray and lay out the chicken in a single layer. Mix together the soup and milk and spread over the chicken. Add the corn and a layer of potatoes then the cheese.

2. Bake for about 45 minutes, depending on the cut of chicken. You may want to broil for the last 2-3 minutes to crisp up the cheese. Just watch it or it will burn.

Ideas on how to kick up the seasoning?

Hot Potatoes

Mmm tasty. Another good grill recipe. You can adjust the fire by taking all, some, or none of the seeds/membrane out of the jalapenos.

Hot Potatoes
Serves: 3-4

6-8 medium to large sized red potatoes, washed and dried
2 jalapenos, deseeded/membrane if you wish, cut in a large dice
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
Grill seasoning and garlic salt to taste
Handfuls of shredded cheese (mexican, colby jack, cheddar etc)

1. Layout a length of foil. Spray with some non stick spray. If you have a mandolin, get that puppy out, otherwise do it by hand. Slice the potatoes decently thin and place on foil. Throw in the butter and jalapenos and sprinkle with the salt and seasoning.

2. Fold up the foil and place on the grill. Cook on a medium heat grill 30 minutes, turning once. Cooking time will vary depending on how thin the potatoes are... this is a trial and error.

3. Remove from grill and carefully open the foil. Sprinkle on a layer of cheese and cover lightly with the foil so it gets all melty. Serve.

Fabulous Corn

We make this a lot when we grill. It is an easy and awesome side dish and we can't get enough of it. Try it, you will like it.

Fabulous Corn
Serves: 2-3

1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup of diced onion, red pepper, and green pepper... don't measure, just dice up a couple small hunks
1 tablespoon butter
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Garlic Salt
2 tablespoons chive & onion cream cheese (or plain if you have that)

1. Over medium heat in a small pan, saute the onions and peppers in the butter for a few minutes until they soften some. Add the corn and continue to cook, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with the steak seasoning and garlic salt to taste (maybe like 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of seasoning). Cook for about 8 minutes.

2. Add the cream cheese and stir to coat. Cook for another couple minutes and serve. YUM

Easy Grilled Asparagus

This is barely a recipe... but sometimes you, dear reader, need some ideas on what to make for dinner, so maybe this will help.

Easy grilled Asparagus
Serves: 4-6

1 bunch asparagus
spray butter
steak seasoning

1. Lay out a chunk of foil. Bend the asparagus until they snap (easier than trimming) and place on the foil. Use spray butter and coat spears. Sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

2. Fold up packet and place on a medium heat grill for about 8 minutes, flipping once. Cook time depends on how firm you like your asparagus.

Taco Rice Skillet

I needed to use up some ground turkey and we needed a quick meal. So I looked up some recipes as inspiration and started throwing whatever into a pan. Worked out great and the leftovers made a great midnight snack... the guys at it as dip! I think it would make a better dip if you switched out the shredded cheese for a big hunk of Velveeta... might try that in the future for a yummy party dip.

Tace Rice Skillet
Serves: 3-4

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice
1 cup shredded cheese


In a skillet, cook turkey and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain if necessary.

Stir in taco seasoning, water, salsa and corn; bring to a boil. Add rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until the cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

Apple PB Cookies

These are tasty and almost healthy! You definitely need to eat these within 24 hours or they will fall apart from the moisture content. I actually cut the recipe in half and made like 10 cookies (yes I cut an egg in half haha). I found this recipe at Pennies on a Platter



Apple PB Cookies
Yield: About 2 dozen

1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cup granola clusters (Or Just Bunches cereal, I would add more next time)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup diced apples, about 1/4 inch, I used granny smith

1/2 Cup sugar to roll cookies in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light mixed well. Beat in peanut butter until combined then add the egg and vanilla until well combined.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, granola, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients following the apples until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into sugar then place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With tines of a fork, press down slightly making an X on top of each cookie. Bake for 8-9 minutes, cookies should look somewhat soft inside when you take them out. Let cool/finish baking out of oven for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack

It is an honor just to be nominated....

Friends and Family...

As you may or may not know, one of my many talents is wedding planning!! I am able to indulge this, well, obsession really, thru my very good friend's company Simplicity Day of Event Coordinating where I am an assistant DOC. Well Simplicity has been nominated for the best wedding planner in Detroit in the Click on Detroit's Vote 4 the Best contest! If you could take a minute of your time and vote for us, we would truly appreciate it!

Just click here to cast your vote... you can only vote once per email account.

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THANK YOU!!!!!

P.S. I also support Kreativ Imaging for best photographer if you happen to wander over to that section of the voting =)

Italian Pasta Salad

Yep, yet another italian pasta salad recipe. I doubt it varies much from most others. But hey, at least the picture makes it look tasty!

Italian Pasta Salad
Serves: the hungry drunk boys who ate all the rest of the other pasta salad

Ingredients:
+1 box (12 oz) tri color rotini, cooked according to the package and drained
+handfuls of sliced pepperoni (cut in half)
+1/2 can of black olives
+4 oz monterey jack or mozzarella cheese cut into tiny cubes
+1/4+ red onion, diced
+1/4+ green pepper, diced
+1/2 package grape tomatoes
+zesty italian salad dressing, to taste

1. Mix everything together. Add as much dressing as you need to coat it but not drown it. Tada.... difficult right?

Creamy Pasta Salad

The boys needed something to eat on their man weekend up north for Memorial Day so I made up a couple of pasta salads. Apparently they LOVED this one... go figure, the health nuts haha.





Creamy Pasta Salad
Serves: hungry drunk boys

Ingredients:
+1 (12 ounce) package elbow macaroni
+3/4 package of thick cut bacon
+1 cup mayo (not miracle whip)
+1 packet dry ranch salad dressing mix
+1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
+1/2 teaspoon pepper
+1/2 cup milk
+1/2 package grape tomatoes
+1/2 can sliced black olives
+1 cup shredded colby jack cheese


1. Boil up a big pot of water and cook the pasta per the package. Drain and set aside to cool.

2. Cook the bacon until crispy. I find it easiest to cut up the package and the cook it in pieces in a pot. It works better than cooking then crumbling. Drain bacon on paper towel and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix mayo, ranch dressing mix, milk garlic powder, and pepper. Throw in the bacon, tomatoes, black olives and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Pour over pasa and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Oven Fried Honey Chicken Nuggets

Ok so I was mad, the dinner I planned on making tonight was gonna take a lot longer than I expected (since when does asian food take over an hour!?) so I tried out these nuggets from Lindsay . Lindsay, Molly, and Stephanie all gave them thumbs up. I thought they were pretty good... a little sticky and honey tasting for me personally. But they were easy and quick. Thanks girls.

Oven Fried Honey Chicken Nuggets
Serves: 2 the way I made it

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup honey
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs (I used Panko)
* Appx 1 lb fresh boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces (I used 2 regular sized chicken breasts)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil-lined baking pan large enough to hold all chicken pieces in one layer. (you will probably need a half sheet pan)

2. In shallow bowl, whisk together honey and vinegar. Set aside.

3. Place bread crumbs in a small saute pan and toast lightly over low heat for about 3-4 minutes until lightly golden brown. (I skipped the step.)

4. Pour bread crumbs a little at a time into separated bowl. Roll chicken pieces in honey mixture, then in bread crumbs; place in pan.

5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly. (I baked at 400 for 25 minutes)

Sauteed Apples

I needed to use up a granny smith apple and I needed a side dish... bingo. With more sugar and cinnamon and a little longer cooking time, this would be an excellent ice cream topping. It is a pretty standard recipe.

Sauteed Apples
Serves: 2



Ingredients:
+1 medium granny smith apple, sliced thinly
+1 tablespoon butter (no substitutes)
+1 tablespoon brown sugar
+4 drops vanilla extract (the real stuff)
+sprinkling of cinnamon

1. In a small fry pan, heat the butter and vanilla until melted over medium heat. Toss in the apples and everything else. Saute for about 5 minutes (or until desired firmness). For a side dish, I recommend cooking briefly unless you like mushy apples.

Potato Pizza Casserole

This was another I-need-to-use-up-the-hamburger casserole. It was pretty tasty! Matt thought the potatoes were strange instead of pasta, but I liked it! Another find on allrecipes.com



Potato Pizza Casserole
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
+1 pound ground beef
+1 small onion, chopped
+salt and pepper to taste (I used montreal steak seasoning instead)
+1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (see above)
+5 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes (I used about 4 large red potatoes... or one good layer in th 9x13 pan)
+1 (3 ounce) package chopped pepperoni (I used slices... 1 layer in the pan)
+1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
+1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
+1/2 cup milk
+1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I omitted)
+1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used more)
+1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (I omitted)
+8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. Spread the sliced potatoes in a layer on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread the ground beef and onion over the potatoes. Place slices of pepperoni over the ground beef. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the tomato soup, Cheddar cheese soup, and milk. (I did this in a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup in the microwave) Season with oregano, Italian seasoning, and brown sugar. Mix well, and cook until heated through. Pour over the contents of the baking dish.

3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the aluminum foil, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Parm Garlic Potatoes

I found this recipes on allrecipes.com, one of my favorite sites for recipes or inspiration for my own recipes. I thought these were decent, but I am not a huge fan of parmesan. They made an easy side dish and I needed to use up some potatoes =)

Parm Garlic Potatoes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
2 pounds red potatoes, quartered (I used about 5 large cut into bite sized pieces)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Place potatoes in an 8x8 inch baking dish.

3. In a small bowl combine melted butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice; pour over potatoes and stir to coat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes.

4. Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown. (I found that I needed more like an hour to get them to the texture I wanted).

Corn on the Cob

I loooove corn on the cob, even if I have to floss 10 times afterwards. I think this easy little recipe makes the corn even better!

Corn on the Cob
Serves: 2-4

1. Shuck the corn and clean off all the silky things... gross. Get a big pot of water boiling. Once boiling add 3 tablespoons of Old Bay fish seasoning. Put the corn in the pot and boil for 15 minutes. Yes, that's how long I like my corn boiled.

2. Remove corn and place on a platter/place. Melt a tablespoon or two of butter and add 1/4 teaspoon of old bay. Drizzle over the corn and serve. Yum.

Hellfire Chicken

This is a spicy rub for chicken. You can obviously adjust the heat on this pretty easily, but below is just a standard mixture.





Hellfire Chicken
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
-4 thin sliced chicken breasts (these work best, but you can use regular breasts or tenderloins)
-1 tablespoon paprika
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1/2 tablespoon salt
-1/2 tablespoon onion powder
-1/2 tablespoon thyme
-1/2-1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (depending on your desired heat level)
-1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1. Mix the spices up on a paper plate. With some tongs, throw the chicken breasts onto the seasoning and flip over to coat each side. Shake off excess. Repeat with remaining breasts.

2. In a pan, heat a couple tablespoons of veggie oil over medium-high heat. Place the breasts in and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side (until chicken is no longer pink).

**Note: These can also be grilled, but I would use regular breasts then.

Beefy Casserole

Yet another recipe to use up ground beef. It was pretty good. Matt added a spice pack yet again. He loves that stuff on pretty much everything haha.

Beefy Casserole
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
-3/4-1 pound of ground beef
-2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni (uncooked)
-1 cup sour cream
-4 oz cream cheese, softened

-half onion, diced

-1 can tomato sauce
-handfuls of shredded cheese (colby jack or cheddar)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Get a pot of water boiling and cook the macaroni per package directions. Drain and dump into a 9x13 baking pan.

3. Meanwhile, brown up the beef and onions. I added a little Montreal Steak Seasoning. Drain the grease. Dump in the tomato sauce and cream cheese, reduce heat and cook until the cream cheese is pretty much melted in. Add the sour cream and stir.

4. Dump the mixture over the macaroni. Cover with handfuls of cheese and bake for about 15 minutes. I broiled it for an additional 2 minutes to get the cheese all bubbly and browned.

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Molly gave me this suggestion for Easter/mom's birthday. Everyone loved how cute and bite sized these little cakes were. It was a huge pain in the butt having only one 12-mini muffin pan so I suggest having more than that if you plan to do them this size. Yes you can use regular muffin pan size, just increase everything accordingly.... but they won't be this cute and bite sized!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Yield: About 48 cakes?

Ingredients:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (18.25 ounce) package pineapple cake mix (Duncan Hines has a Pineapple Supreme flavor)
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
maraschino cherries, quartered

1. Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter; mix well. Spoon a tiny bit into greased mini muffin cups. Place a small piece of cherry in the center of each cup. Spoon a little bit of pineapple around each cherry. Yes mini muffin cups are tiny... so you only need a tiny bit of everything.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oils and mix well. Spoon over pineapple, filling each cup almost full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Watch them!! Time may need to be adjusted for the size of the cup.

3. Immediately pop out onto wire racks to cool. This can be messy and you can burn your hand if you don't have mad baking skillz like I have. Yes these will be a bit sticky... what can you expect from sugary pineapply goodness?

**I made one larger cake in my 4" round pan with a full sized pineapple ring and cherry to place in the center of the tray with all the mini cakes around it. Super cute.

General Tso's Shrimp

Confession: I cannot make asian food from scratch. I can't make it well anyway. So I cheat and use seasoning packets. This one Matt really liked. Yeah yeah, it is supposed to be General Tso Chicken... but I didn't feel like it.

General Tso's Shrimp
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
-12 large shrimp, thawed and tails cut off (yeah yeah I know I didn't)
-1 can of La Choy stir fry veggies, drained
-1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
-1 packet of Sun Bird General Tso's Chicken seasoning

1. Prepare the shrimp per the chicken directions on the packet. They only need to cook briefly. When they are just about done, dump in the veggies & chestnuts and cook until hot.

2. Serve with rice and eggrolls.