Beer Marinated Grilled Chicken

Beer is a remarkable meat tenderizer.  It also adds unique flavor that infuses meat through and through.  

Spices, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice mixed with a lager makes for a tasty marinade that makes everyday grilled chicken into something special.  

This recipe is quick, easy and delicious!  Perfect for the grilling season!

I used a Samuel Adams Boston Lager, but use what you like.  A pale ale will bring out the tartness of the lemon.  A dark beer will make for a heartier flavor.

Beer Marinated Grilled Chicken

1 12-Oz Ounce Bottle Boston Lager
1/2 Lemon, Juiced
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley
1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano
2 Tsp Coarse Salt
2 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
4-5 Lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

In a food processor, combine lemon juice, olive oil and spices.  Process 30 seconds to a minute to blend thoroughly.

Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade over top.  Pour beer into the bag. 

Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible.  Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.  The longer the better!

About an hour before you're ready to start grilling, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.  This will make the chicken (or any other meat) more tender than cooking straight from the fridge.

On a preheated grill, cook the chicken 8 to 10 minutes per side, depending on the size of the breasts.  Cook until the center is white and no longer pink. Try not to overcook.

Enjoy with your favorite side dish or as a topper for a fresh garden salad.

Stovetop Chicken Skillet

If you read my blog with any kind regularity then you know that I try to cook everything from scratch whenever possible.  It's my preferred method.  However, sometimes reality doesn't allow me to spend so much time making a meal.  So, yes, sometimes I cheat and take shortcuts.  Shocking, I know!

This is one of my favorite cheater recipes using stuff I keep in the pantry for just such a dinner emergency.  It basically requires very little work on my part and is yummy.


Stovetop Chicken Skillet  



1-1/2 Cups Hot Water
1/4 Cup Butter Or Margarine, Melted
1 Pkg. (6 Oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix For Chicken
6 Small  Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves (1-1/2 Lb.)
1 Can  (10-3/4 Oz.) Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1/3 Cup Sour Cream




Mix hot water, butter and stuffing mix.

Brown chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 5 minutes on each side.

Mix soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Top with stuffing; cover. Cook on low heat 10 min. or until chicken is done.

Note:  If you have an anti-mushroom crowd like I do, then substitute pretty much any cream-of-whatever soup that floats your boat - like cream of chicken.  

Beer Braised Chicken with Peas

This is comfort food!  A hugely flavorful recipe using chicken and beer.  Easy to make, impressively delicious.  An excellent dish to prepare for a social gathering or as a nice satisfying meal.

Beer-Braised Chicken & Peas


3 3/4 Pounds Chicken Parts 
Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Small Red Onion, Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Pale Ale, Such as New Albion Ale
2 Tablespoons Spicy Guinness Mustard (or Other Grainy Mustard)
2 Cups Frozen Peas, Thawed And Drained


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken all over with Creole seasoning or other seasoning of your choice.  

In a large Dutch oven or other ovenproof deep pan, heat the oil over medium heat. 

In batches cook the chicken in the hot oil, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes per side.  Then transfer to a plate. 











Add the onion to the pan and cook until the they start to brown, about 5 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the beer and mustard, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Return the chicken to the skillet, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, turning chicken halfway through cooking time.  

Transfer the chicken to a serving dish, keep as much of the saucy goodness in the pan as possible.

Place the skillet over high heat and add the peas. Cook until the peas are tender but still green and the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. 

Spoon the sauce and peas over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Awesome with a side of smashed taters!

Spicy Garlic Green Beans with Chicken

This is a simple to make meal that explodes with flavor.  And it's healthy, too, if you can imagine that!  So, it's a win/win all around.

Spicy Garlic Green Beans with Chicken


1 Pound Green Beans, Trimmed
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Pound Chicken Breast
Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper 
2 or 3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Teaspoon (or more) Hot Pepper Flakes

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Removed from skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat.  Stir in garlic and hot pepper flakes.  Cook until garlic softens, don't let it brown.  Add the green beans and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat.  Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes.  Stir and add chicken.  Allow to cook for another 5 minutes and serve.

Chicken Sandwich with Mozzarella and Roasted Red Pepper

This is one of my favorite sandwiches at the pub that hubby and I go to for date night each week.  Mine is like theirs, except on steroids!  

You can use jarred commercial red peppers but I recommend taking the time to make these roasted red peppers with garlic that I made!  They make quite a difference! 

Chicken Sandwich with Mozzarella and Roasted Red Pepper 


1/4 Cup Olive Oil
4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Halves
1 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Egg, Beaten
4 Kaiser Rolls
4 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
4 1/2" Thick Slices Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
1 Cup Roasted Red Sweet Peppers 


Thinly slice the chicken breasts into cutlets, you should get about 3 to a breast.  Dip each cutlet in egg and then dredge in breadcrumbs to coat. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Slice the rolls in half.  Dip the bottom half of the roll into a plate with balsamic vinegar poured into it.

Place two of the cutlets on the bottom half of roll.  



Top that with a slice of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of roasted peppers. 

Cover with top of roll and serve.

Makes four sandwiches.

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

This is a easy meal to throw together in the morning.  You'll have a tasty dinner to come home to at the end of the day!

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas


1 Yellow Onion, Sliced
3 Sweet Peppers, Sliced
1 ½ Pounds Boneless Chicken Breast
½ Cup Chicken Broth
½ Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Cumin
1 ½ Tablespoons Chili Powder
Squirt Of Lime Juice
Tortillas
Fajita Fixings

Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased or lined crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

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Baked Garlic Chicken

Baked Garlic Chicken

4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Dry Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Over low heat warm the olive oil until fragrant.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes until slightly translucent.

In a small dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. 

Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. 

Place in a baking pan or cooking sheet.  

 Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

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Hellfire Chicken

Hellfire Chicken

4 - 6 Chicken Pieces
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
2 Cups Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes

Preheat large skillet on stove over medium heat.

Add butter and pepper flakes.  Cook for a couple minutes to release the heat from the hot pepper. (You can omit the hot peppers if you want it milder but then it won't be hell fire)

Add onions and saute until the onions are lightly browned.

Add chicken and cover.  Cook with lid on for 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.  Keep cooking the sauce until thickens.

Return the chicken to the pan and coat in the sauce.  

Serve with fire extinguisher.  Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

24-Ounce Jar Medium Salsa

Juice From One Lime

1 Cup Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

1.25-Oz. Package Taco Seasoning

2 Jalapeno Peppers, Finely Chopped (Optional)

1 Large Tomato, Chopped

6 Boneless Chicken Breast Halves, Defrosted

 

In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning, tomato and jalapenos.

Add the chicken and coat with the salsa mixture. Allow the chicken to cook, covered, in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.

Shred chicken.  Serve over rice, as a taco filling or in a wrap.

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Buffalo Chicken Burger

Buffalo Chicken Burger 

1 Lb Ground Chicken

1/4 Cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1 Clove Garlic, Grated

1 Tbsp Red Onion, Grated

1/4 Cup Franks Hot Sauce

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning or

Salt and Pepper

Oil Spray

2 Slices Thick Slices Smoked Gouda

2 Slices American Cheese

2 Kaiser Rolls

In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Makes two 8-ounce burgers.

Heat a large skillet on high heat (I use my George Foreman Grill). When hot, lightly spray the oil. Add burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cook on one side until browned 4-5 minutes, then flip. Cook another 4 minutes or until burgers are cooked all the way through (keep heat medium-low to prevent burning).  8 minutes on the Foreman grill.

In the meantime, place cheese slices on each side of the buns and place under broiler to melt.  

Place burger on bun and top with additional hot sauce if desired.

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Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 3/4 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Pound Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Strips

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

5 Cups Cut-Up Vegetables (whatever you like)

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/4 Teaspoon Chopped Fresh Garlic

4 Cups Hot Cooked Rice, Cooked Without Salt

Mix cornstarch, broth and soy.

Add olive oil and garlic to a nonstick pan and heat 1 minute. Add chicken and stir-fry until browned. Remove chicken.

Add vegetables, ginger and stir-fry until tender-crisp.

I did one with peppers, onions and peas and another with onions, zucchini and peas.  

Stir cornstarch mixture and add. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens. 

Return chicken to skillet and heat through. Serve over rice.

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Lick-the-Plate-Clean Chicken

Lick-the-Plate-Clean Chicken

This chicken has got it all going on . . . sweet, savory, tangy.  You'll be tempted to lick the plate once the chicken is all eaten up . . . oh, go ahead, no one is looking!


1 1/2 - 2 Lbs Chicken Parts
1/2 Cup Dijon or Rustic Mustard 
1/4 Cup REAL Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar


Preheat oven to 400ºF. 

Place chicken into an oven-proof baking dish. I used boneless, skinless thighs and chicken breasts. Season chicken with your favorite seasoned salt and pepper. 

In a small bowl, mix together mustard, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Pour mixture over the the chicken, turning each piece to fully coat.

Place the chicken into the preheated oven, and let bake for 40 minutes; baste after 20 minutes. 

After 40 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven and baste again with the sauce.  Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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One man's trash is another man's treasure

Hubby and I were cruising along on our motorcycles . . . checking out the scenery, enjoying the ride . . . when suddenly the car we were following slams on his/her brakes and whips off to the side of the road without a nary a turn signal to be flicked.  Luckily, we were paying attention to more than the view and we avoided what could have been a nasty little accident.  

What was this person's major malfunction?  Someone else had a bunch of crap that they were trying to hawk spread out in their driveway to offload to the first undiscriminating buyer with a buck or two burning a hole in their pocket.   The person we were behind apparently felt an overwhelming need to see what crap they could buy and add to their own collection of crap.


Anyhoo . . . a sign out in front said it was a "yard sale".  But, they obviously weren't selling their yard . . . just a bunch of crap that they no longer wanted that was cluttering their home.  Actually, the stuff I managed to catch of glimpse of didn't all look like crap.  


We all know what a yard sale is . . . or perhaps you might know it better as a tag sale or a garage sale or an attic sale or a basement sale or a rummage sale.  


These are all the same things but called by another name . . . what it's called often has something to do with where it's being held.  I mean regionally, not specifically a yard or an attic.  Some might say that a garage sale has higher quality items than a tag sale . . . meh, I don't think so.  

Where I come from in the sticks of Pennsylvania they were called yard sales.  When I moved to Connecticut I notice that they were called tag sales.   Your more likely to find a rummage sale in Wisconsin (or other location in the Great Lakes Region). 



As far as I can tell, it's all pretty much the same.  Different crap, of course, but the same concept.  

Personally, I'm not a fan of these mini flea markets.  I have enough crap of my own and I don't need to add someone else's crap to my collection of crap.

I know, I know . . . sometimes you can come across something rare or valuable that the seller is completely clueless about and walk off with a serious bargain . . . but most often its a case of one man's trash is another man's treasure.  


Meh . . . crap is crap is crap.  

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

12 Chicken Breasts Tenders

12 Strips Bacon

Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning

Brown Sugar

Sprinkle all the chicken with the seasoning.

Then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place onto a baking sheet drizzled with a couple tablespoons of olive oil or prepped with cooking spray.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.

Lord of the flies . . .

I’m a girl . . . I admit it.  I’m not a particularly girly-girl but I am about some things.  Bugs are one of those things . . . they’re yucky.  I tolerate them in their natural environment . . . which is to say that if they stay outside where they belong then they don’t bother me.  It’s when they invade my domain that they freak me out.

 

At work, my boss is the designated icky critter killer.  He’s affable about it . . . if one of us screams “spider” he comes and squishes it.  It’s quite a nice arrangement.  Bugs are gone and their smooshed little bodies are removed from the office.  It works for me.

Our server room was recently invaded by a horde of flies.   We don’t know where they came from as it’s a closed environment, but they managed to get in there somehow . . . perhaps a tear in the fabric of space, who knows?  Anyway, these weren’t just any ordinary little annoying houseflies . . . no, these suckers were jumbo sized; capable of making off with a puppy or possibly even a small child. 

Once again, we called upon the boss.  And he did it . . . he seriously kicked some fly butt!  How was it that he so effectively accomplished this feat of creepy crawler carnage? A miracle of science . . . Zap-A-Bug Racket.  Awesomeness!

So, we locked him in the server room armed only with his electrified tennis racket of insect terror.  Within seconds we could here popping and see flashes of light through the small window in the door as he zapped those flies one after another.  It was like a high tech fly swatting ballet . . . sans music . . . leap zap! flash!, dash zap! flash!, jump zap! flash!. Soon there were fly carcasses all over the floor.  But these weren’t any ordinary flies!  Oh no!  These were zombie flies.  After a few minutes some of them began twitching and taking to the air . . . seeking revenge . . . and possibly even braaaaaiiinnnnzzzzzzzzzz.  These undead creatures required a mega zappity-zap-zap . . . pop! pop! pop! flash!

It would have been really cool if it hadn’t been so god-awful disgusting! 

He managed to get all the flies, and I’m not talking about one or two flies . . . or even a dozen . . . at the end of the day he ended up killing forty or more of the buzzing beasties.  Plus a baby tarantula in the ladies room, which curled in upon itself quite crispified.

In past centuries, a maiden would have written poetry and sung sonnets for such a hero.  Yeah . . . uhm . . . not happenin’.  But I do appreciate his effort!











Country Chicken Casserole


Quick, easy and delicious . . . 

1 (10.75 Ounce) Can  Condensed Cream Of Celery Soup 

1 (10.75 Ounce) Can Condensed Cream Of Potato Soup

1 Cup Milk

1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme Leaves, Crushed

1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

2 Cans Mixed Vegetables, Drained

2 Cups Cubed Cooked Chicken Or Turkey

4 Cups Prepared Pseasoned Stuffing

2 Tbsp Butter

Mix soups, milk, thyme, pepper, vegetables and chicken in 3-quart shallow baking dish.

Top with stuffing.  Cut up butter and scatter on top of stuffing.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until hot.

What in tarnation??

What in tarnation??  What in the hell is that supposed to mean . . . that word ‘tarnation’?

My first recollection of hearing that word was from my youth . . . Saturday morning plopped in front of the boob-tube with a heaping bowl of Cheerios watching Looney Toons.   Yosemeti Sam would exclaim in frustration . . .  “What in tarnation??”

What in indeed.

Tarnation . . . a word used to express exasperation.  I always kind of thought it was a made up nonsensical word used in cartoons . . . after all, that was the only place I’d ever really heard it used.

It turns out it is, in fact, a real word.  Tarnation is defined as the act of damning or the condition of being damned. 

The word was popularized in gentler times when men were careful not to offend the delicate sensibilities of the weaker sex.  God forbid you use profanity in front of a woman . . . she might require the waiving of smelling salts under her nose or a cool towel touched upon her brow.  Basically, it would cause a scene.

So other words were used in the stead of everyday ordinary vulgarities. 

Many, many, many years ago . . . like a couple hundred or so . . . ‘tarnal’ was a vernacular form of 'eternal'.  ‘Eternal damnation’ was slangified into ‘tarnation’ and this became the acceptable substitution for expressing anger at something or other . . . most likely about how frustrating it was keeping women from fainting all over the place at the drop of a misspoken expletive.

Another good one is ‘where in the Sam Hill?’ . . . another Yosemite Sam favorite.  It’s a variation on the same theme . . . let’s not offend the babes and come up with a supposedly civilized way of saying something that everyone knows what it means but heaven forbid we say the actual words. 

‘Where in Sam Hill’ is simply a euphemism for saying ‘where in the hell’ . . . such a naughty, naughty word. 

Southwest Black Bean Chicken in the Crock Pot

4 Chicken Breasts (You May Even Start With Frozen)

1  8 Oz Can Tomato Sauce

1/2 Of A 6 Oz Can Tomato Paste

2  15 Oz Cans Corn

2  15 Oz Cans Black Beans

2  15 Oz Cans Kidney Beans

2  14.5 Oz Cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

1 Southwest Marinade Packet 

Sour Cream

Tortilla Chips or Whole Wheat Tortillas

Mix all ingredients except the chicken, cheese, and sour cream and tortillas in the bottom of a large crock pot. If you want it a bit thinner to eat as a soup, then add the liquid from two of the cans. Otherwise drain the liquid from the cans.

Place the chicken into the crock pot and cover it up with the sauce.

Cook on high for 4 hours. After it has cooked for 3 hours, take the chicken out, shred it and put it back in the crock pot for the remaining hour.

I wasn't cut out for it

Way back when I was young and greener than a granny smith apple,  I embarked on a career that I thought I would not only enjoy but excel at . . . I wanted to be a cosmetologist.  For those of you who think that has something to do with interstellar space travel or some such thing my career choice was nothing so lofty . . . I wanted to be a hairdresser.

I was good at my chosen profession; it gave me an outlet for my creativity.  The only problem I had at the onset was making conversation.  I actually had to talk to people.  Yeah . . . that was a hard one for me.  I was never one for making small take or initiating a conversation.  I forced myself and eventually was able to hold a decent conversation with complete strangers.

Not that I cared one whit about anything they had to say.  It was all me, me, me . . . blah blah blah . . . and more me, me, me.  So many people are completely narcissistic and I very quickly got tired of hearing people pissing and moaning about their petty problems . . . over and over and over again.

So, even though I was a very good hair stylist in the practical sense, I learned very early on was that I don’t overly like people.  Come to think of it, I don’t overly like touching them either.

Don’t think I’m a sociopath or anything.  I like my friends and I don’t mind touching people . . . just not strangers.   

A career change was inevitable . . . I needed to find a job where I didn’t have to deal with people on a close, interpersonal level.  I eventually got involved with computers . . . they do what you tell them to do and they don’t require incessant conversation. 

Ahhhh . . . sweet relief.

 

Yes, I have to deal with people on occasion and sometimes it gets to be trying . . . sometimes more than others.

But at least it’s usually not up close and personal and I don’t have to be touching them at the same time.

J  

Toasted Balsamic Chicken Bruschetta Sandwich

4 Chicken Breasts Cutlets

Pinch of Salt

¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 Roma Tomatoes, Seeded and Diced

8 Fresh Basil Leaves, Thinly Sliced Into Chiffonade

3 Cloves Fresh Garlic, Minced

Pinch Of Salt

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

8 Thin Slices Fresh Mozzarella

4 Slices Italian Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine balsamic and olive oil in a bowl. Place chicken in a baking dish and toss with balsamic/olive oil mixture.  Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, basil garlic, salt and balsamic. Toss gently to combine. Set aside.

Butter both sides of bread and bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Place 2 slices of cheese on top of bread and place in oven for a couple minutes to melt.  Then layer with chicken breasts, spoonfuls of tomato mixture and 2 more slices of cheese.

Place back in oven to melt top slice of cheese.  Serve immediately open faced.