BARBECUE CHICKEN SANDWICHES

 Back last or when I went f. or my yearly wellness check, my doctor and I learned my cholesterol was the highest it has ever been. As a result, she wanted me to watch my diet, get plenty of exercise (at least 20 minutes a day), and take medication to bring it down. Since she didn't elaborate regarding my diet, I decided to check out what was considered a good diet when trying to lower your cholesterol. Long story short I only eat a forbidden meat (beef or pork) once a week. So for seven and a half months, I've consumed a lot of chicken, some turkey, and some fish. My husband enjoys cooking fish so we try to have it once a week. I will eat turkey burgers at home and turkey sausage. The rest of the time it's --- Chicken.

The fun part is trying to come up with different dishes with chicken. In all of my cookbooks I finally saw a recipe for Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches. I like barbecued chicken and am not sure why I hadn't even thought of making it, but what a delight to enjoy a sandwich made with shredded chicken and a homemade barbecue sauce.

I cooked two chicken breast because I wasn't sure how much I needed to make 2 cups after I shredded it. The recipe actually said to chop it, but I prefer shredded chicken to chopped chicken. If you like extra bbq sauce, you might want to make a double batch of it. It was enough for me, but Wayne added a little of bottled sauce I had since the recipe made exactly enough for the 2 cups of chicken.

BARBECUE CHICKEN SANDWICHES

2     cups, chicken, cooked and shredded or chopped, whichever you prefer

1/2  cup ketchup

1/4  cup brown sugar

1     tablespoon mustard

1     tablespoon sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Place the prepared chicken in a saucepan and

add the sauce,

stirring to cover

all of the chicken.

Cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce mixture is warm on the chicken.

(You could also heat the sauce in the microwave and then add it to the chicken.) 

Serve on rolls. 

P.S. When I went back to have my cholesterol checked at 4 months it had dropped almost a hundred points. Now I don't know if it is the statin or my diet or maybe both.

ORANGE PECAN SWEET POTATOES

I made this recipe before for Thanksgiving, but I did it in the slow cooker because of limited oven space. They were okay, but not anything like baking them in the oven or cooking on a grill as our son Patrick did this year for Thanksgiving. I could have eaten the whole pan and skipped dessert! They taste as good as any dessert!

I started by cooking the sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot. I actually shared that process on Monday. If you didn't see it, you can check it out HERE.

I baked three pounds of sweet potatoes in my IP, pulled the peeling off, and then quartered them. A few quarters I cut again because some of the sweet potatoes were much bigger than some of the others. 

You can bake the mixture in a 9 x 13 - inch pan in the oven if you prefer. Patrick has two BBQ grills. He cooked the turkey on one of them. On the other one, he cooked my cornbread dressing and these candied sweet potatoes. I had both mixtures in iron skillets because he said the grill might discolor glass baking dishes, etc. I was thinking the temperature was supposed to be at 375 degrees F. My dressing needed to cook at 400 degrees F. He couldn't get the temperature past 360 degrees F so we just cooked them a little longer. Actually the recipe just called for 350 degrees F, but it worked out great.

Oh, I omitted the pecans because some of the family doesn't like nuts in dishes. They would have tasted good.

ORANGE PECAN SWEET POTATOES

3     lbs sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and chunked/quartered

1/2  cup chopped pecans

1     cup brown sugar

2     tablespoons corn starch

1     cup orange juice

2     tablespoons butter

1     teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 x 13 - inch baking dish with cooking spray. (I used a large, 9 to 10 - inch iron skillet.)

Prepare the potatoes: My pictures... cooking in IP,

peeling (so easy to pull off - the potatoes are a little warm...)

all done...

quartering them 

Add sweet potatoes and pecans, if you are using them.

Combine the brown sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan.

Gradually add the orange juice,

whisking to blend. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.

reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat,

add butter and vanilla.

Pour evenly over the sweet potatoes.

Bake in oven for 45 minutes, until edges are browned and bubbly. (Patrick cooked them on his grill at 360 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Cornbread dressing also cooking.)

Serve and enjoy!

Here is the bacon-covered turkey (getting ready) cooking.

At some point he removes the turkey from the grill to remove the bacon...

 

and then back to the grill to finish cooking and browning. Just before Patrick carves it all up.

Oh! and the Cornbread Dressing...

It was a good Thanksgiving for our small family.

DUTCH OVEN PEACH COBBLER

Originally we planned to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday with our son Patrick and his family, but we were kept busy going to baseball and softball games of our grandchildren, Tyler and Madison. Then just five days later it is Father's Day. We did go out to dinner before Madison's softball game two days after my birthday, but my husband asked for the bill. Outside the cafe, dil Lori told Wayne they didn't intend for him to pay, but he said that was okay. I suggested we could just go out again sometime and Lori mentioned Father's Day was soon. The next day Patrick sent me a text and asked if instead of going out to eat, did we just want to come to their house and he would BBQ. Of course I said no. (Just kidding! 😁)

When both of our sons were little, I encouraged them to cook and then they both joined the Boy Scouts and had some awesome experiences. (They both also earned their Eagle Scout Badge.) Both of them help out with the cooking now for their families. When Lori and I were planning the menu for our Father's Day/Birthday dinner, Madison asked if they could make dessert and ask her daddy if he would make his peach cobbler. I thought it was so cute!

We went up to their house early enough in the afternoon to see him prepare the cobbler so I could take pictures to share with you. Lori asked him if he was going to share his recipe and he laughed and said it was in every scout manual there was. I glad he was willing to let me get my pictures.

It was the perfect conclusion for his smoked ribs, brisket, and burnt ends. (I didn't get a picture of them because I was hanging out with Madison when he brought it in the house and had it all cut up and covered with foil to keep warm.) Of course, Boy Scouts would have made over over the burned down campfire, but Patrick has a way to mock that and be able to cook the cobbler without a campfire.

(BSA) DUTCH OVEN PEACH COBBLER

2      large cans of sliced peaches, drained
1      yellow cake mix
1      stick (1/2 cup) butter
1      12 - oz can 7 - UP
Cinnamon

Line the cast iron dutch oven with foil.

Dump peach slices in the bottom of the pot. Spread out evenly.

Sprinkle cake mix over peaches.

Slice stick of butter and place over cake mix.

Pour most of the can of 7 - UP (Patrick left enough in the can for his two children to each have a drink.)

over all.

Sprinkle cinnamon on top

to cover.

Place lid on top. Notice the hook Patrick uses to handle the lid.

Heat up charcoal briquettes. 

Place a layer of briquettes on pavement in a circle about the size of the dutch oven. (The Boy Scouts would just set the pot in the fire pit.)

Place the pot over the briquettes and

carefully cover the lid with the rest of the hot briquettes using charcoal thongs.

Cook 30 to 45 minutes. Carefully lift lid to check if cobbler is done.

Replace lid to keep warm until ready to serve. 


















Ready to eat.... (Patrick says ice cream keeps you from enjoying the full taste of the peaches and cobbler. 😋)

SMOKIN' GOOD RIBS & PULLED PORK

Back in May we had friends over for the NNL Dinner Club. We host this group once a year and for the main course, my husband likes to grill or barbecue some meat. This year he decided he wanted to smoke some ribs and a pork shoulder to "pull apart" for pulled pork. 

Our son Patrick has two good friends who often enter BBQ contests preparing brisket, pork, and chicken. Whenever B. K. is busy, Sterling will ask Patrick to help him out. So we went to experts to get our directions.  

Well, everything turned out great. I was so busy that I never "blogged" about it.  But one of the couples who came, has kept asking us for the recipe. They are hosting the Dinner Club in August so I thought I should get my act together and get the instructions written down. (I had to call Patrick because we couldn't remember precisely all the instructions.)  But anyway here they are.  Remember we are preparing meat for 10 - 15 people.  

We smoked one pork butt, a.k.a Boston butt roast or pork shoulder--bone in and 3 racks of baby back ribs. (This picture was taken when we first put the meat on to smoke.)







For the roast Patrick prefers to go directly to the butcher in the grocery store and ask for a whole roast. He says the vacuum sealed one are picnic roasts - half size. You want to get a 6 - 7 lb roast. He smokes 2 at a time and then just freezes the meat after he pulls it. He says, "Since you have gone to all the work getting everything in the smoker (charcoal and wood chunks), you want to make the most of it."

He prefers Baby Back Ribs for the ribs.

The night before:

If smoking ribs, pull the membrane from the back side of the ribs. It is hard to eat and it prevents the rub from soaking into the meat on that side. 

If smoking a roast, inject a 6 - 7 lb pork shoulder roast with about 1-1/2 cups of an injection marinade. He said to just keep injecting it until the roast was full. He couldn't share their recipe, but gave me this one...

Injection Marinade

3/4   cup apple juice

1/2   cup water

1/2   cup sugar

1/4   cup salt

2   tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Sprinkle with your favorite rub (Patrick gave us some of the rub they use in the competitions but would not share the recipe---understandable) on both sides of the ribs and roasts using a fair amount.

Important thing to know:  It is called a "Rub" but you do NOT rub it into the meat....you sprinkle it on and just lightly pat it down.  (These are country ribs in this picture)







He places the meat in UNSCENTED garbage bags, ties them with a knot, and places in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day:

Place charcoal briquettes in the firebox, cover with lighter fluid or paper to ignite the charcoal.  Burn until the lighter fluid has burned off and the coals are hot. Add the wood chunks (Patrick prefers apple wood chunks) to the coals and then place the meat on the grill. Roasts -- fatty side down; Ribs -- bone down. You don't have to turn the meat as it smokes.

(If you are smoking quite a bit of meat, you will probably want to use rib racks that will hold the ribs up and free the grill surface for your other meat.)

You will need to use plenty of wood chunks in the early hours. The wood burns faster than the charcoal, but still add some charcoal too when needed.  








You want to keep the temperature between 225 degrees F and 275 degrees F. Check at least every hour. When the temperature drops to 225 degrees or the wood is dying down, add 2 - 3 chunks of woods and at least 5 - 10 briquettes of charcoal to the firebox.

Continue to smoke until roast temperature reaches 160 degrees F or the bone will start protruding in the ribs. When you lift the ribs with tongs, you will see the bones turning black. Baby back ribs will usually take 3 - 4 hours to reach this point.

You are now ready to continue smoking the meat using foil. You will no longer be adding any wood chunks to the firebox, just charcoal.

Roast:  Spread about 1/2 - 1 cup of brown sugar on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Place the roast on top of the brown sugar. Then add another handful of brown sugar on top of the roast. (Butter is optional)  Close up the foil ends and return to grill until the meat reaches a temperature of 190 degrees F. It will take about 1 to 1-1/2 hrs / lb for the pork shoulder to smoke. Patrick says a good size roast will take up to 10 total hrs. to smoke.

Another good bit of information: The temperature is what is important when cooking roasts. The meat will look pink in the middle because it was smoked.  

It is then ready to pull. If you aren't ready to eat, wrap the foiled-wrapped meat in a towel and you can place it in a cooler and keep it warm for 1 - 2 hrs. 

Ribs:  After about 3 - 4 hours (read above), remove the ribs. Using a big sheet of foil, first sprinkle the ribs with brown sugar. Cover the brown sugar with margarine. Use either 1 stick of margarine / rack (cut into small tabs) or Patrick says he uses one squeeze bottle of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter / 2 racks of ribs. The latter certainly is easier to do. 

Close up the ends of the foil and return to smoker for 2 - 3 more hours. As with the roasts, if the ribs are ready before you are ready to eat, you can wrap the "foil-wrapped" ribs in a towel, and place in a cooler for 1 - 2 hrs. If the time is longer, place the foil-wrapped meat in the oven set at a real low temperature until ready to eat. (I'm talking the lowest your oven will go....you don't want to dry the meat out.)

FYI -- when ribs are being judged, you don't want the meat to be "falling off the bones". It should come off easily but when you bite it off with your teeth.

Our finished ribs.