Bobby Flay, grill master

I found this video a while back, and wanted to share this with you guys and gals. Bobby Flay has some great grilling and bbq recipies, so does Mario Batali, but I think that Bobby is a more prolific purveyor of smokey vittles :)

For those of you who know me, I have a special love for good bbq. Pulled pork, brisket, ribs, chicken, even hot dogs and hamburgers taste better when tossed on a grill. So for those of you whose mouth hasnt watered in some time over bbq, here you go!

Crockpot Lovin'

I don't know about you, but there is something about cooking with a crockpot. Sure you can mess it up big in a crockpot, but its so easy to make something good. And a lot of it. If you're like me, you like large portions. A 6 quart crockpot pretty much covers that and then some. You can have dinner, then dinner for lunch, then dinner for breakfast, then dinner again. Its a virtual feast that can keep you eating.

Anyhow, my wife found a couple of recipes on the internet for crockpot chicken, but they weren't quite what she was looking for. So she made a compromise between the two, added some inspiration of her own, and voila! Crockpot lovin'!

Sweet and Sour (kind of) Chicken

1 Whole Chicken (We take the skin off, I'm not a fan of chicken skin)
1/4 cup Braggs Amino Acid* (or soy sauce)
2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 onion diced
1 bell pepper sliced into thin strips
4 cloves garlic
1 can water chestnuts(drained)
1 can crushed pineapple(reserve liquid)
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup chicken broth

Put all ingredients into crockpot except pineapple liquid and corn starch. Set crockpot to low and cook for 6-8 hours.

Mix cornstarch and pineapple liquid, add to crockpot, and cook for another 20 minutes.

* We use Braggs amino acids to substitute for soy sauce. Its gluten free and vinegar free, and tastes like soy sauce. My wife and I both have food allergies, so this is perfect for both of us. You can find it at most health food stores, and some grocery stores are beginning to carry it in their health food section as well. http://www.bragg.com/

Shutterbug!

So, for those of you who know, I am a very proud grandparent! According to my Photobucket account (a free image storage website) I have 361 images of my almost 6 month old granddaughter. I just uploaded 82 pictures today. So far, we have been using a camera phone to take all the pictures, however, we are getting a digital camera soon. She is so adorable, I decided to give everyone who visits this site a view of my picture album. If you notice the sidebar, you'll see there is a slide show of all the pictures we have uploaded currently. Enjoy!

Not exactly a summer recipe...

My wife was looking for recipes for crockpot chicken, and stumbled on this little recipe, that I thought looked interesting, and decided to share it here. I know its a little early for the holidays, however, you cant ever be too prepared, right? Anyhow, it seemed to me that this recipe would probably create a mess in a perfectly good coffee maker, and I only drink my coffee black, so the added flavoring would not appeal to me at all. The idea struck me that if you wrapped the spices in a cheese cloth and tied it off, or, if you put it in a french press, you could brew something like this and it would probably come out quite well. Anyhow, without any further adieu, here it is:

Holiday Hot Perk

2 1/2 cups cranberry juice
2 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 3/4 cups water

Pour liquids into coffee pot.

1 tsp. cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 cup brown sugar

Put dry ingredients into brew basket, then perk.