Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken. Do I have to say anything more to capture any man's attention? Not only does it include meat and alcohol, this dish is deceptively easy to make, incredibly moist, and flavorful.

Beer Can Chicken

Serves 2-4

1 3-5 lb whole chicken
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1/4 tsp Cumin, poultry seasoning, garlic powder or sprig rosemary- optional and to taste
1 stalk celery

1. Move the oven rack to the lowest setting as the chicken will be very "tall." Preheat the oven to 350. Take out a baking dish where the chicken can stand comfortably in.
2. Mix the salt, pepper, and any other dry spices in a small bowl.
3. Dice the celery into chunks.
4. Remove anything from the cavity of the chicken. Remove excess fat from neck and bottom and discard.
5. Dipping your fingers into the spice mix, generously cover the inside cavity and outer skin of the chicken with the spice mixture.
6. Take the celery and pack a handful in the inside cavity. If you have fresh herbs, you'd stuff them in here.
7. Wash the can of beer. Open it and drink half.
8. Stuff the beer can up the cavity of the chicken and stand the chicken up in the baking dish, so that it "sits" on the can. The weight of the beer in the can will help stabilze the chicken.
9. Fold the wing tips back so that they don't burn. (Think about it like this - its the equivalent of taking your right hand and touching your right shoulderblade)
10. Arrange the skin on the top so that it doesn't leave any of the meat exposed. If you don't have enough skin, try to cover with some celery or tin foil.
11. Optional - dice potatoes and toss in bottom of baking dish with extra celery for a quick and easy side. Sprinkle with excess salt/pepper. Stir the vegetables halfway through the cooking process.
12. Bake for about 1 hour for a 3 lb chicken, and 1.5 hours for a 5 lb chicken. (Obviously test to make sure its done and cooked through!)
13. Let the chicken "rest" for 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven. Carefully lift the chicken off the beer can and serve.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

If you know anything about Kelly and I, you know we're suckers for pumpkin goodies. Pumpkin spice latte's, pumpkin loaves, pumpkin cheesecake - you name it, we want it. Its almost a shame that pumpkin is an autumn-only food.

Today's post celebrates pumpkin season in the spirit of my recent breakfast goods kick. When you Google "pumpkin muffins," the first result isn't the Food Network or Recipes.com. Its a food blog called "Smitten Kitchen" Of course, I modified the recipe, adding a few other fall ingredients.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine via Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped cranberries

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon to top

1. Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter muffin tins.
2. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, 1 1/4 cups sugar, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add walnuts and cranberries. Then whisk in flour and baking powder until just combined.
3. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full). 
5. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. 
6. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Yields about 12-18 muffins. Sorry no pictures - I ate them too quickly!

Quick Plum Granola Cobbler

I tried another batch of granola bars today and had a ton of little granola scraps at the bottom of the dish. Of course I could just enjoy as crumbly and delish as is - but why not have some fun and enjoy some extra vitamins too? Its quick, easy, and makes a super fast warm breakfast or low fat dessert.

Quick Plum Granola Cobbler
Serves 1, 10 min

1 plum diced
2 tablespoons granola
3 tablespoons milk

1. In a little bowl or dish, layer in diced plum. 
2. Top with granola from leftover granola bars scraps.
3. Spoon milk over the mixture
4. Microwave 1 minute
5. Devour

Would be excellent with peach or apple, berries or pineapple - really just go crazy.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

What do you give at engagement parties? While most cases I'd fall to a bottle of wine, in this case, the couple didn't drink often. So what to do?

The future bride mentioned a penchant for chocolate chips. The party was happening at brunch - so what better than homemade muffins?

I followed the recipe on Food.com which got really good reviews, and actually argued the recipe called for too MANY chocolate chips! Like. And it was fast. I would totally make them again.

Nigella Lawson's Granola Bars

I hate mornings. I loathe getting up, forcing myself away from the comforts of my soft bed, and stabbing myself in the eye with a mascara wand due to fatigue. I can understand "seize the day" and "the early bird gets the worm" but I'd rather work past midnight than be at the office at 8 am. Its just so painful for me!

The very negative side effect of hating mornings is that I tend to skip breakfast. Often. In my haste to be on time and make that conference call, I completely forget to put any food in my stomach. Or worse, I'll just eat a cookie instead of something healthy.

Which leads me to this post about granola bars. Why buy a box of rock hard oat bars with nasty raisins, when I can make mine custom to what I like to eat, and just a smidge of sweetness? Why settle for processed food when I can enjoy a little homemade TLC? I sifted through many recipes before I settled on Nigella Lawson's Breakfast Bars - too many recipes called for a ton of butter, things like flax seeds, or maple syrup - none of which I really wanted in my breakfast or in my tiny kitchen.

I substituted sliced almonds instead of peanuts and used a mix of salted pumpkin seeds and sesame. I really liked the taste and texture of the mix. I found the recipe was a bit too sweet - even though it doesn't call for extra sugar, the condensed milk and sweetened coconut was a little much. The bars also had a duplicitous texture - the top was quite dry and the bottom was very moist. Baking it at a low temperature seemed only to allow the condensed milk to sink to the bottom rather than incorporate everything together. As I removed the bars from the pan, they tended to crumble a little, and I had to break out some sushi rolling skills to make sure they stayed in little bars.

I do really like how they taste and it was super easy to make. Supposedly they store well (and actually get better over time) so we'll see how the bars in my desk vs my freezer fare over the next week and if the texture improves. If I make this again, I would probably soak the oats in some water first, drain them, and then use 2/3rds of the condensed milk. Additional cons are the lack of health benefits in condensed milk (I'm estimating the calorie count for this bar at around 170 but with a hefty amount of saturated fat) and the cost - a Nature Valley bar retails at 59 cents a bar but the ingredients for my bar cost 50 cents each - what about labor?

But the important thing is - will I like them enough to make sure I always eat breakfast?

Baked Egg in Tomato Stew

I made my hearty tomato stew last week and I really really enjoyed it. When the weekend rolled around though, I didn't feel like making anything new. Lucky for me, my leftover turned out to be the base for a perfect baked egg!

Baked Egg in Tomato Stew
Serves 1

1/3 cup Tomato Stew
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.
2. In a ramekin or small oven safe casserole dish, spoon most of the tomato stew and reserve a two spoons.
3. Press an indent in the middle of the stew and crack the egg in. Season egg with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon the remaining stew over the top to cover the exposed egg whites.
5. Bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes until whites are cooked through.
6. Optional: Top with a mozzarella stick. Serve with toast or potatoes.

Clean dish! <3

Tomato Stew

Tomato Stew with Shrimp
Serves 4

3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
16 oz can pureed tomatoes
1 cup collard greens, sliced in ribbons
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp basil
1.5 tsp oregano
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
5 frozen pre-cooked shrimp per person
Cilantro, fresh basil, parmesan, or mozzarella to top

1. Prep onion and garlic as directed.
2. Heat a pot over medium heat with the olive oil. When hot, add onion and garlic. Sautee until onion is translucent.
3. Pour in tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low. Then prep other ingredients while tomato puree begins to reduce.
4. Add all other vegetables and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 20 min. (In the meantime, you can make some pasta or rice to serve your stew with).
5. Add the shrimp and stir into stew. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Tips:

• Shrimp does not need to cook long. Shrimp should be added for the portion meant too be eaten today and not saved for tomorrow!
• Cut acidity by adding more sugar or olive oil.
• Would be great with a spicy sausage rather than shrimp, which should be cooked at the beginning with the onion.