Carolina Style Barbeque Chicken

After having a lusciously fun weekend...me and Daron got home Saturday night and were too pooped to go to the grocery store to get stuff for Sunday dinner.  We figured we had plenty of stuff at the house to be able to scrap something together, especially since our church doesn't start till 2! (yuck)

So I got up this morning and figured I'd go through some of my cookbooks to see what I could conjure up...and let me tell you...this recipe is going to become a staple at this house!  Hannah and Bryan had eaten dinner at their moms house, so it was going to be just me and Daron eating dinner.  But, after we started eating the chicken, we made such a big deal of how good it was that they both came over and had a piece of chicken as well...and I was REALLY looking forward to having 2 pieces...OH WELL.

What was nice is that most of the ingredients are things you most likely already have, so it shouldn't take a special trip to the store to get an ingredient.  Well...maybe not the Franks Red Hot...but that stuff is a staple at this house...so we happened to have plenty!

CAROLINA STYLE BBQ CHICKEN

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves or thighs (but I figure you could use any type of chicken, we thought it would be good with wings!)

3/4 c. packed light brown sugar, divided

3/4 c. yellow mustard

3/4 c. Franks Red Hot

2 TBS. vegetable oil

2 TBS. worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper 

Place thawed chicken in a Ziploc bag.  Combine  1/2 c. of the brown sugar with all of the other ingredients in a bowl.  Pour 1 c. of the mixture over the chicken in the bag, seal it, and let it marinate for at least an hour but as long as overnight (ours marinated for about 6 hours and it was perfect)

Place chicken on a well-oiled grill, reserving marinade.  Grill over high heat 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (duh), turning and basting once with marinade.  Do not baste during the last 5 minutes of cooking, cause then you won't kill the nasties that are in the marinade.  Discard any remaining marinade, and serve chicken with reserved sauce.

Shortly before the chicken is done cooking, take the marinade that you set aside at the beginning, add the remaining 1/4 c. of brown sugar, and bring it to a boil on the stove.  Reduce heat, simmer 5 minute or until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly, stirring often. 

SO YUMMY!!!!!! 

Freezer Meals: Smokey Chicken Burritos, Dijon Noodles, Greek Chicken Orzo

Okay, I hope I can make this easy to understand and follow. I feel like now-a-days, I can't hardly make a sentence without confusing everyone because my thoughts are so jumbled!

Anyway, this is three great recipes that you can make with one 3 pound bag of chicken. They're all freezer meals, or you can make them fresh. They're nice if you work, because you can take one Saturday, cook up your chicken, assemble the freezer meals, and pop them in the freezer. Then when you need a quick meal, just pull it out, do the last minute things to it, and you're done! We made the first one (Smokey Black Bean Chicken Wraps tonight, and I LOVE it! I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the Greek Chicken one, but haven't made the Dijon Noodles one yet). Hope this makes sense and I hope you all enjoy!

Make Ahead Chicken

Cut 3 lbs Boneless,skinless Chicken Breast into 1/2 inch cubes
Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in skillet, add chicken and cook 7-10 minutes. Drain if necessary.
Divide Chicken into three portions.

Smoky Black Bean Chicken WrapsCombine:
Chicken
1 can (15 oz) Black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 Tablespoons Smoky Barbecue Rub (I just got some Barbecue rub in the spice section at Walmart)
2 cups cooked rice
Heat through.
Serve on flour tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce.

Dijon Chicken Noodle TossFreezer Bag #1
Chicken
2 cups frozen peas
Freezer Bag #2
1/4 lb deli ham, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Seal bag #2 and place into bag #1; seal. Freeze
To finish:
Cook and drain 12 oz. uncooked rotini pasta
Place:
1/2 cup water (omit if not frozen)
bag #2 (ham and soup) in skillet
Heat through.
Add:
8 oz. Sour Cream
Reduce heat and then add bag #1. Cook until chicken is hot, stirring occasionally.
Toss cooked pasta with 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley. Sprinkle with 1 ounce grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Greek Chicken and Orzo SkilletFreezer bag #1
chicken
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
Freezer Bag #2
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) garlic and onion flavored diced tomatoes
3 Tablespoons Greek Rub (I got this at Walmart in their Spice section)
Seal bag #2 and place into Bag #1; seal and freeze.
To finish and serve:
Add Bag #2
2 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
1/2 cup water
In skillet and bring to a simmer over med-high heat.
Reduce to medium heat, add:
1 lb. uncooked orzo (I always use mini bow-tie pasta instead of orzo)
Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Add bag #1, cover and cook 5-7 minutes or until orzo is tender adn zucchini begins to soften.
Remove from heat; top with 2 oz crumbled feta cheese. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup coarsley chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)

Crock pot Italian Chicken

This is a great meal for Sunday. You can put it in your crock pot and have it ready when you get home. I think of it more as an alfredo than Italian, but either way, it's good.

6 chicken breast halves
8 oz cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing (dry)

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Mix cream cheese, soup, and dressing together and pour over chicken. Cook on low all day (or on high for 4-5 hours). Stir before serving over rice or spaghetti noodles.