Barbara Bush's Barbecued Chicken! Again!

Lordy, lordy, folks...belly up to the bar for this dish, and hurry up 'cause it won't last long!

A few years ago we had a Memorial Day cookout and decided to try barbecued chicken, since Hometown Cooking magazine had just featured this recipe, touted as Barbara Bush's favorite. Now, I should mention that I am not normally a fan of barbeque sauce on anything, much less chicken. I was the kid who asked my dad (every SINGLE TIME) to just grill mine plain, or basted with butter. But once we found this recipe, everything changed. Well, not totally, because I still don't like barbeque sauce much, but homemade barbeque sauce? And on chicken? Oh yeah, I like it. I like it A LOT. And Sheri wholeheartedly agrees. And my hubby? Well, yeah...let's just say that he will eat barbeque sauce on anything and everything, and yet he completely drools over this. So get out your chicken, peeps...it's time to get grillin'!

Barbara Bush's Barbecued Chicken

2 1/2 to 3 lb broiler-fryer chicken, quartered
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 c. water
1 c. coarsely chopped onion
1/2-3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. prepared yellow mustard
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
6-8 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

Place chicken in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For the marinade, stir together 3 tablespoons lemon juice, cooking oil, salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic. Pour over the chicken and close bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, turning often.

In a saucepan, combine water, onion, sugar, butter, mustard, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire, 6-8 tablespoons lemon juice, and ground red pepper. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes or until reduced to about 4 cups.

Meanwhile, drain chicken, discarding marinade. In a grill with a cover, arrange preheated coals around a drip pan. Test for medium heat above the pan. Place chicken, bone side down, on grill rack over drip pan. Cover and grill for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is done. (170 degrees for breast meat and 180 degrees for thighs and legs), brushing often with barbecue sauce the last ten minutes of grilling.

To serve, pass the additional barbecue sauce around with the chicken and just wait for the ooooing and aaaahhhing to begin!

Sausage & Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

What's better than a nice big breakfast on a weekend morning? Big hearty breakfasts are a staple in my house, especially on Sunday mornings, so I'm always on the lookout for a good breakfast recipe that's easy to make and doesn't need any specialty items. Though the kids always request pancakes of some sort, I like to have a little variety on hand to encourage them to eat some protein. This breakfast casserole really fits the bill on all accounts! The only thing on the ingredients list that I might be missing on any given day is the cottage cheese...but hey, I'll pick some up just so we can make this savory dish!

Give it a try this weekend just for your family, or break it out when you have company...either way, everyone will be impressed and asking for seconds!


Sausage & Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

24 oz. frozen shredded hashbrowns
1/3 c. butter
1 1/2 tsp. beef flavor bouillon
1/2 lb. mild bulk sausage
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 c. chopped onion
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. small curd cottage cheese
1 c. mild cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 400. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, butter, and bouillon. Spoon into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish; press on bottom and up sides to rim to form a crust. Bake for 25 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350. In a large skillet, cook sausage & onion, pour off grease, and remove from heat. Stir in the eggs, cottage cheese, bacon, and cheddar. Pour into prepared crust. Bake 30-35 minutes or until set, and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

♫ Sloppy Joe...♫ Slop-Sloppy Joe... ♫

From the Vault...

Sloppy Joe!
What a simple thing to do with hamburger to give it incredible flavor!

We' re definitely going to share with you a quick and flavorful recipe for Sloppy Joe , but in all honesty, we're sorta using the poor Joe to showcase our most fabulous and exciting new find - skinny buns!

We both HATE the fat buns of the world and have regretfully given up on eating sandwiches almost entirely. It's as if they were no longer a category of food for us to explore, which is sad because there are so many possibilities in the sandwich world. We have been denying ourselves the joy of eating sandwiches because of the big, fat, doughy buns, but not anymore!

These super thin buns are the greatest thing to be discovered in our "food world" since Jeni's Ice Cream! Now, whatever is being sandwiched between the bun can have center stage again, because Mr. Fat Bun is no longer the star of the show. The spotlight is back on the main event - in this case, the Sloppy Joe.

Speaking of Joe, why don't we make some Sloppy-style?

Just throw a pound and a half of ground chuck into a skillet and brown with one cup of onion. When thoroughly cooked, drain completely. Add one cup of ketchup, two teaspoons of chili powder, two tablespoons of sugar, and a swig of worcestershire sauce. Cook this all together slowly until the flavors completely infiltrate the hamburger. Add up to 1/4 cup of water if necessary to get the right consistency and moisture. (I add chopped zucchini sometimes just because I can.)

When Joe is good and sloppy, sandwich him between the ultra-skinny bun, add your condiments, and take a big bite of the new and improved way of eating sandwiches. Fabulous, isn't it?

Also, we would like to take a moment to first of all, thank Arnold who came up with the brilliant idea to re-invent and revive the sandwich for us - we are forever indebted to him. Next, I would like to thank my sister-in-law, Leanne for introducing us to this new and wonderful world of sandwich eating - We love you and your Sloppy Joe!

We were fortunate enough to get these Arnold Buns at our local grocery store and we can only hope and pray that wherever you are in this crazy world, that you can too!

♫ ♫ Sloppy Joe..... Slop-Sloppy Joe.. ♫


What's coming next?!?!?

Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole.... ☺