annie blog

Chicken on the Grill
I’ve been noticing a lot of chicken on sale in St. Louis this summer. Or, maybe, I’ve been noticing because that is what my children want to eat? Who knows. This is a great recipe. You can use a cut up chicken, lots of drumsticks, or 2 whole split chickens. I got the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s little email that they shoot me every couple of weeks. I’m going to make this recipe this weekend and then take the rest of the weekend off cooking.

Alabama Chicken

White BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup mayo
2 T cider vinegar
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. prepared horseradish
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using and up to 2 days.

For the chicken, mix 1 t. salt, 1 t. ground black pepper and 1/2 t. cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chicken.

Grill the chicken until skin is well browned and the meat registers 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the grill and brush with the sauce. Tent with foil and rest 10 minutes. Brush with a little more sauce and serve, passing remaining sauce at the table.

** If you want to make extra sauce, then you can use leftover chicken to make a great pasta salad. Boil 1 pound of corkskrew pasta until nearly tender, about 8 minutes. Then add 1 cup frozen corn and cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and then drain and cool the pasta and corn in the refrigerator until completely cooled, about 30 minutes. Then stir in 2 cups shredded grilled chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped yellow bell pepper, 1 minced red onion, jalapeno and cilantro to taste, 3 T. lime juice and 3/4 cup extra white bbq sauce. Toss it all together, stirring in reserved pasta water by the tablespoon until the sauce is loose. Season and serve, or store in fridge for up to 2 days.

Chicken on the Grill
I’ve been noticing a lot of chicken on sale in St. Louis this summer. Or, maybe, I’ve been noticing because that is what my children want to eat? Who knows. This is a great recipe. You can use a cut up chicken, lots of drumsticks, or 2 whole split chickens. I got the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s little email that they shoot me every couple of weeks. I’m going to make this recipe this weekend and then take the rest of the weekend off cooking.

Alabama Chicken

White BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup mayo
2 T cider vinegar
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. prepared horseradish
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using and up to 2 days.

For the chicken, mix 1 t. salt, 1 t. ground black pepper and 1/2 t. cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chicken.

Grill the chicken until skin is well browned and the meat registers 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the grill and brush with the sauce. Tent with foil and rest 10 minutes. Brush with a little more sauce and serve, passing remaining sauce at the table.

** If you want to make extra sauce, then you can use leftover chicken to make a great pasta salad. Boil 1 pound of corkskrew pasta until nearly tender, about 8 minutes. Then add 1 cup frozen corn and cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and then drain and cool the pasta and corn in the refrigerator until completely cooled, about 30 minutes. Then stir in 2 cups shredded grilled chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped yellow bell pepper, 1 minced red onion, jalapeno and cilantro to taste, 3 T. lime juice and 3/4 cup extra white bbq sauce. Toss it all together, stirring in reserved pasta water by the tablespoon until the sauce is loose. Season and serve, or store in fridge for up to 2 days.

Chicken on the Grill
I’ve been noticing a lot of chicken on sale in St. Louis this summer. Or, maybe, I’ve been noticing because that is what my children want to eat? Who knows. This is a great recipe. You can use a cut up chicken, lots of drumsticks, or 2 whole split chickens. I got the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s little email that they shoot me every couple of weeks. I’m going to make this recipe this weekend and then take the rest of the weekend off cooking.

Alabama Chicken

White BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup mayo
2 T cider vinegar
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. prepared horseradish
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using and up to 2 days.

For the chicken, mix 1 t. salt, 1 t. ground black pepper and 1/2 t. cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chicken.

Grill the chicken until skin is well browned and the meat registers 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the grill and brush with the sauce. Tent with foil and rest 10 minutes. Brush with a little more sauce and serve, passing remaining sauce at the table.

** If you want to make extra sauce, then you can use leftover chicken to make a great pasta salad. Boil 1 pound of corkskrew pasta until nearly tender, about 8 minutes. Then add 1 cup frozen corn and cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and then drain and cool the pasta and corn in the refrigerator until completely cooled, about 30 minutes. Then stir in 2 cups shredded grilled chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped yellow bell pepper, 1 minced red onion, jalapeno and cilantro to taste, 3 T. lime juice and 3/4 cup extra white bbq sauce. Toss it all together, stirring in reserved pasta water by the tablespoon until the sauce is loose. Season and serve, or store in fridge for up to 2 days.

Boys in the Backseat
As I’ve already mentioned, this is Vacation Bible School week for our church. The boys are enjoying it but they are really tired in the afternoons. And, you know, when they get tired they get ill with each other, as well. The middle two (9 and 7) were fussing on the way home. I don’t really know what the fuss was about, probably food, or something. I guess I was not really paying attention, until the 9 year old, after having something he said interpreted literally by his brother yelled, “C, would you just be quiet?!! I’m being metaphorical, here!!”

Bless his heart, metaphorical won’t work on his brothers so well.

Boys in the Backseat
As I’ve already mentioned, this is Vacation Bible School week for our church. The boys are enjoying it but they are really tired in the afternoons. And, you know, when they get tired they get ill with each other, as well. The middle two (9 and 7) were fussing on the way home. I don’t really know what the fuss was about, probably food, or something. I guess I was not really paying attention, until the 9 year old, after having something he said interpreted literally by his brother yelled, “C, would you just be quiet?!! I’m being metaphorical, here!!”

Bless his heart, metaphorical won’t work on his brothers so well.

Boys in the Backseat
As I’ve already mentioned, this is Vacation Bible School week for our church. The boys are enjoying it but they are really tired in the afternoons. And, you know, when they get tired they get ill with each other, as well. The middle two (9 and 7) were fussing on the way home. I don’t really know what the fuss was about, probably food, or something. I guess I was not really paying attention, until the 9 year old, after having something he said interpreted literally by his brother yelled, “C, would you just be quiet?!! I’m being metaphorical, here!!”

Bless his heart, metaphorical won’t work on his brothers so well.

VBS is Sapping My Strength
I’m doing refreshments for our church’s Vacation Bible School this week. So far, so good. And, the week could only get better after the truly horrendus coffee that I made for the poor, caffiene-needy workers on that first morning. I just don’t have the mojo to get that big pot to make drinkable coffee. The good thing about doing refreshments is that I get to do what I normally do anyway, dole out snacks. People like you because you feed them. The bad thing is that you don’t get to sit down, ever. I seem to have forgotton the not-getting-to-sit-down-thing since I last helped with refreshments during VBS. And, I don’t think that I’d mind so much if I wasn’t having this sinus infection/bronchitis thing. Yep, I’m betting that I’d have more energy without that. So, correction, VBS and sickness are ganging up on me.

I promise more interesting content soon. My creativity is already asleep tonight.

VBS is Sapping My Strength
I’m doing refreshments for our church’s Vacation Bible School this week. So far, so good. And, the week could only get better after the truly horrendus coffee that I made for the poor, caffiene-needy workers on that first morning. I just don’t have the mojo to get that big pot to make drinkable coffee. The good thing about doing refreshments is that I get to do what I normally do anyway, dole out snacks. People like you because you feed them. The bad thing is that you don’t get to sit down, ever. I seem to have forgotton the not-getting-to-sit-down-thing since I last helped with refreshments during VBS. And, I don’t think that I’d mind so much if I wasn’t having this sinus infection/bronchitis thing. Yep, I’m betting that I’d have more energy without that. So, correction, VBS and sickness are ganging up on me.

I promise more interesting content soon. My creativity is already asleep tonight.

VBS is Sapping My Strength
I’m doing refreshments for our church’s Vacation Bible School this week. So far, so good. And, the week could only get better after the truly horrendus coffee that I made for the poor, caffiene-needy workers on that first morning. I just don’t have the mojo to get that big pot to make drinkable coffee. The good thing about doing refreshments is that I get to do what I normally do anyway, dole out snacks. People like you because you feed them. The bad thing is that you don’t get to sit down, ever. I seem to have forgotton the not-getting-to-sit-down-thing since I last helped with refreshments during VBS. And, I don’t think that I’d mind so much if I wasn’t having this sinus infection/bronchitis thing. Yep, I’m betting that I’d have more energy without that. So, correction, VBS and sickness are ganging up on me.

I promise more interesting content soon. My creativity is already asleep tonight.

I’m Allergic to Missouri
Well, not exactly allergic to Missouri, probably, but I think that the mold spores that are at pretty high levels right now are about to do me in. I have got what feels like a humdinger of a sinus infection and I also think that I’m like an inch away from bronchitis, too.

We have stuff to do this week, so I’ll keep going, hopefully. The coughing and sneezing are okay or at least they don’t bother me as much as walking around with a face that feels like it weighs the same as a dictionary.

I think that I’m going to try one of these.