Beer Butt Chicken

From:  danies08

Beer Butt Chicken
1 Chicken, whole w/ insides removed
1 can beer (Budweiser works best)
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Seasons (what ever you want)
5 cloves garlic, peeled
One Beer-Can Chicken Holder (Wal-Mart)

**I rubbed on the oil and seasonings beforehand, and let it sit in the fridge for about 5 hours before I cooked it this last time. Made it even better**

Pre-heat oven to 450. Coat the outside of the chicken in the olive oil. Make a mixture of seasonings (I use all kinds of stuff), then rub them on with your figertips all over the outside of the chicken. I also like to rub them on the inside of the skin, too. Pour about 1/4 of the beer out of the can, then put the whole, peeled garlic cloves inside. Put the holder in an aluminum pie pan (to catch the drippings) and put the holder and pie pan on top of a cookie sheet (I usually use a 1/4 baking sheet, but a 1/2 is fine too). Put the beer can in the holder, then slide the chicken over it, butt first! Put it on the oven rack as low as it can go. Bake for one hour, or until done.

Tasty Chicken Tenders

I made this earlier in the week, and unfortunately did not photograph it. I plan on making this again soon and will update the post. I only had 10 chicken tenders and for hubby and I; that was plenty but I probably could've eaten more if I wanted to stuff myself silly! They were A-mazing! I adjusted the recipe for a larger amount of tenders since I made such a small amount.

2-3 lb. chicken tenders
2 c. flour
1 Tbs. Emeril's essence seasoning (I used an old spice bottle to mix a batch of this, it keeps for a while and it great to use as an all purpose seasoning)
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
2 c. bread crumbs
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Vegetable oil

Mix flour and Emeril's essence in a shallow dish. Mix buttermilk, milk and egg in another dish. Mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper together in a third dish. Set up in an assembly line heading towards a very large, shallow skillet with a thin layer (1/4") of vegetable oil. Set skillet on med-high heat.

While oil is heating, dredge the tenders in the flour, then milk and egg mixture, then finally into the bread crumbs. Once oil is hot add chicken tenders to the skillet, careful to not overcrowd and let the oil temperature drop. Fry on each side for about 4-5 minutes. Depending on how many tenders you have it may take several batches. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt immediately after taking out each batch. Keep warm in the oven or under a piece of foil covered loosely.

Serve with an oven baked mac 'n' cheese and a salad for a comfort food filled meal.

Thin Mint Chocolate Mousse Pie

I made this last night, after I found a recipe online using Jello pudding but switched it up with the Chocolate Mousse and adding Mint Extract for extra mintyness!

Ingredients
2 boxes Dr. Oetker Dark Chocolate Truffle Mousse
2 c. cold milk (per Dr. Oetker's instructions)
1/4-1/2 tsp. Mint extract, depending on how minty you want it
approx. 20 Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookies, or enough to border your pie rim, plus 4 for crushing to sprinkle on top
1 pie crust, baked off and cooled (I used an 8" pie plate)

Follow Dr. Oetker's instructions on the box, mixing the 2 c. cold milk, packaged mousse mix, and the mint extract.

**You may have extra mousse that won't fit in your pie shell so if you want pure chocolate set at least 1 cup aside, then add the mint extract to the rest of the mousse. I had 2 cups of extra mousse since my pie plate was smaller.

Pour mint chocolate mousse into the baked pie shell, place the whole Thin Mint cookies around the border of the pie to create a crown look. Put 4 Thin Mints in a sandwich ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Sprinkle crumbs over top and chill in the fridge according to Dr. Oetker's directions.

Danie's Mama's Meatballs

Barbequed Meatballs

Meatballs: 

 1 can (13 oz) evaporated milk

3 lbs ground chuck (or lean hamburger)

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup chopped onion

2 t. salt

2 t. chili powder

2 eggs

½ t. garlic powder

½ t. pepper

Mix and shape into balls (about the size of a golf ball), place in flat pan. (Only place ONE layer on the pan.)

Making meatballs ahead of time will enhance flavor but isn’t necessary.

Sauce:

1 ½ c. catsup

1 ½ c. chili sauce

3 T. liquid smoke

¾ c. chopped onions

2 c. brown sugar

¾ t. garlic powder

If Baking:
Mix thoroughly and pour over UNcooked meatballs.  Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees, uncovered.

If Crock-Pot Making:
Bake meatballs without the sauce on cookie sheets at 350 for 20 minutes, then put them in a crockpot, stir in the sauce, and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours, test for doneness.