Now that you have the back story I now have to share with you one of the most amazing meals that I think I have ever had (and it wasn’t even prepared by me lol).  Well she totally surprised me one night with this dinner and I was totally blown away and have been craving it ever since… Soooo last night she made it for me again and this time I got a picture.

Ok let me share the recipe with you, hopefully just the sound of the ingredient list will make you drool as much as it does me.

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts
12 strips of bacon cooked and drained
4 slices of baby swiss cheese
1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce
garlic salt
black pepper

Directions

So since the ingredients state that the bacon should be cooked I am going to assume that you know that you need to cook the bacon and hopefully you know how to do that.  By the way, just in case you were not aware this chicken has BACON!  Season the chicken with the garlic salt and black pepper and place on the grill on high heat or directly over your coals for just a couple of minutes.  We want to get a little char on the chicken, then brush each breast with BBQ sauce and turn.  Once turned lower the heat or move to a cool spot on the grill and top each breast with 3 strips of bacon and cover that with a slice of swiss cheese (the benefit of swiss is that it melts but doesn’t run all over the place, plus it tastes great).

Continue to cook on low heat until chicken is done (usually about an additional 15 minutes) then brush the top with a little more BBQ sauce and remove from the grill.  Allow this to set for just a minute so that the juices stay in the chicken when you start to eat it… I mean this makes for some very tender, juicy and amazing chicken.

To plate you simply need to place the chicken over your favorite green vegetable, on this night we had green beans and it was a great match.

Give it a shot, it’s a super quick and easy meal that your family will absolutely love.  I mean who doesn’t love BACON?

Also, I need ya to forgive the pictures, was trying out a new camera and things got a little weird.

The crazy thing is that it took me getting my hands on a Bubba Keg to finally get my brisket to turn out the way I wanted. My plan when I first started on the brisket was to use this recipe as an opportunity to do a review on the Bubba Keg and how it cooks, but after tasting this brisket I realized I couldn’t do a full Bubba Keg review because the food was just too dang good.

The upside to the Bubba Keg is that once I got the temp to 190 degrees it stayed at that temp for 13 hours. I will admit that I let it get a little hot to start off so it took a while to get the temp to where I wanted it but after that everything went very smoothly.

Ok so after 13 hours at 190 degrees this brisket had the perfect bark, beautiful smoke ring, was super tender and juicy and made the best brisket sandwich ever.

I did set up a couple handfuls of lump coal, then added a few handfulls of soaked Pecan wood that I had leftover and figured it would be a nice touch.

Now, I wanted to use a rub from Spice Guy but I’m completely out and haven’t had a chance to place a new order so I took an idea that I was given a while back and figured I would just make a rub of my own.  And yes I am going to tell you the recipe for the rub.  Although there is nothing exact in this post feel free to just try out different amounts until you get the flavor you want.

For the Rub

Granulated Garlic

Granulated Onion

Smoked Paprika

Paprika

Black Pepper

Lemon Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Lemon Zest

Orange Zest

Cinnamon

Brown Sugar

Sugar

Salt

Ground Cumin

and just a little nutmeg

Mix all of the ingredients together and then rub it down.  I was a little worried about the sugar but at the low temps it turned out perfect.

Let the brisket go for 12-13 hours at 190 – 200 degrees and be prepared for the pain.  And by pain I mean that your tongue will beat your face half to death if you get any on your cheeks.

Just as a serving suggestion I placed this on a soft hoagie roll, added some BBQ sauce, Cheddar Cheese, and Tomato and by golly she was amazazing!

Last week I met up with Michael Baxter from www.baxtersoriginal.com and for those of you that are Twitter fans he is knows as @BaxtersOriginal (it wouldn’t hurt to give him a follow) at the Smokin’ on the Suwanee BBQ competition.  I had a good time at the place but man oh man was it hot.  Well, Mike saved my live with a cooler full of ice cold adult refreshness (I still owe him for that) and also a sample of some of his wood.  I had honestly never smoked with Maple and was very excited about trying it out.  My only problem was that I wanted to make sure this sample was put to good use and didn’t waste anything.  So I waited a little time and my oh my, I have never had wood chunks so easy to smoke with and the smell and flavor from the Maple was fantastic.  I now am on a mission to get as much variety of wood from him that I possibly can.  Hey Mike look out for an order from me soon!

Now, I know I said “Perfect Storm of Flavor” and here is the addition that make it perfect.  We all know Tom at www.bigbutzbbqsauce.net (Tweet him @BigButzBBQ) and truly appreciate his saucy passion.  I have been able to Tweet with him for a while and know with 100% certainty that this man loves BBQ and BBQ Sauce.  I’ve been threatening for a while to place an order and get some sauce to try out.  Well, I finally did it and my order came in on Saturday.  I opened the mailbox and immediately began to drool in anticipation of this sauce.  I received a jar of his Cranberry sauce, a jar of his Original sauce, and a jar of the No Butz sauce which is definitely hot enough to make your tastebuds dance.  Check out his flavors here.

Since you are now aware of the story behind this “Perfect Storm of Flavor” let me tell you what happened.  I had about 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters and decided that I wanted some BBQ Chicken.  So, I seasoned the chicken with a little garlic salt and black pepper (yep that was all I put on the chicken.)

Well, the problem was that it was raining like crazy so getting out to the smoker just wasn’t gonna happen.  So I pulled my grill up onto the porch got it hot and added some soaked maple wood chunks beside the coals.  This turned out perfect and long before I ever added the meat I had the best smelling yard around.  This wood had just the best smoke aroma I have ever smelled and believe me it will be used much more.

Once the grill got hot I added a few of the leg quarters and immediately began brushing them with Big Butz Original BBQ sauce.  The grill was super hot so I just kept turning these things about every 2 minutes and constantly brushed them with sauce.  I kept repeating this process for about 30 minutes and this what I learned.  As the chicken cooks and the heat seals the sauce, this process helps to keep the chicken jucier and more tender than I have ever had.

I don’t think words can explain what happened to me as I took my first bite but I will try to explain.  As I bit into the chicken the sky cleared, it stopped raining, a ray of sunshine came down onto the house and a rainbow appeared in the sky.  Well, maybe that just happened in my mind but this was as close to a miraculous event as you can get.  The chicken has a perfectly smoked flavor thanks to Baxters and top that with the sweet and tangy taste from the Big Butz sauce it was perfect.

If you love BBQ you really owe it to yourself to pick up a bag of wood from Baxters Original and a few jars of sauce from Big Buts and try this out for yourself.

Ok, so I’ve been told that I don’t put enough healthy meals up so I decided that this was going to be my way of providing a meal that is healthier than my normal stuff.  Just because this chicken cacciatore is healthy doesn’t mean that it lacks flavor because I’m here to tell ya that this knocks my socks off every time.

In advance I want to let you know that for this meal I actually use brown rice instead of pasta and no sugar is added so technically this is also a diabetic friendly meal.  If you want to use pasta I can promise you that it will be amazing but today is about being a little healthier than normal.

Check it out, try a taste, tell me what you think, and as always remember that I am not a photographer but I think I need to hire one…

Ingredients

3 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 shallots (chopped)

12 oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms

3 tbsp olive oil

3 cans diced tomatoes (I use no salt added)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp margarine

1 tbsp salt

Some oregano, this part isn’t exact

Some black pepper, also not exact

What to do!

Since the rice takes the longest to complete go ahead and get 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1 tbsp butter and salt and then stir in the brown rice.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes.

While the rice is cookin, season your chicken however you would like (personally throw garlic salt and black pepper on it) and grill it until it’s done.  I guess this is the easy part because you just have to grill the chicken.

Once the chicken is done bring it in the house and cut it into smallerish chunks.

On medium heat add olive oil, garlic and mushrooms to a pan and start those a cookin, make sure to stir regularly to keep from burning.  After these have been going for a few minutes, add the chicken and balsamic vinegar and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.

Now the time has come to add the tomatoes, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and oregano to the pan and mix everything together.

Cover and lower the temp and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Once everything is done, top the rice with the cacciatore and go to town.  This will feed 3-4 normal eaters lol.

Initially I had planned to do a BBQ Lasagna that would be grilled and then I realized that Smoke In Da Eye BBQ has already done that.  Not only has Smoke In Da Eye BBQ done it, I think they have actually perfected the stuff, you can read about it here on their blog.  So, I decided to give credit where credit is due and congratulate Smoke In Da Eye BBQ on the best sounding recipe for BBQ Lasagna that I have ever seen.  (Eventually I will make one of my own anyway haha)

So, that being said, I decided to just go old school and make a standard lasagna with a little twist.  The flavors came out incredible and even though I made two large pans I ended up with no leftovers, I guess it was purty good.

I know the title of this dish is kind of scary but I have to admit, I don’t think I have ever had anything that tasted this good in my life.  It has to bad for you since it tastes so freakin good so I couldn’t resist the title.

Every once in a while I make a meal to share with everybody that is soooo good that I get people offering to pay ridiculous amounts of money for me to make it again.  At this time I don’t have a restaurant and just enjoy cookin for my friends.  But the more times that I get offered money the harder it is for me to turn em down.

Eh, that’s enough about my internal wars lol.  Take a look at this recipe, try it out, and fall in love with Lasagna all over again.  Garfield never had any lasagna this good.

Ingredients:

1 Box Lasagna Noodles (you can use ready for the oven noodles and save a step of boiling the noodles)

2 8 oz packages shredded parmesan cheese

1 8 oz Ricotta Cheese (I use Sergento)

2 8 oz packages shredded mozzarella cheese

2 eggs

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 jar alfredo sauce

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

chopped oregano

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground hot italian sausage

Preparation:

If you decide you want to boil the noodles I’m pretty sure now would be the time to get that started.  While the noodles are boiling go ahead and put the ground beef and ground sausage in a pan to brown also add the garlic at this point.  Once completely browned, drain and set aside.  (Remember, you also have sausage in this pan so make sure to cook fully.)

While browning get the cheese spread ready.  In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese, 1 package of the parmesan cheese, and two eggs.  Mix until completely mixed.

Start with a 13×9 inch lasagna pan and coat the bottom of the pan with a liberal dose of pasta sauce.  Then layer your noodles until you cover the entire bottom of the pan, and let the layering begin…

This is the order that I go, but you can choose your own adventure if you’d like:

First, cover the noodles with sauce, then I had 1/2 of the browned ground meat, then I add 1/2 of the cheese mixture.  I spread each to make sure that I have completely covered all of the noodles.  I then top that layer with mozzarella cheese, and then a new layer of noodles.  And repeat the steps to make another layer.

On top of the third layer of noodles, pour the alfredo sauce and spread to cover all the noodles.  Use the second bag of parmesan cheese to cover all of the alfredo.  Add the chopped oregano.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and let cook uncovered for 1:15 which should leave you with a nice cheesy crust on top.

Remove from oven and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.

I will tell you, this so freaking good and different enough from the norm that it will blow minds so be careful who you let try it.

All of this food was cooked for a Toga party that I had at the house and the food was magnificent the outfits were phenomial, the beer was cold and the ladies were super hot.  It was definitely some good fun, maybe I’ll get some pics up one of these days.

Once again Spicy Guy came through for me with his Rowdy Rub and I can’t say enough about how awesome these rubs are.

Well, I figured ribs would be a perfect addition to everything else that I was making and boy was I right.  I actually did three different styles of ribs.  I did my regular old sweet BBQ ribs, the Apple Chipotle ribs for those who like a little kick in the pants, and a dry rib and I honestly can’t tell ya which one was better.  They were all devoured.

So, now that I have combined two of my favorite things ribs and Apple Chipotle BBQ, check out the recipes and put them together for an amazging time.

Ribs Hankbob Style

Then brush the ribs with:

Apple Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Well, sorry I don’t have a picture of this stuff cookin but I guess I’ll just have to get over it and give you the recipe and show you some foods that were made with it in a few other posts.

Apple Chipotle BBQ Sauce

1 bottle of ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
1/2 cup of cider vinegar (you might add more to taste later)
4 tblsp worchestesire sauce
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (comes in the can that way)
1 beer (darker the better) or wine if you prefer

That is what you’ll need to make your base now my personal touch.

Sautee up:
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 sweet onion (finely chopped)
with 1 tblsp olive oil.

Once they start to get a little color add your beer (or wine if you prefer whatever you have on hand)

While this is going put the chipotle peppers in a blender and add water until the blender is 2/3 full and puree until it is a nice paste.

In the sautee pan now add all of the ingredients together and stir.  Let it simmer on medium heat remembering to stir regularly until you get a light boil.  Taste at this point and you may need to add more mustard and vinegar but it should have a nice bite to it.

If you want it hotter use 2 cans of chipotle peppers.

You are going to let this simmer for about 3 hours so the alcohol will cook out but it will have a really nice flavor at the end.

Did I not use enough egg, did I forget the breadcrumbs, did I not refrigerate the patties long enough, what could I have done wrong?  I couldn’t wrap my head around why they just wouldn’t work for me this day.  I was about to get discouraged and then I had a brilliant idea.

Since these burgers aren’t working anyway, let’s make some grilled BBQ sloppy joes, yeah, that’s the ticket.  So, I continued to cook my crumbled beef and sausage on the grill until almost done…wait, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself, let me tell you the recipe and give some steps on how to make these amazing things.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef

2 lbs ground sausage

1 lb of bacon

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce

2 tblsp Worcestershire Sauce

3 tblsp Hot Sauce

Another bottle of BBQ sauce (don’t add this one to the meat mix)

Now just add some black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder to the mix and get to mixin…

I mean, mix all of this stuff up until you can’t tell the difference between beef and sausage.  Then take a ball of the meat mix (a ball that just fits in your palm) roll it around like you are making a meatball then patty it out.   Keep doing this until you have made all of the burgers up.  Place them in the fridge for about an hour to set.

Now, for a little special tip, while the burgers are chillin, go ahead and fry up a pound of bacon.  This was just the touch that these things needed.

Ok, bacon is ready, burgers are chilled, grill has been started, and now it’s ready to cook.  If you are lucky these burgers might not fall apart on you but for this recipe we kinda hope they do.  Place them on the grill and don’t touch them again for a good 6-8 minutes.  Try to turn them over once, we only want to try once because we don’t want them to be complete crumbles on the grill.  I was able to not lose any of the meat between the grills.

Cook this next side until almost completely done.  And now comes the fun part.  If you have a cast iron pot, put the meat from the grill, BBQ sauce and any other seasonings that you would like to the pot and place it back on the grill.  Let this cook until it gets a nice boil and then put them on the buns.

I topped these things with swiss and cheddar cheese, mayo, tomato, and the star of the show Bacon!

My neighbors almost lost their minds when they tasted these little tasty treats and I couldn’t resist falling in love with them.  Every once in a while it takes a mistake to create a genius dish and these will be perfected soon.

If you get bored readin, just check out one of my videos and watch the fun happen right before your eyes, you probabaly won’t be disappointed.

Now, that that’s out of the way, lemme get down to business with this thang. I really couldn’t resist puttin this together. I know, I know, this isn’t BBQ but I can promise that it is 100% good. I even had “fish haters” eat this and decide that they might add fish to their lives now. It was really that amazing, I am getting requests for this again today so might do it again this weekend.

The scariest thing for a couple of people was the Chutney, they just weren’t sure about putting fruity stuff on the salmon but after trying it have asked me to make up the Chutney to use on everything. This stuff is so spicy, sweet, amazingly delicious that I’m sure it will go great on just about anything. Give it a try and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Salmon:

4-5 .25 lb steaks
3-4 tlbsp of curry powder
1-2 tblsp of ground cumin
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
salt
lemon pepper
olive oil
soaked cedar planks

Brush salmon with olive oil. Spread the lemon zest over the steaks. Squeeze lemon juice over each steak. Cover steaks with Curry powder and ground cumin. Add salt and pepper and let rest. Place soaked cedar planks over hot coals on the grill for several seconds to warm. Flip the planks over and then place the salmon skin side down for 20-25 minutes or longer for a more well done salmon. Remove salmon from the grill and top with the chutney.

Chutney:

3 tblsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 sweet onion (finely chopped)
2 roasted jalapenos (finely chopped)
2 peaches (skinned and diced)
1 cup blackberries
2 tblsp honey
3 tblsp brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teasp salt

On medium heat add olive oil, garlic and onion into a saucepan, sautee until onions are completely soft. Add in the roasted jalapenos and peaches with the honey, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Stir and allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes until the peaches are soft. Add cup of blackberries and salt. Continue to stir mashing some of the blackberries as you go. Allow to slowly simmer for 6-7 minutes stirring regularly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Asparagus:

1 lb of asparagus
olive oil
garlic powder
salt

Brush the asparagus with olive oil, add salt and garlic powder. Place on the grill away from direct heat for 4 minutes, checking frequently. Turn once and allow for another 4 minutes. Once the tips begin to darken remove from the grill.

Potatoes:

3 Idaho Potatoes
olive oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Rosemary
1 stick butter
salt

Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick medallions. On a square of aluminum brush with olive oil. Add six medallions on the oil. Add salt, garlic and rosemary. Place two pads of butter on top of the potatoes. Completely seal the potatoes in the foil and place on the grill over direct heat for 15 minutes.

Also there is an additional topping for the potatoes a lemon sour cream which is optional but works extremely well. Take 4 tblsp of sour cream, add the zest from one lemon and the juice from 1/2 lemon, stir until blended, place 1 tblsp on top of the potatoes for a summertime fresh lemon topping.