It All Started With A Purple Pan!

And it made for a cute title! 

It also reminded me of the very thoughtful gift that Holly and Brad gave me! I love this pan~ I'm so glad they chose this color of Le Creuset cookware for me... I would never have believed that I would also be adding purple accents throughout my home today!

 I plan on adding more pieces to this collection!

(back to why I'm posting)

So when I realized we would be home for dinner tonight I began to try to think of something to make for us to eat!

 Nothing came to mind~ Imagine that!

But I had a rotisserie chicken in the fridge...

(and as you can see I began the process of bbq chicken pot pie!)

And lately my mind has been on barbecue. 

I'm not really sure why except that I live in Alabama!

(in fact, at this point I had already added the chocolate!)

 yes, chocolate!

Who knew chocolate would be so incredibly good in this sauce!

Well it is and this is definitely a dish I will continue to make! 

It's actually in the cookbook I made for my family several years ago but I haven't made it since then.

 I will now be the bbq chicken pot pie advocate!

(obviously I have way too much time on my hands!)

With it's cornbread topping it's basically a one pot wonder!

I mixed it together in two seconds flat

But then I got nervous~ Yes...I really did! 

Why do I stress over the simplest of things?

As you can see it turned out just fine! 

Don't stress over the little things. Trust me on this.

 They all "even out" in the end! 

(wow...I am old!)

This dinner was so yummy! I hope you will give it a try!  

I really hope to get back to posting...I miss it and I miss the fun that I gained from it. 

I promised myself today to start doing the things I used to love again!

I'd love to hear from you if you try this recipe!

Barbecue Chicken Pot Pie

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green bell pepper diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 T olive oil

Saute the veggies in the olive oil until tender and then add:

1 1/2 Cups Chicken broth

1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar

2  Tablespoons brown sugar

12 ounce bottle Chili Sauce

 1 ounce square unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 Cups cooked, chopped chicken

Heat over low heat and then pour in a 11 x 7 casserole dish or similar pan. 

Top with cornbread topping.

Cornbread Topping

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 Cup yellow corn meal

1/3 Cup Sugar

1//2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 Cup buttermilk

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together and then add to dry ingredients just until blended. Pour over chicken mixture and gently smooth. Does not have to be perfect!

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees!

Enjoy!

Amazing Smoked Barbecue Chicken

 So... it's finally feeling like fall where we live and that always makes me want to break out the smoker! Especially when any of my kids are home…it's just something fun to do! Since Miller was home studying I decided to try a new way of making barbecue chicken…we did it on the smoker! I used an old faithful recipe for the sauce because it's truly incredible and I even went ahead and made a double batch of it so I could put some in the freezer! 

I know these pictures aren't so wonderful but I promise the chicken was heavenly! 

And the smell of the smoking process only added to the fall ambiance! 

I'm fully aware that some of you won't like the fact that bacon is involved here but let me tell you, it was so yummy and you don't even have to eat the bacon if you don't want to! But if your'e using boneless, skinless chicken breasts you truly need it for the sake of not drying out the meat! I also used a brine to begin with….something else I'd never done before but the results were so worth it!

~And now I know what to get Jim for Christmas! A new smoker that looks a lot better than this!

I was getting tickled when I wrapped the chicken in the bacon thinking they looked like mummy's!

I got untickled very quickly when I realized after all of that I had forgotten to sprinkle the "rub" on the meat! I wanted to just say forget it but I thought, nope….you've come this far! So that meant unwrapping each one and sprinkling on the seasoning and re-wrapping them…please don't make that mistake! It wasn't fun!

You may notice that I started with 6 pieces of chicken and now you are only seeing 5! 
That's because I got nervous about testing for doneness…I only had to smoke the chicken for 1 1/2 hours and then I put them on an oven proof platter to put some of the bbq sauce on them and let them warm in the oven on low for about another 30 minutes. The actual brining process took 2 hours but was so easy! 
I wish I'd taken a picture of that for you but I forgot!

See! Now there are six!

This sauce makes your house smell incredible! It's also really good on a pork loin roast.

And there you have it! My messy platter with mouth watering Smoked Barbecue Chicken! 
Next time I promise better photography! I hope you will try it! I sent Miller back to Auburn with the left overs and he was oh, so happy! I also made that fabulous Caramel Apple Cookie Cobbler that I made last fall and sent him back with that as well! You can see that recipe HERE!
So, now it not only feels like fall but it tastes like fall as well! 
Enjoy!
~this is for my friend, Amy Tankersly!

Smoked Barbecue Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
18 slices regular bacon
Montreal Chicken Seasoning
Barbecue Sauce

Brine
4 Cups cold water
1/4 Cup Kosher salt
1/4 Cup brown sugar

Mix the kosher salt in the water and stir until dissolved and water returns to clear. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour over the chicken and cover and keep refrigerated for 2 hours. When done, rinse the chicken very well to get off all of the salt. Sprinkle each chicken breasts on both sides with the Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Wrap each breasts with 3 pieces of bacon. It's easiest if you will lay out the 3 pieces of bacon side by side and place the chicken breast on top and begin to roll, making sure that most of the chicken is covered. Secure with toothpicks. Place on top rack of smoker and let cook for 1 1/2 hours depending on the thickness of your chicken. When cooked through place in oven proof dish or platter and cover with some of the sauce. Return to oven and let warm in their for approximately 30 minutes on low. Serve with remaining sauce.
Barbecue Sauce
1 1/2 Cups catsup
1/4 Cup vinegar
1 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup worchestershire sauce
3 drops liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
6 drops tobasco sauce
1/2 Cup water
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 lemon, juiced and then rind cut in slices
~mix all ingredients well and add lemon slices to sauce. Bring to a slow boil and then let simmer for 20 minutes stirring often.