Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day was pretty uneventful, we just got things done around the house, ran some errands, and went to the gym. However, we followed the tradition of grilling out, and much to our surprise, we discovered a great recipe.

We can't figure out why we are on the mail list, but the grocery store, Wegmans, sends out a magazine full of recipes every few months. Bryce almost threw it away before he remembered that I love reading recipes and trying new ones. Here's the recipe we enjoyed on Memorial Day (which I obviously changed a bit...for 2 people and no actual "Wegmans" products):



Brown Sugar Barbecue Chicken

SERVES 8 -12 ACTIVE TIME: 15 min MARINATE TIME: 6 hour 0 min - 8 hour 0 min TOTAL TIME: 8 hour 0 min - 11 hour 0 min

3 Tbsp Wegmans Barbecue Seasoning (or any typical BBQ sauce)
2 Tbsp Wegmans Dark Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
6 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
2 pkgs (about 3 lbs each) Wegmans Chicken Split Breasts, Drums and Thighs
link (we simply bought a package of drum sticks and we used 4 of them)

Mix barbecue seasoning, brown sugar, salt, and basting oil in large bowl. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Marinate, covered, 6-8 hours in refrigerator. (we only marinated the chicken for 1-2 hrs before we threw it on the grill...instead of baking it which this recipe calls for)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Transfer chicken to baking sheet. Bake 2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees (check by inserting thermometer halfway into thickest part of chicken). Remove from oven. Transfer chicken to separate platter. Carefully drain all fat from baking sheet and wipe clean. Return chicken to baking sheet.

Preheat oven to BROIL; adjust rack to 6 inches from heat. Broil chicken 5-10 min, until skin is browned and crisp. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

(you can see from pictures below that our chicken was a little charred from the grill, but it was only the skin...below was delicious juicy meat with great flavor; also, we didn't time it while it was on the grill, we just periodically checked it and flipped it)

We almost always eat boneless skinless chicken breasts, which are awesome since it entails barely any work on the eater's part :) But, I realized that the regular chicken drums and thighs with bones are a bit more economical to buy, and this chicken really retained the moisture well. Sometimes it's hard to coo boneless skinless chicken just the right amount and not too dry.



We also grilled some corn on the cob (which we usually boil in water first, then just throw on the grill for a couple minutes with a sprinkle of salt). I read some recipes for pasta salad, but many of the ones I read seemed heavy with a mayo based dressing. So, I threw together some cooked ziti, diced cucumber, grape tomatoes cut in half, diced red pepper, and Olive Garden's awesome italian dressing. Then I topped that off with a sprinkle of basil and feta cheese. (and of course, our usual drink of choice: Grape juice...Bryce got me into it)