Hearty Macaroni Salad

This salad speaks summertime to my family. Very refreshing and packed full of flavor. You can't stop at one serving.

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
4 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons sugar

In a bowl, combine macaroni, celery, onion, peppers, carrots and cucumber.

In another bowl, combine the dressing ingredients until blended. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and chill for several hours before serving.

Yield 8 servings.

~Farmgirl

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Beer-Brined Chicken

I had some friends come in from Virginia this weekend and not just any recipe would do for grilling chicken for them. I had to break out one of the best I have learned to make. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes when making chicken on the the grill. The chicken comes out so tender and pretty juicy. I made it this time with chicken breasts (wont be as juicy as the thighs) but its great with thigh meat also.

It's great severed up with many different sides. This time I paired it with corn on the cob and a nice hearty salad and my friend had brought up a carrot cake with walnuts and pineapple. It was so so delish. I'm still trying to figure out how she knew that I LOVED carrot cake.

Brine:
2 cups water
1/4 cup kosher (coarse) salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 (12 oz) bottles beer, chilled
2 cut-up whole chickens (3 to 31/2 lbs each) (for this recipe I used 6 lbs of chicken breasts)

Barbecue Rub:
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil (for brushing on chicken while on the grill)

In a 6 to 8 quart noncorrosive (stainless steel, enamel-coated or plastic or  large ziploc bag) container or stockpot, mix water, kosher salt and brown sugar, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in beer ( it will foam some). Add chicken. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Line 15x10 inch pan with sides with paper towel. Remove chicken from brine; rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Place chicken in pan. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix all rub ingredients except oil; set aside.

Heat gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking. Brush oil over chicken; sprinkle rub mixture over chicken.For two burner gas grill, heat one burner to medium; place chicken on unheated side. For one- burner gas grill, place chicken on grill over low heat. For charcoal grill, move medium coals to edge of firebox; place chicken over drip pan. Cover grill; cook 15 minutes.

Turn chicken over; cover grill and cook 20 to 30 minutes longer, turning occasionally, until juice of chicken is clear when thickest piece is cut to bone (170 degrees for breasts; 180 degrees for thighs and drumsticks).

Makes 8 servings

Note: The picture above I dredged my chicken in the rub. I like it the rub on pretty thick. So if your like me you may want to make double or triple rub.

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Good friends; Good eats

I found out mid last week that I was going to have weekend visitors. My good friend Diane and her husband, Calvin was coming to my house. OMG! I just couldn't believe it. I thought for sure that if they got a chance to take a mini vacation that they would of went to the beach, but instead they were coming to see me. I felt special.

This is from our visit in Jan 2013.

See I met Diane and Calvin on-line about the same time we moved back to WV, so that's been nearly 9 years ago. We chatted on-line 6 years before we got to meet for the first time in person. This weekend was the third time we've got together. We went and visited them down in VA in January.

This weekend we got to sit around and visit. We all went out for a little bit. I just hated that my husband missed almost all of it because he was working. Next time we'll have to do some planning so we all can visit. I foresee a trip in my near future.

I cooked up a storm just prior to their arrival. Saturday we had pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and strawberry pie. On Sunday I made beer-brined chicken, salad, and corn on the cob. Diane surprised me with a homemade carrot cake, which is my favorite. It was a great weekend filled with laughter and food. What a way to end the month of May.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend.

~ Farmgirl

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