Squash with Rosemary Garlic Butter

Squash. A Minnesotan fall tradition. I can't help but bring it to Indiana. You know, I never knew if Bimmer Man liked squash, let along knew what it was. I guess he likes it, just never bothered to tell me. And here, it's one of my FAVORITE fall foods...
Super easy - all you need is squash, garlic, butter and rosemary. And just a touch of salt and pepper really.
Mmmm... the smells emitting from your kitchen will make the neighbors jealous...
You don't need this much butter, just a pat or two for each half of squash you bake.
The lovely colors... I'm just waiting for my sweaters!! I hope the moths haven't eaten them.
Oh, the seeds. You can roast the seeds too. My dad used to do it when we were little...
Scoop out the insides, then dry if you want to roast the seeds or just compost as usual.
Minnesotan Trick to squash. Cut off a little of the bottom so you don't have to worry about them rolling off your baking sheet. Works wonders.
Then chop the rosemary and drop a little in each.
Not too much... Just enough!
And then get out the garlic press. My newfound tool. Lovely.
And make sure that your hands are in shape. Practice it a little bit.
Then press one half clove of garlic into each half. Yes. One half clove. We like garlic 'round these parts.
Mmm... sticky garlic juice...
Then put a pat or two of butter in each half. I use about 2 tablespoons. I want the butter to really soak into the squash and make it nice and soft.
Mmm.. And the garlic will melt.
And the butter will melt.
Cover with tinfoil. And put into a 400 degree oven for an hour and a half. Yes. That long. Seriously, you're thinking that I'm nuts. I'm not.
I like beer. And I like squash. The mountains are not blue in this pic, so I'm hoping that someone from Coors reads this. As soon as you touch the label the blue goes away. That means that it's not cold like the mountains. Fix it. I don't want the blue to go away after it's been in the fridge for an hour. Ok, vent over.
Oh, yum. My heart soars for the fall!

Enjoy!

PSH

Updated Chicken Tacos

Bimmer Man likes hard shell tacos.
The Bimmer Dog. Yep, I got him to do that whilst I cook. How good of a dog trainer am I?
Eh, I forgot to photography all the ingredients, but that's only because I only thought of blogging after I had chopped the onion. You'll need: 1/2 lb chicken, 1 small onion, salt & pepper, chili powder, cumin, etc... the usual taco spices.
Eh, I garbage bowled it Rachael Ray. I'm not proud, but with a canine looking on, I didn't want any oniony poo in the yard.

And so this is what I give in the kitchen if Bimmer Dog is good and lies down for me. Oh yeah, and stays in one spot so I don't trip over him! Newman's Own is all organic too. Bimmer Dog picked those out on his own at Petco. He was called Geriatric.
Normally he looks something like this around food. But he's still staying!
Douse your chicken with a good amount of spice - I happened to use Emeril's. You'll see more when we shred the chicken and simmer it for 10 minutes.
Saute your chicken until mostly done through - 10 - 12 minutes. Make sure there's great coloring so start your pan at a very high heat to sear the meat.
Yes, I teach the dog well. Drop, stay for a treat! Good doggie... Stay.... Stay....

Aww... the Bimmer Dog... He's so old and gray. He's a geriatric dog.
Finally. Chicken is mostly done. Put it on a plastic something or other to wash - because it's not fully cooked through yet.
Mmm... try not to eat yet. Also, notice how the onions have not been cooked yet.
Shred.
Shred well.

Mmmm... tacos.... kinda looks like pulled pork too.
Saute the onions for about 4 minutes in the same pan. You want the lovely color and also the fat. Mmm..
Keep the doggie at a stay so you don't accidentally step on him. Can you believe that's he's been in the same position this whole time? Yep, I'm good... really, really good...
And then slide the chicken back into the pan with the onions.
Add 1 tsp. of the following: chili powder, cumin, paprika

Add 1/2 tsp. of the following: garlic powder (yes, the powder not the salt), oregano, coriander

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup tomato sauce.
Then simmer for 10 minutes.
Chop your lettuce into thin strips like above and get out your cheese.
Then put your tacos together! I don't use salsa for this recipe - there's just enough crunch with the lettuce and spice with the sauce with the chicken that all you need is cheese!

Enjoy!

PSH

Barefoot Bloggers: Butterflied Chicken

I hate raw chicken. Blech. But that's ok. I made it through as you can tell. It was the moment of a lifetime. Ok, so that's a little dramatic, but when Bimmer's trying not to puke taking pics of you stuffing chicken... well, that's life.
The ingredients. And don't forget the recipe. Disregard: bagels, Sunchips, watermelon, tomatoes and um, well, the beer.
You're supposed to use a whole chicken. I cannot handle cutting up a whole chicken. I tried but it went into the crockpot.
The yummy smells that will emit from your kitchen...
Garlic. I think my pores will emit the smell tomorrow. That's kinda gross! Sorry work friends!

Smash three cloves of garlic with the back of your knife. You should actually make a fist, but I feel like I get more power from the heel of my hand.
And it should look like this.
Then chop rosemary. Or whatever it's called. I can't remember. I don't have the recipe in front of me.
Then make a paste. Stir it well, kind of smashing as you go. I made a mistake. I dumped a whole bunch of pepper into it - you can tell that I like pepper, so it was ok with me. But still, don't do that.
And then stuff the paste under the skin of the chicken while Bimmer gags and takes blurry pics all the way through it. It's ok, you'll get over it. And eat it.

Still blurry. Sorry, Bimmer.
Finally, he can put the camera down - and I thought I had all the right settings for him too, but then I forget that he doesn't really know anything on the camera besides automatic. Oops.
Ick. Chicken skin. But you can see the bulge of the paste underneath it - sprinkle salt, pepper, more paste if there's any leftover, and some olive oil.
Cover and refridgerate for one hour.
And then chop watermelon accidentally on the same board that you cut garlic about 15 minutes earlier.

And keep forgetting. Then make a face once you try the watermelon. Garlicky watermelon is not so good. Don't laugh, the best of us makes mistakes. Sometimes they taste great and well, sometimes they don't.
You're supposed to grill the chicken 12 minutes per side. It rained, sorry Ina. Sear the chicken for 4 minutes per side. The burner should be on high. You want grill marks. You want the fabulousness of char.
Then put it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 13 - 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.
And just out of the oven...
And onto my plate!!!

Ina's Butterflied Chicken

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Good olive oil Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 roasting chickens (2 1/2 to 3 pounds each), deboned and butterflied

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste.

Place the chickens on a sheet pan, skin side up, and loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers. Place 1/2 of the paste under the skin of each chicken. Rub any remaining paste on the outside and underside of the chickens.

Turn the chicken skin side down and scatter the lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary over each chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken up, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a grill with coals. Spread the coals out in 1 dense layer and brush the grill with oil. Unroll the chickens, place them on the grill and cook for 12 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

PSH

TSA Blogs. Seriously.

Did you know that TSA has its own blog?

Yeah, I didn't know that until exactly 30 seconds ago and now I have to share.

http://www.tsa.gov/blog

Sorry that I'm not more foodie this week. We've been grilling hot dogs and brats. Who the heck would want to see pics of a blown up hot dog because I've burnt it? Not me, dudes & dudettes.

I'll return to regular blogging tonight. It's Barefoot Bloggers food night for me...

PSH