I cook this when I don't have the time to sit in the kitchen preparing an entire meal, but I do have time for prep-work.

I mix up the homemade BBQ sauce, chop up the onions and garlic, plop the chicken into the crock pot- turn it on, and let it GO!

And I am rewarded with a ready for later dinner for that night. It only gets better with age, and the leftovers seem to be better than the first night.

I'd never heard of adding chocolate to BBQ sauce, but when I tasted it, it seemed Oh so right! (Just make sure it's the dark variety).

I paired this BBQ pulled chicken with a toasted bun. Enjoy.

Spicy-Sweet-Smoky BBQ Slow Cooked Chicken

 

Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup minced red onion 1 yellow onion-sliced into thin slices 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups ketchup 2 tbsp molasses 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce 2 tsp chipotle chili pepper, ground 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ¼ tsp Ancho chili powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder ½ cup Adobo sauce 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon Siracha 3 tablespoons soy sauce Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup water 8 ounces dark chocolate squares (I used Godiva) or 1 cup cocoa powder 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast   Directions: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the ketchup, molasses, Worcestershire, adobo, honey, vinegar, siracha, soy sauce, water, olive oil and spices. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add in the ketchup & spice mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat.   Turn crockpot to medium. Add chicken, chocolate squares, and then cover with sliced onions, & pour BBQ sauce over the top.  Cook for 4-6 hours, turning heat down to low after the first hour. Stir chicken about once an hour. In the last hour, shred chicken, and then place back into sauce. Stir again. The longer you let it simmer in the sauce, the better your chicken will taste. The sauce will thicken as it cooks down. Taste before serving and make any seasoning adjustments. If the BBQ sauce gets too thick, dilute with water until you get the desired consistency.

 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ever stop & wonder what those green tomatoes at the grocery store are used for? Well, now you know. I watched the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" years ago, but never tried these until I was with my hubby in Montgomery Alabama, heart of the South. Boy-did these knock our socks off.

We loved them so much we set out to replicate them. It was so much easier than we thought. These are highly addicting, and almost a meal in themselves. Enjoy.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3-4 medium, firm Green tomatoes

Natures Seasoning (or salt & pepper) to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 Eggs-beaten

A pinch of Salt

1/3 cup Breadcrumbs

3/4 cup yellow Cornmeal

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne/Paprika mix

1/2 cup Vegetable oil

 

Directions:

Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes.

Place in separate bowls: Flour, Natures seasoning, and paprika/cayenne.

In Another bowl: Buttermilk, egg, & a pinch of salt. 

In the last bowl: Cornmeal, a pinch of salt, & breadcrumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to cool & drain oil. Serve immediately, with a spicy mustard or remoulade sauce.