Bestie, BBQ, Beans, and Brownies

I can FINALLY share my pain!! I have been a single mom for about 12 weeks now as the hubs was getting bruised, bashed, and bullied at the police academy. I didn't post about it as well, there are crazy people on the net (not calling any of YOU crazy) - and didn't want said crazy person to know I was by myself for TWELVE.LONG.TEDIOUS.WEEKS. And while the troops at home were pretty well behaved, pretty helpful, and pretty satisfied with the lame excuses that I labeled dinners for those 12 weeks.... I am so, so, SO happy to have him home. And not just cause he takes off the stinky trash (vs. Seth and I throwing it in the back of the Expedition and hence forth having the stink of rotten chicken traveling around with us from now on). And not just cause he is the only one who knows how to iron in the house, and clean the bathrooms well. And not just cause I only cook real dinners when there are two adults who aren't satisfied with frozen pizza or ravioli in residence. But cause I missed my best friend and watching him wrestle, kiss, and play with the kids like I can't. Cause nothing replaces a Daddy. So Daddy, we are so glad to have you home with that badge on your chest, finally! So to celebrate, I am grilling out in true Southern girl fashion tonight. We are originally from the BBQ capital of the world - Lexington, NC. If you have never tried Lexington BBQ, DO. It is primarily a vinegar/ketchup based BBQ and is so moist and tangy that you will crave it. We have seriously had to made BBQ runs for friends in whatever city we were currently living in. And just to show how much I crave it - my oldest child went to the BBQ joint when he was 6 days old - as I couldn't stand being in the house sans pork for any longer than that. Without any more intro, here is our menu for tonight:

Lexington BBQ Style Grilled Chicken Lexington BBQ Baked Beans Coconut Brownies

Lexington BBQ Style Grilled Chicken

You will need: 2 cut up whole chickens (or I just buy a 10 lb bag of quarters when they are on sale) 2 cups cider vinegar 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil 3 T crushed red pepper 4 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1) Start in the morning (or night before) by marinating the chicken quarters. I usually pull the skin off to reduce those Southern calories. It's easiest to halve the above marinade recipe into two gallon zip lock bags and do half the chicken at a time. Turning occasionally throughout the day. Chill at least 2-8 hours. (I ran out of freezer bags so just used the rubbermaid, it infuses better with the bags, I think) 2) Remove and discard marinade. 3) Grill with lid on 35-40 minutes.

Lexington BBQ Baked Beans

You will need: 1 roll sausage 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup ketchup 1/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce 1 cup brown sugar 3 cans pork-n-beans **I notoriously forget to take photos until I'm cooking mid-stream. So pay no attention to the ground turkey in the photo - but I didn't have an extra sausage to photo! This also explains the opened cans. 1) Cook sausage, drain. Add chopped onion, saute. 2) Add ketchup, BBQ sauce, brown sugar - simmer about 5 minutes. 3) Stir in beans and simmer another 5 minutes. 4) Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Coconut Brownies

You will need: 1 pkg fudge brownies - prepare as directed 10 oz sweetened, flake coconut 1 pkg chocolate and peanut butter chips (these have gotten hard to find - I had to use half a bag of peanut butter and half a bag of milk chocolate this time) 14 oz fat free sweetened condensed milk 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownie mix and bake 16-18 minutes. 3) Layer coconut, then chips, then sweetened milk. 4) Bake until chocolate is melty and coconut is beginning to brown. About 20-30 minutes more. Allow to cool before cutting. And now, dear friends, you know why my husband will always come home to me. Cause the above is the recipe that = true love on all counts.