Looking for a quick and delicious meal? Check out this recipe!

Charles & I went to our friend’s Anne & Dave’s house for dinner, and Anne served an awesome sandwich that was like pulled pork, but it was chicken instead. This sandwich has the perfect balance of sweet, savory and spice and with the right roll…super delicious!!! The recipe came from Rachel Ray, and it is quick, easy and very tasty…I highly recommend it! First I’ll give you the recipe and then some suggestions to follow.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
1 cup chicken stock
1 bottle of beer
4 pcs. boneless chicken breast
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs Tabasco
1 ½ Tbs grill seasoning (use store bought or see recipe to follow)
3 Tbs dark brown sugar
¼ c tomato paste

6 Sweet Rolls

1. In a medium skillet, bring chicken stock & beer to a simmer and poach chicken for around 
    5 minutes on each side.
2. In a separate skillet, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil on medium-low heat.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. When chicken is cooked through, remove from poaching liquid and slice.
5. Take 2 ladles of the poaching liquid and add to ingredients in bowl and mix well.
6. Add chicken to mixture and combine using 2 forks, shredding the chicken as you mix.
7. Add chicken to the skillet with the garlic & onions and simmer for 10 minutes adding more
    poaching liquid as you need to reach your desired sauciness.
8. Put in a sweet roll and enjoy!!

OK, as you may have figured out, I always enjoy changing things up a bit, and I also like to try to make things as natural as I can. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about making things difficult for anyone; but if I can make it from scratch instead of buying it already made, I will. Why? I like to know exactly what is going into the product and my belly, and I like to be able to control the amount and quality of ingredients.

Here are a few options for the BBQ Chicken Sandwich recipe:
• Anne saved some time by using a roasted chicken that she bought at the market. Very smart
  gal!!
• If you use the roasted chicken, just add beer at step 5 instead of poaching liquid.
• If you don’t have any beer on hand, don’t panic! There is no need to go out and buy beer just
   for this recipe; you can simply use chicken stock whenever beer is called for. White  
   wine would be tasty too!
• I love Tabasco and think it runs in my veins; but Anne used an Asian hot sauce called
   Sriracha, and I highly recommend it!! It is a bit hotter and thicker than Tabasco and has more
   garlic in it…KAPOW! You can find it in the Asian section of the market.
• If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can use light brown sugar. If you don’t have light 
   brown sugar, you can use white sugar with about 2 tsp of molasses added to the mix. If you 
   don’t have molasses…go get some brown sugar! Ha ha ha…no really, brown sugar of some
   type rocks it!
• Now as far as the roll goes…definitely go for the sweet roll!! The slight sweetness of the roll 
   with the spiciness of chicken was revelry in my mouth! Anne found “Sweet Rolls” from Stop &
   Shop in their bakery section. They are so light, delicate and airy and are a must have for this  
   bold and spicy sandwich. The top of the roll must have been lightly brushed with a light sugar
   syrup right after it came out of the oven, mmmmmmmmm...
• There is another Portuguese sweet roll out there called the Bolo Levedo. It looks like an
   English Muffin, but it has a delicate, sweet flavor and is a bit more dense.
· Avoiding carbs? This chicken would be excellent on it’s own too!
• Coleslaw would make a great side dish, but I think it may be even better on it!!! You know I’m 
   going to include a recipe for this now, right? Ha ha ha…

If you don’t have Grill Seasoning on hand, here is a recipe with ingredients that you may already have in your pantry. I recommend making your own because, again, you are in control of the ingredients and there are no preservatives, artificial ingredients or ingredients that you can’t pronounce.

Grill Seasoning
3 Tbs fresh coarse ground pepper
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs ground coriander (Did you know that coriander seed is the seed of the cilantro plant?)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. Place ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark space.

Simple Slaw
1 bag shredded coleslaw mix
½ cup Mayonaise
3 Tbs rice vinegar (or cider vinegar, or wine vinegar)
3 Tbs sugar
¼ tsp celery salt (no celery salt? Feel free to use Kosher instead)

1. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and celery salt together.
2. Pour over coleslaw and toss well.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Don't forget to play with your food today!!