Sunday, September 14, 2008

♪ You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman ♪

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~Harriet Van Horne

Labor Day weekend, Shannon decided that he wanted to do some grilling. We had several bags of chicken leg quarters that we needed to use from one of our Angel Food orders, so that is what he chose to cook. (Click here if you would like to learn more about this wonderful program. It can really help in stretching your family's food dollars.)

So, in today's post, Shannon will be sharing some of his grilling secrets with you. And since I love when my man cooks for me, I told him to just take his shirt off and get to it. ;)

He started out by cutting off all of the yucky pieces that you find on chicken. (Which is why we had three bags of this kind of chicken....I don't like to work with bones and skin....I prefer cooking with the boneless, skinless type of chicken. I'm just saying.)



"The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live." ~Confucius



I sure appreciate when my man is cooking in the kitchen.



I'm sorry, where was I?

Oh, yes, Shannon was cutting the yucky pieces off of the chicken.

After all of the cutting was done, he began rinsing off each piece of chicken.



As he rinsed off each piece, he placed them in this bowl.



Now it was time to start making his "secret" sauce....So let's just keep this one between us, mmmkay?

Like me, Shannon doesn't "measure" his spices; he just adds however much he wants too. All of these spices are being added to a bottle of Italian salad dressing.

So, he started out by adding a dash or three of Chili Powder.



Then he added a dash or two of Red Pepper.



Next up, he added a dash or four of Paprika.



Last, but not least, he added the most secret ingredient of all...Cumin....just a dash though, because Cumin has a lot of flavor.



Now it is time to shake the bottle to mix all the spices in with the Italian dressing. (Before doing this it's a very good idea to make sure you screw the lid on tight. Just a suggestion, mind you.)



Obviously, Shannon was very careful not to sling Italian dressing all over the kitchen.;)



(Please refer back to my suggestion.)

Now it was time to place all of those clean chicken pieces inside some gallon baggies, like so.



After filling the gallon baggies with chicken, Shannon added the Italian dressing and spices into each bag.

Half of the bottle into the first bag.....



And the other half into the second bag......



Once he poured out all of the dressing, it was time to zip the gallon baggies shut. Like so.....



Once he made sure that the "zippers" were secure, he shook the bags to make sure that all of the chicken was completely coated with the Italian dressing and spices.



Then, he just let the chicken stay in the bags for a few hours to marinate. (He just left them in the refrigerator until it was time to start grilling them.)



After placing the chicken in the refrigerator, Shannon had to clean up the "little" Italian dressing mishap.



Sigh.

I'm sorry, where was I again?

Oh, that's right, Shannon was cleaning up the Italian dressing mess.



That's much better!

Well, after several hours of marinating, it was finally time to put all of that chicken on the grill.



After the chicken had been on the grill for about ten minutes, Shannon then turned each piece of chicken over in an effort to sear both sides of the chicken and seal in the juices. Then he let them cook for approximately ten more minutes.



He wanted all of the pieces to look something like this.....



Mmmmmmmmmm!

Next he moved all of the chicken to one side of the grill.



He lifted up the grate and added dry mesquite wood chunks, which help to add an especially nice flavor to the chicken.



Once all of the mesquite wood was in place, Shannon arranged the chicken evenly on the grill, making sure none of the chicken was placed directly over the fire. Then he let it smoke on the grill for about 45 minutes.



Now, it was time to take all of that chicken off of the grill and take it inside to cook it some more. (He placed all of the chicken in a disposable aluminum "turkey" roasting pan.)



Once inside with the chicken, Shannon tore off a huge piece of aluminum foil, like so.



And with Allie's assistance (of course), he tightly covered the pan of chicken with the aluminum foil.



After that was done, Shannon placed the pan in the oven. The oven was preheated to 350 degrees. He let the chicken cook in the oven for approximately 45 minutes.



Allie is always on hand to help Shannon with the cleaning up of any kitchen "mishaps," such as Italian dressing all over the floor.



Sigh.

After 45 minutes, it was time to take all of that yummy smelling goodness out of the oven.



Once out of the oven, Shannon unveiled his chicken masterpiece.



Mmmmmmmmmmm! I wish you could smell it!



And Shannon served up all of that grilled chicken yummy goodness with a side of fries.



Mmmmmmmmmmm!

After taking just one bite of this delicious grilled chicken meal that my man made for me, my eyes rolled back in my head, and my heart started singing......


Looking out on the morning rain
I used to feel uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
But your love was the key to peace my mind

Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like
A natural woman

When my soul was in the lost-and-found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it
Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for
Cause if I make you happy I don't need no more

Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like
A natural woman

Oh, baby, what you've done to me
You make me feel so good inside
And I just want to be close to you
You make me fell so alive
Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like
A natural woman






Sigh.

"Kissing don't last; cookery do!" ~George Meredith

Proverbs 5:18
"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth."


18 comments:

sa061545@bellsouth.net said...

Nothing like a little beefcake while you're cooking! Sure looks good! (And for those of you who don't know, Shannon is a good cook!)
Love ya'll
Mom :)

Dee said...

I had a very good laugh at your husband's expense with the sauce thing, that is totally the kind of thing I'd do.

That chicken sure does look good, but I guess you would need to wait for a holiday to cook it coz it looks like it takes that long.

Was Shannon in the military or airforce?

Tracey said...

WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! You had better get the hunky guy with the sexy tatoo out of your kitchen before Shannon...oh wait...THAT'S SHANNON...this man should NEVER...AND I MEAN...NEVER wear a shirt again!!!!!

Smiling Shelly said...

I just love a man who knows his way around the kitchen AND who cleans up after himself.

Looks like it was a loverly meal....I'm glad you allowed him to finish it ;)

SKY4KAT said...

Your blog made my day, caused me smile and miss my man who has been on a mens retreat all weekend. What a beautiful way to show your love and respect for your man plus make my tummy growl over the sight of that chicken! I so enjoy you views of everyday life. It makes me feel a part of your world.
Blessings
Katrina

Gina said...

You gotta love a man who can cook...and look good while he is doing it. :) Bob is a way better cook than I am and I have no problem with that. Tell Shannon the chicken looks yummy. :)

God bless,
Gina

Mia said...

YOW-ZA!! YOW-ZA!! You better get ready for all the traffic that is fixin' to hit your blog Amy!! Now I am sure that if that grilled chicken recipe didn't mention a good-lookin' shirtless man as a necessary ingredient then it def SHOULD!
Leg quarters...gotta love 'em!

Pamela (His maidservant) said...

Okay...are these pictures G-rated??? Show-off!!
You are too funny and definitely a blessed women in the kitchen!! The meal looked good too :-)

In His Graces~Pamela

Power Up Love said...

the greatest gift...

Unknown said...

Did I mention before your husband is a hottie? AND he can cook? Whoa Nelly. Lucky gal you!

I do have to say my hubby was wonderful and cooked some fabulous pepper steak tonight as I was at an area wide youth event all day and all night. It was sooooo good.

Sexy is a man who cooks!

Kelly said...

You guys are just 2 smoochy smoochersons! That lovin' would make anything taste fabulous! ;0)

Anonymous said...

Oh yes! That's ONE of the things that attracted me to my hubby...ya know, I never knew you had to COOK cheesecake! (Chocolate cheesecake is his specialty)

& THANK YOU! You've introduced me to Angel Food Ministries...these boys are eating me outta house & home.

Tina said...

Oh my eyes, my EYES!!

Topless cooking...I've never seen Rachel Ray do that (thank goodness!). Shannon is such a sport...or hmm...did he just want to hear what all your girlfriends had to say about his hunkiness? :)

Shelly alluded...but there WAS 45 minutes of 'oven time' there...hmmm...

LOL

Great job, Amy!

Weeksie50 said...

HA- I loved this post. You are so funny..

Becky

3Strands said...

Heh did he have to have his shirt off---its bad enough hes making me look bad as being able to cook but he just had to go show off his manlyness---thanks Shannon----guess im off to cooking school and fitness center---you two luv birds keep up the good work---

3Strands said...

Hey Amy its Heather:)
Wow Shannon can cook hahaha jk. I almost forgot what shannon was cooking because i was too busy looking at his manlyness haha jk:) Whats cookin good lookin!!! keep the love fresh yo! hahaha

valerie said...

Shannon is a keeper for sure!
He went to a lot of trouble cooking that chicken. Oh my gosh, my mouth was watering and I could almost smell it cooking.
I do most of the regular cooking, but my man does the grilling and does a fabulous job. Why is it that men seem to grill so well?
Your hubby is also very photogenic. ;)

I also love the story of how you met and ended up together. Those are always great and you have a gift for making all stories fun and interesting.

Jill@SimpleDailyRecipes.com said...

Hubba hubba!
What a GREAT uh, uh RECIPE you have there...that tattooed chicken looked good!

I wonder if I should ask my husband to pose for one of my recipes posts?
Hmmm.

Men who cook & play with their kids are the sexiest men in the world.