♪ 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."