Crave Wednesday: Barbecue Chicken Sandwich

Apple picking is so different in San Diego than where I grew up.  For a long time I waited until September rolled around to even begin to think about going apple picking.  After all, it's a fall activity and fall doesn't even begin till September 21. 

But the problem with waiting until September is that apple season in San Diego is practically over by the time September rolls around.  I know.  It's crazy.  So now in August I start checking out when orchards open and when we're available. 

We made it this year 2 weeks after the orchards opened.  And the orchard only had one tree that still had apples on it. 

Luckily, this particular orchard had another draw.  Pears!

I've never actually been pear picking before.  It's very similar to apple picking.   The only difference is the fruit in your hand after. 

Some of the fruit was low enough for Thatkid to pick himself.

Although Thatbaby needed a boost.

And these pears were fantastic.  Some of the bigger ones were a little hard, but a day or two at home had them soften and sweeten up nicely.  The smaller ones started out perfect.

And Thatbaby got introduced to our orchard rule - you have to finish what's in your hand before starting on another. 

Typically we round out a trip to Julian with a stop for a barbecue lunch.  But our barbecue place closed over the past year!  So instead we went to the local soda fountain.  Which was delicious, but you know when you get that thought in your head, you just just can't shake?  That's how I was with my barbecue.  Luckily, barbecue doesn't always require hours over a grill. This is a really quick and easy way to get that fix at home.  You don't even have to cook a chicken if you pick up a rotisserie at the store.  Just heat up the sauce, shred the chicken, and combine.  It's a little bit of a cheater recipe, but good for those cravings you just can't shake.

Barbecue Chicken Sandwich (From Cooking Light)

1/2 cup no salt ketchup

2 Tbsp honey mustard

3/4 tsp ancho chile powder

3/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp kosher salt

3 cups shredded skinless, boneless, rotisserie chicken breast

6 hamburger buns, toasted

1. Combine ketchup, mustard, chile powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
2. Combine sauce with chicken.  
3. Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture on bottom half of each bun.  Top with top half of bun and serve.

Crave Wednesday: Pulled Pork Sandwich with Mustard Sauce

A long long long time ago Thatboy had made a deal with Thatkid about staying dry through the night.  He let Thatkid come up with a reward for every 10 nights.  And if he stayed dry for 30 nights, Thatkid picked a trip to Sea World.  But those 30 days came and went and we all kind of forgot about it.  Until last month, when we finally made good on our promise.  Hey, we didn't promise we'd go immediately, right?

This was by far our most successful trip to Sea World to date.  Thatbaby is old enough to really enjoy and participate it.  And Thatkid is old enough to take advantage of his favorite things.  Like he can finally stand still long enough for the feeder fish to nibble at his fingers.

As usual, we let Thatkid pick out the things he wanted to do.  Sharks were very high up on the list. 

Both boys love the shark tunnel, which lets you get right up and close to the sharks. But with a very thick layer of glass keeping you bite-free.

We also went to the Arctic area to check out the belugas, walruses, and crawl through the polar bear tunnels.

Thatkid is finally tall enough to ride almost all the rides.  Which he loved!  We took turns going with him.  Thatboy did the flume ride and the flight simulator, I did the raft ride.  Thatbaby is also now big enough to ride the little kid rides, so we all met up there.

And of course, SeaWorld is just chock full of ways for these boys to stretch their legs and burn off energy.

This past weekend was the first and last weekend where we had almost nothing planned.  There's always something, but this weekend it was just soccer, swim lessons, and Thatboy took Thatkid to see Lion King.  I'm laughing as I read that, but really, Sunday was the first day in forever I didn't leave the house!  And I took advantage.  I took advantage of that and the fact that it is far too warm to actually be summer.  I set Thatbaby up with the water table, and fired up the grill.  A long Sunday at home means pulled pork all week!  The tangy mustard sauce reminds me of the barbecue from summers in South Carolina.  I miss real barbecue!    We even ate dinner outside, complete with pickles, potato salad, and cole slaw.  I love my cole slaw atop my pulled pork.  That's not a South Carolina thing, that's a "me" thing.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Mustard Sauce (from Cooking Light)

7 to 8 cups hickory wood chips

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 boneless pork shoulder

2 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup Dijon mustard

2/3 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup molasses

1 tsp hot sauce

16 whole wheat hamburger buns

1. Soak wood chips in water at least 1 hour, drain.
2. Combine sugar, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl.  
3. Pat pork dry and rub with sugar mixture.
4. Remove grill rack and set aside.  Prepare grill for indirect grilling, heating 1 side to high and leaving 1 side with no heat.  Pierce bottom of a disposable foil pan several times with the tip of the knife.  Place pan on heat element on heated side of grill.  Add 1 1/2 cups wood chips to pan.  Place another disposable foil pan (do not pierce this pan) on unheated side of grill.  Pour 2 cups water in pan.  Let chips stand 15 minutes or until smoking.  Reduce heat to medium.  Maintain temperature at 300.  Place grill rack on grill.  Place pork on grill rack over unheated side.  Close lid; cook 6 hours at 300 or until meat thermometer registers 195; covering pork loosely with foil after 5 hours.  Drain and add 1 cup additional wood chips every 45 minutes.  Refill water pan and add charcoal to fire as needed.  Remove pork from grill; let stand 20 minutes.  Unwrap pork; trim and discard fat.  Shred pork.
5. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; swirl to coat.  Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add 1/2 cup sugar, mustard, vinegar, molasses, hot sauce and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook 15 minutes or until thick.
7. Arrange about 3oz pork and 2 Tbsp sauce on each bun.

Smells like Smoke

Don't forget to enter the Simply Bishop's giveaway post? It's not too late!

Today, Thatboy and I went to the movies. Before the movie started Thatboy reached over and smelled my arm. Thinking he was about to say something sweet I turned expectantly. "You still smell like campfire" he whispered to me.

And probably I will continue to smell like campfire for days to come - because that's the nature of things.

But you're probably wondering why I smell like campfire, so let me back up a bit.

I always joke that my social calendar is feast or famine. I either having nothing planned, or multiple things all planned at the same time. That was my Saturday.

It began with H's baby shower.

Little H (h?) is coming at the end of July. Although it seemed like h might have been confused about dates, or eager to attend the shower, because there were threats there might be an early appearance. Luckily it was a false alarm.


So H was on chair-rest for the shower itself, but really, she should be waited upon hand and foot even if she wasn't! And between you and me, she looks fabulous for 33 weeks pregnant.

After the shower, I picked up Thatboy so we could head to a birthday bbq! At the shower, the sun was beating down. Of course, as soon as we got the bbq the sun went away and it got cold grey. Luckily our hosts had all situations covered and as soon as the sun set the fire pit was lit. As we all huddled around roasting smores I turned to the other guests and said something along the lines of 'You know we're all going to smell like a campfire all night." Someone should hire me for my prediction skills. Because upon arriving home EVERYTHING had to go in the wash. And even though we washed and shampooed and conditioned, that's a smell that just doesn't come out easily.

But that was the only con of the day. Otherwise, I have to say, the bbq had some amazing food. Sausages, homemade salsas, burgers, grilled veggies, lumpia, salads, and ribs that smelled so good I could tell the instant they hit the grill. And they disappeared in record time.

Maybe you don't have a firepit in your backyard, but this is definitely the time of year to invite some friends over and light the grill. The thing I love about barbecue is that everyone has a different definition, and a different preference. But me? I love all styles! I love wet drippy ribs, and sweet and smokey dry rubs. The only thing I'm partially too is charcoal over gas. You just can't replicate that flavor! This is a really easy dry rub I use for ribs and chickens. The brown sugar is key for the sweetness, but my special secret is the chipotle chili powder for a bit of smokey kick- a flavor Thatboy requests.

Sweet and Spicy BBQ Rub
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Rub onto your meat of choice (we like it on chicken).
3. Allow the rub to sit on the meat 6-8 hours or overnight.
4. Grill as desired.