Beer Can Chicken, Twice Baked Mash Potatoes & Broccoli Slaw

Hey Y'all,

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.  I have been very busy planning what my family will be eating on Thanksgiving.  We are wanting to try new things but still want to keep all the old recipes.  We will see what ends up on the table.  I am sure whatever it is they will eat it right up.  This past weekend we had some beautiful weather here and decided to grill out.  We had Beer Can Chicken, Twice Baked Mash Potatoes & Broccoli Slaw; and it was absolutely amazing.  The recipes are really easy and anyone can make them.  First the Beer Can Chicken all you need is 1 Whole Chicken, 1 can of Beer, & Seasoning Salt.  Take the chicken out of the bag and rinse it off and remove the innards from the chicken.  Then rub the Seasoning Salt all over the Chicken until completely coated.  Now go ahead and open the Beer and place it in the vertical chicken holder.  We used a local brewery here called Southern Star and the type was Blonde Bombshell,  you can use any beer you have on hand it just has to be in the form of a can.  Sit the chicken on top of the roaster and place on the charcoal grill.  It takes about 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes.  Once done remove the chicken roaster from the grill and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Twice Baked Mash Potatoes are so easy and always look beautiful on the table.  You will need 4 lbs Russet Potatoes, 1 stick Butter, 1 cup Sour Cream, 3 cups shredded Colby Jack Cheese, 1 bunch Green Onion, 1 lb. Bacon, 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Salt & Pepper.  Take the potatoes, peel them, wash them, chop into chunks, and place in a pot of water.  Cook the potatoes till they are tender and can be pierced with a fork, drain the potatoes and return back to the pot.  While the potatoes are cooking go ahead and heat up a skillet.  Meanwhile cut the raw bacon into bite size pieces.  Once skillet is heated place the bite size Bacon pieces in the pan and cook them until done.  When Bacon is done place the pieces on paper lined plate to drain off excess grease.  Chop up Green Onions.  Place the butter, sour cream and cream cheese in the pot with the drained potatoes and start mashing them all together until blended.  Once blended add 2 cups Colby Jack Cheese, 1/2 of the Bacon and 1/2 chopped Green Onions, mix that all together.  Season with Salt & Pepper to taste.  Take a baking dish and spoon potato mixture into the dish.  Top with remaining cheese and then the bacon.  Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.  Take out of oven when cheese is melted and bubbly.  Top with remaining Green Onions and Serve.

Broccoli Slaw is so good and such a refreshing dish to eat on mild winter day.  What you need is 8 oz. Bowtie Pasta, 1 bag Broccoli Slaw, 1 cup slivered Almonds, 1 cup Dried Cranberries, .5 cup Plain Yogurt, .25 cup Mayo, 3 tbsp. Cidar Vinegar, 1 tbsp. Sugar, 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Peppper, Salt & Pepper.  Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, drain and let it cool.  Meanwhile whisk together the yogurt, mayo, cidar vinegar, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper together until blended.  In another bowl combine pasta, broccoli slaw, almonds and cranberrries.  Pour the dressing over the pasta broccoli slaw mixture and mix together until everything is coated.  Cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.

The Chicken is so moist, juicy and smokey.  The beer just adds such a nice hops flavor to the chicken. The chicken is smokey but not to smokey.  It is so tender and juicy from the beer and keeps it from getting dried out on the grill.  The potatoes are awesome!!!! It is a baked potato except without the skin.  I love these being paired with the chicken because you get a smoke flavor from the chicken and from the bacon in the potatoes.  They are so cheesy and creamy and they just melt in your mouth.  I have been making them for years and are always asked for when we have a bbq by friends and family.  The Broccoli Slaw has a nice spicy flavor to it that is cooled down with the yogurt.  In this dish if you want to leave out the pasta you can just do another bag of the slaw, it will still be great.  If you want to make it a little healthier just use yogurt and no mayo.  I hope that you enjoy this as much as our family and friends have throughout the years.  Next time I will be bring you my first time ever Chicken Pot Pie, and I have to say it was so good for my first attempt.  Hope this inspires you to make something amazing tonight for your family and friends.  See you next time.