Wowsie, sometimes I really miss BBQ—you know the sweet, yet spicy/tangy, taste of BBQ ribs from Outback or pulled pork from a street vendor at the fair? And when I start feeling that way, I know that it is time to pull out my Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce and make something yummy!

And in grilling season, this is just the perfect dish—without any of the guilt or sluggishness associated with sugar-laden BBQ sauces (okay, and that sweet bread AND bloomin’ onion AND homemade croutons AND…you get the idea!).

This recipe might look like it has a lot of steps, but take heart:

(1) You can omit the marinating if desired (especially if using bone-in chicken with skin and/or dark meat);

(2) If you have the BBQ Sauce Base in your pantry, making the BBQ sauce is really not any harder than mixing up any other one-bowl-one-whisk concoction. (So make that base!);

(3) You might not feel the need to pre-cook your chicken like I do. I get nervous about getting chicken done on the grill without precooking. That is a personal choice.

So…many steps or few—this chicken is worth the extra time to make amazing grilled BBQ chicken!

Grilled BBQ Chicken {Sugar-Free}

• Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce (two times if you like things really saucy and you are going to marinate your chicken)
• 15 lbs mixed chicken pieces, bone in/skin on
• Monterey Marinade one time (if you want to marinate your chicken that day; if you are using skinless chicken rather than the skin on listed above, I recommend marinating)

Note: This can also be made in the oven. I would recommend baking it a hot oven then broiling at the end to get the BBQ sauce cooked into the skin just so!

Make BBQ sauce as directed here two times for fifteen pounds of saucy chicken.

Marinating and pre/cooking in the crock pot makes it super easy!

Optional: Save out one cup of the BBQ sauce and make Monterey Marinade if you will be marinating your chicken for a few hours ahead of time.

Optional: Make Monterey Marinade one time.

Optional: Place your chicken in a large bowl or huge crock pot insert and pour marinade over all. Let sit in fridge for an hour or more to marinate. (Do not marinate out on counter—even if your chicken is frozen as some will defrost sooner than others and you risk spoilage of the early-defrosted chicken.)

Optional: Place crock pot in the base and cook until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees or so. (For my super-hot crock pot, this is two hours on high followed by two hours on low.)

Note: I always start any chicken in the crock pot on high for an hour or two (even chicken I am shredding for casseroles, etc.,). I feel it is safer than having chicken in a warm environment for too long (rather than in a “cooking state,” which it gets into more quickly on high for an hour.

Optional: If you want to precook in the oven, that is another option, making sure it reaches the internal temperature listed.
Transfer chicken to grill and use a brush to slather the BBQ sauce over both sides of the chicken.
Cook on medium heat for twenty to forty minutes, depending on your grill and how precooked your meat was (longer if you did not precook!).
Turn frequently and sauce often. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. (I always use a meat thermometer for chicken—and I have been known to get my married kids meat thermometers every year for Christmas…you know, in case they lost last year’s!)

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): Carbs are minimal (just from the tomato paste and a tiny bit from the broth and the molasses).

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This does not taste the least bit sugar free or low carb! My “this is sugar-free, isn’t it, Mom?” adult kids all really enjoy it! And there is something wonderful about skin-on BBQ chicken—the way the BBQ sauce sticks to the skin. The way the skin crisps up on the grill. Yeah, this is yummy stuff!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS):  Very homemade—but very worth it! Of course, SBS may also purchase store-bought sugar-free bbq sauce and use that in place of my homemade version. Just be sure you try it ahead of time as the store bought ones vary greatly in how “sugar-free” they taste!

Homemade Hannah (HH): Go on, Hannah, you know you want to do all the steps! 🙂
Freezer Cooking (FC): This chicken can be flash frozen after it is grilled and then dropped into zip-lock bags for one or two serving use. To flash-freeze, just place the finished chicken pieces on cookie sheets (I would line with parchment…always parchment!) and slide into the freezer. Leave there uncovered until chicken is frozen solid. Then remove and place in freezer bags or containers. To use, you would just defrost in a dish (if you defrost in the bag, all of your sauce will come off on the bag as it defrosts!) in the fridge, heat in the microwave or oven, and enjoy!

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): This “pre-cooking in a BBQ-based marinade” is how I have always fixed my BBQ chicken! Love that flavor infusion!

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): As it is written, this recipe is an S with the skin on the chicken (and the combination of dark meat and white meat) and with the oil in the marinade. To make this an E, you would need to be sure you do not marinate in oil (broth and BBQ base only) and you would need to use boneless, skinless breasts. I highly recommend marinating if you are using chicken without skin and/or white meat only.

Cycle Cooking (CYC): I don’t usually do BBQ chicken in my cycle cooking as grilling takes longer than a cycle cooking day allots!

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and amazingly yummy!

Gluten Free (GF):  Be sure all of your products are gluten-free, and you will be great!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This uses my BBQ Sauce Base mix! Love my “Low Carb Mixes and Fast Fixes”!

Save

The post {Sugar Free} Grilled BBQ Chicken appeared first on Character Ink.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed the ease of my shredded chicken method! It is so simple to put chicken in the crock pot overnight or in the morning and come up with a speedy meal when it is done cooking. There are actually times in which I put the chicken in without even knowing for sure what I will do with it the next day since I know I have so many options that I can turn to at the last minute. (Plus, having it cooked forces me to do SOMETHING with it!) If nothing else, I can pour some bottled BBQ sauce over it and have BBQ chicken sandwiches!

Did you try the Arroz Con Pollo? Jonathan and his new bride are here for two weeks on spring break while Jonathan works at the factory and Maelynn does her junior practicum at a local middle school. I will probably be making that Arroz Con Pollo next week for them!

In addition to the BBQ chicken mentioned above, when all else fails, I know I can pull out some chicken broth, enrich it with chicken base (always!), boil some packaged noodles in the broth, and come up with a pot of chicken noodle soup in no time flat. Here is how I do that quickly.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless thighs and/or breasts

• chicken base or bouillon granules

• chicken broth

• Bag of uncooked homestyle noodles

• seasonings as desired: parsley, garlic, pepper, basil

• stir fried tiny pieces of celery, carrots, and (optional) onions

Directions:

1. Cook chicken according to instructions in the general section. 

2. Shred and set aside.

3. Cook noodles in chicken broth until al dente.

4. Optional: Stir fry celery and tiny pieces of carrot (or carrots that you shredded with a potato peeler) in skillet or in micro with butter.

5. To cook aromatics in micro, just put them finely shredded in small microwaveable bowl with a TBSP or two of butter. Cover and cook until tender. You don’t want the celery or carrots to be crunchy.

6. Add chicken, aromatics, seasonings, and more base back into noodles and broth. It is ready! Don’t keep on low as noodles will continue to cook and get grainy.

The post Chicken Noodle Soup appeared first on Character Ink.

When the married or college kids come home for a weekend or holiday break, I always like to make things that they like, or things that are special to them. I have been scouring the internet for a couple of years to find a recipe that is similar to the Arroz Con Pollo that our newly-wed son always orders at our family’s favorite Mexican restaurant. I was unable to find anything like it. (The ones I found were large chunks of meat more in a red sauce as opposed to a shredded chicken dish in a white sauce.)

So….I combined a couple of other recipes that looked similar and came up with one that worked—and that all of the kids really liked. (And my Arroz Con Pollo son thought was a good knock off!)

So, here you go! Enjoy the ease of cooking with shredded chicken! You might even like to do what I always do—cook up an entire crock pot of breasts and thighs, shred, bag, and freeze them to pull out for easy soups, stews, Mexican dishes, Italian dishes, classic casseroles, and more! (Coming soon!) 🙂

Tip: Cook ten or twenty pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs in the crock pot. Then shred, bag, and freeze for quick entrée assembly!

Oh…and a few tips for freezer cooks and low carb cooks:

(1) This can be doubled, tripled, etc., and frozen in quart sized bags after it is all assembled. To use then, you would just thaw and heat in micro, stove top, or crock pot.

(2) This can work well as an enchilada type of filling without the rice. This makes it a really yummy low carb treat in low carb tortilla shells or Joseph’s pitas. (It would be just a few carbs per serving for the meat without the rice and an S meal for those following THM.)

(3) Another option is to cook chicken, shred it, and freeze it in bags with a little broth (as described in the shredded chicken introduction post). Then you can pull it out to make this quickly.

(4) Another good idea for low carbers and freezer cooks alike is to chop up onions and peppers and bag in quart sized bags to freeze. I love having these in my freezer to pull out, stir fry, and use in recipes all the time!

• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 ½ lbs uncooked Minute rice (or precooked long grain rice)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 can Rotel with green chiles
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ to 1 tsp cumin
• ½ to 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth (for cooking rice only)
• 1cups heavy cream or half and half
• 4 to 6 clove minced garlic
• 8 oz grated Monterey cheese
• 1 bar cream cheese

1. Heat oil in electric skillet.

2. Once the oil is nice and hot, add in 3 cloves of freshly minced garlic, onion, and pepper. Let it sizzle for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and you have a beautiful aroma coming from the pot.

3. Meanwhile, cook rice in chicken broth by favorite method. (I use brown Minute Rice and cook in micro for several minutes.)

5. Add all seasonings to the pan.

6. Melt cream cheese in microwave and whisk until it is loose and can be poured.

7. When rice is done, drain broth if any is left (but keep if dish is too dry at end).

8. Stir everything else (chicken, rice, cream cheese, cream, cheese, rotel, etc.) into the stir-fried onion mixture.

9. Heat through and serve with soft tortilla shells, salsa, sour cream, corn chips, olives, etc., as desired.

Note: This is also really good enchilada filling for chicken enchiladas. Just omit the rice (and broth) and decrease the cream cheese and half and half or whipping cream to desired thickness. Build four to six enchiladas, place in casserole dish, top with a little shredded cheese, and bake.

The post “Arroz Con Pollo”—A Shredded Chicken Recipe appeared first on Character Ink.