Snack Attack

Goooood morning.  I'm not yet awake enough to give you exclammation points, but at least I'm not snarling.  That's something to be thankful for, right? :)

I'm in the throes of getting us out the door for a road trip to Orlando this weekend.  We're travelling for yet another wedding, and while I'm excited for Bo to see his enormous group of friends, I have exactly 84 thousand things to do before we leave.  And, of course, I volunteered to make the desserts for our neighbor's baby shower that happens to be this same weekend.  So, of course, I was up until midnight making these cake pops and then was up before the sun baking pound cake cupcakes.  (Sidenote:  I don't believe that there's anything more heavenly on this planet than pound cake batter.  Lord Almighty, I had to practice restraint.)  Moral of the story: A huge chunk of my current frenzy can be blamed on volunteering myself for treats when mayyyybe I might not have had the time to squeeze them into my schedule.  Lesson learned.

But speaking of treats, the real reason I'm here is that while I'm packing things up for our trip, I'm always tossing snacks into a bag.  I absolutely require snacks with me for road trips (and most of life, actually), because when my blood sugar drops, it's awful.  I go through my stages of "wilty" - getting quiet and withdrawn; then, having a hard time making decisions; then, feeling dizzy and about to cry at nothing; then, feeling faint with hot flashes.  I'm understanding enough to know that it's better for me to pack snacks than to ask Bo to pretty please stop for nourishment every 90 minutes. 

I fully intended to make these deee-licious fruit rollups and these amazing almost-a-cookie-but-not granola bars, but that bit about zero time got in my way, and I didn't get a chance to even glance at their recipes.  I did manage to whip up an addictive peanut butter Chex mix (I need to get permission before I can post the recipe for you!), so that with some apples and my new favorite crackers from Trader Joe's will have to suffice.

What I want to know from all you fabulous foodies is this - What do you pack for road trips to tide you over between meals?  Do you aim for healthy or let the roadtrip be your vacation from watching what you eat?  Do you have a favorite snack that you only eat on trips?  (I have such a weakness for Red Vines when we're travelling!)

Carolina Style BBQ Chicken

 

Hi, there!  I don't know what the weather is like in your part of town, but it's hinting at sweltering here in big bad Atlanta.  And that means I'm not terribly interested in standing over a stove, let alone using our oven.  So, what better idea than to whisk up a sauce and send Bo out back to grill up some chicken? :)

We ended up loving this recipe just as much as the BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe I posted last July!  Carolina style sauces are mustard based, and while I wasn't loving on the sauce straight out of the bowl, it turned out so, so yummy on the chicken.  And it cooked up so juicy that we didn't even end up using the dipping sauce on the table.  Gotta love a recipe that cooks up in about 30 minutes and makes use of ingredients you probably already have on hand!

Enjoy!




Carolina-Style BBQ Chicken
adapted from Food Network Magazine

1/2 c. yellow mustard
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard powder
2 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste
6-8 skinless chicken thighs, bone-in

Preheat grill to medium.

Whisk all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce for dipping, on the table.  Set aside 1/2 of the remaining sauce for basting on the grill.  Place the chicken in a medium casserole dish or bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Pour remaining sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Brush the grill grates generously with vegetable oil.  Grill the chicken, covered, occasionally dunking each piece into the reserved basting sauce.  Grill until well marked and done, about 10-12 minutes per side.

Ingredient Lineup:

Divide the sauce:

Grill mark goodness!

The New Food Guide

We all grew up learning about the Food Guide Pyramid, remember that thing?  I distinctly remember having school quizzes on the foods that belonged at each level, and the numbers for each.  Fast forward a couple of decades, and the USDA has released an updated version of the Food Guide, and this time around, it's in the shape of a plate. 

At first glance, the logo seems cartoon-ish and simplistic, but the more I look at it, the more I really like it.  The graphic makes it so easy to visually portion out meals to fit.  And I really like that it recommends that half my plate be filled with fruits and veggies.  Lately, I've been trying to eat less meat, so that there's room for more fruit and veggies in my diet.  It's not a huge transition for me, but Bo certainly does not like the idea of less meat.  And that blue "Dairy" piece up in the corner is something I do not have in my diet at all.  I'll just have to picture it tan-colored so that I can replace it with my calcium fortified almond milk. 

What do you think about the new food guide?  Easy?  Fantastic?  Plain silly?  Did any of you ever plan your meals according to the old pyramid?  (I never did!)

Saucy Mama... WINNER!

Drum roll please!!!  We have a winner for the Saucy Mama prize pack:

Comment #10 is the lucky duck!

Gena - please email me (skeddy@gmail.com) with your shipping address so that I can send that info on to Saucy Mama!