Backyard Blend Beer Can Bird
Serves 4-6 takes 2 hours 1:40 cook time
1 whole chicken
1 can of mild beer (tecate)
2 tablespoons of Backyard Blend
Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Prep chicken by removing gizzards and neck (set aside for stocks). Lightly coat the chicken in olive oil and rub with Backyard Blend making sure to include inside the bird. Then salt the inside of the bird as well. Place an open can of mild beer on a pan or deep baking sheet, and carefully place bird standing on the can (this may require a second set of hands). Cook the chicken on a lower rack making sure there is ample space between the top of the bird and the oven top. After a hour and a half place a thermometer into the thickest part of the breast to make sure it's well over 165 degrees, if so remove from oven. Carefully remove the can and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Bonus Time!
For a crazy good and easy gravy that can be made while the chicken rests (should take about 15 minutes) follow this...
Place pan over medium high heat with the drippings from chicken. Add half a onion roughly chopped, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 stalks of celery and a large carrot roughly chopped. Saute until veggies soften about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon of flour, and a pinch of Backyard Blend and stir until flour is well incorporated and coating the veggies. Add remaining beer from chicken to deglaze and stir to make sure no flower is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Bring this to a boil and reduce until gravy starts to thicken to coat your spoon. Strain gravy into a serving dish and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Backyard Blend Black Eyed Peas
Place either previously soaked or canned peas in a pot. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the peas with an inch of liquid over the top of the peas. Add Backyard Blend (we made a lot so we used 1 TBS for roughly 8 cups of peas). Optional: add ham or bacon. We froze our smoked ham from Christmas so took this opportunity to use it... thawed, diced, then added. Boil until liquid reduces so that only a small amount is at the bottom of the pot.
Backyard Blend Collard Greens
Devein, chop, and wash the greens. Place in a pot with vegetable stock (we used one container of stock for two bushels of greens). Add crushed cloves of garlic (we used 5) and 1TBS of Backyard Blend. Finally, add a dash of apple cider vinegar. Cover and place in the oven at 350° for about an hour. Optional: add ham or bacon. We used left over smoked then frozen ham from Christmas... thawed then diced.
Backyard Blend Pasta Salad
Enjoy all of those yummy summer flavors in one great dish! Combined your favorite veggies (peas, carrots, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red peppers pictured here) with cooked tortellini pasta, olive oil, white wine vinegar, parmesan cheese, and a hefty pinch of Backyard Blend. Add chicken cooked in white wine and Backyard Blend to turn this side into a main!
Braised red cabbage with Backyard Blend
Need an easy side? Chop some red cabbage into bite sized pieces. Pace the cabbage in an oven safe pan (we used a non-stick skillet). Add a liquid such as chicken our vegetable stock or lite beer (about a cup - you want the pan to be about half full of liquid with the cabbage packed tight). Top with roughly a tablespoon of Backyard Blend and place in the oven at 400°. Toss the cabbage every 15 minutes or so until the liquid is gone (about an hour and a half). You can even let the cabbage get a little crispy :-)
Backyard Blend Root Vegetable Galette
Follow the recipe for Backyard Blend Galette previously posted but use only root vegetables for the filing. Begin by roasting sliced sweet potato (orange and purple), beets, and parsnips with a little olive oil, white wine vinegar, and 2 TBS of Backyard Blend
Once the initial veggies begin to become tender, add sliced leeks and chopped onions and return to the oven. Remove when all veggies are aldente (they will finish cooking once placed in the pie crust).
Allow the veggies to cool then arrange in your pre made pie crust with crumbled goat cheese. Finish the crust with brushed egg yolk and another tsp of Backyard Blend. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
