easy dinner ideas

The Girlfriend to Wifey Beer Can Chicken

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I swear that the first time Alex ate this recipe, I could see him picking out rings in his head- it’s really THAT good.

And lucky for me, and you- it’s also THAT easy to make.

For some reason this recipe sounds so intimidating and I think that’s what keeps people from attempting to make it, but hopefully reading and watching this post will give you the confidence to stick a beer can up a chicken’s butt.

This recipe is a knockout for 4th of July BBQs, book club dinners, entertaining, feeding a family or date night -plus plenty of leftovers.

LETS GET WIFE’D UP!

The Girlfriend to Wifey Beer Can Chicken

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What You Need/Grocery List:

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  • a roasting/grilling chicken (already cleaned out if possible)- you can ask your friendly poultry counter person to help you pick out the perfect bird
  • a can of beer- doesn’t matter what kind…get classy like we do and use Bush Light if you like
  • about 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • half a stick of butter
  • a spice rub mix- I like using a jerk mix for poultry
  • *optional: rubber gloves, a beer can roasting stand like this one from Amazon

What To Do: 

  • turn your RIGHT and LEFT grill burners on low/medium heat, leave the middle burner OFF. this insures the chicken will get the heat it needs to cook, without cooking too quickly and unevenly
  • unwrap your bird and if the legs are hooked together, unloop them

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  • drizzle olive oil on both sides of the chicken and rub in with your hand or a brush
  • sprinkle seasoning over bird and rub in evenly, making sure to also oil and season inside the bird- this is where rubber gloves really come in handy

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  • open your beer and drink half, or dump out if you’re with child like this Wifey. Set can upright and put it into the stand if you’re using one

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  • take your chicken – legs down- and slide it over the can/stand until it sits comfortably (poor little chicken)

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  • if you’d like (and I like)- stuff a 1/4 stick of butter down the top end of the bird…it will melt and assist with that juicy, cripsy skin

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  • place in the center of the grill and close the lid, check out the bird after about an hour and fifteen mins

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  • use a thermometer or your common sense and check the chicken to see if it’s done- it shouldn’t be pink at all, instead it should be juicy and fall off the bone

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  • carve it, serve it, get ready to feel the love!!!
  • save leftovers (if they exist) and use for sandwiches, enchiladas, soups…or just to eat with your fingers!

DIY Wifey Fish Filet

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Lately I’ve really been craving Filet o’ Fish from good old Mc D’s.

STOP JUDGING ME!!

There is just something so perfect about the ratio of soft bun, melted cheese, crispy fish and cool tartar sauce that makes me want to send Ronald a love letter.

Since hitting up the drive thru isn’t an IDEAL way to spend one’s day, I decided to create my own- Wifey Style.

Let’s Get Wife’d Up!

WHAT YOU NEED/GROCERY LIST:

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  • Trader Joe’s reduced fat fish sticks. (3 per sando) You can really use any fish stick, but these are healthy, tasty and fit so nicely on the bun..
  • Kraft singles- 2 per
  • hamburger buns
  • tartar sauce

What To Do: 

  • pre heat your oven to 400
  • bake the frozen fish sticks till they are brown and crisp
  • cut the bun, throw a slice of cheese on one side of the bun and pop into the oven for about 3 mins, until the cheese gets melty
  • remove from oven, spread cold tartar on the other half of the bun
  • close your eyes, bite into sandwich and praise Ronald for the inspiration!

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Slow Cooker BBQ WIFEY WUT UP Chicken

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Today I had my first foray with raw meat in the slow cooker. It didn’t go well…at first.

I dumped my package of pre sliced tenders into my croc pot, poured some Famous Dave’s BBQ sauce in there, mixed it up and set it on low for 7 hours.

About 5 hours into the simmer sesh- I smelled a combo of delish bbq (I know I don’t eat meat but I like the scent- whatever) and burnt something.

This is what I saw when I opened the lid:

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NOT NORMAL.

What did I do? Oh maybe salvage the chicken in the center and pull it out- NO. I decided to stir the pot around and see what happened.

Major fail.

I dipped my pinkie into the sauce and bravely took a taste (even though it had been doing the tango with the chicken) and it tasted like B.S.

Now, at this point I had to make a serious decision – do I scrap the whole thing and saw we should order dinner in or run out to the grocery- buy more chicken and try a different tactic?!??

I am NO quitter, I promised Alex dinner so I ran out and got some more chicken.

This time I mixed 2 cups of Dave’s with a cup of Italian dressing, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a dash of worstescher sauce and set the croc on high for 3 hours.

This is what happened:

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OH HELLS YES.

I served it with some rolls, broccoli, cheesy instant rice and asparagus. And he loved it.

Well …to be fair, he said the sauce could have been a bit thicker-  I’m thinking that tomorrow’s lunch will be the perfect consistency.

I hope at least.

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hot buns

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I steamed the broccoli then roasted it for a bit in the oven with some lemon olive oil and seasoning

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another glamour shot of the bbq chic

How To Save a Stew- Wifey Style

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In honor of the NCAA Football Championship game, I decided I’d cook a real “manly” meal for Alex.

So I sent him a list of ideas and OF COURSE he choose: Beef Stew.

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What’s wrong with that you ask? Oh, just 1. that it’s his favorite meal from childhood 2. I’d never made it before 3. I don’t eat beef so I can’t try it and season as I go.

BUT in true Wifey fashion- I “manned” up and accepted the challenge.

It was guys. It really was.

In the end- 7 hours later- it was pretty much exactly what Al was dreaming of and he ate two helpings and took the rest to work.

How did it go wrong and then end up right?

Let’s get Wife’ed Up.

Wifey’s What A Croc Beef Stew over rice

What You Need/Grocery List:

  • 2 lbs beef stew chunks (I used only 1b and it wasn’t enough) They sell this in the butcher section, I got mine from Whole Foods- organic
  • 3 carrots or a bag of frozen sliced carrots
  • 1 bag of frozen peas
  • 3 large potatoes
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 box or can of beef gravy – you can also use beef stock, I used gravy for added POW
  • 1/2 cup Worstesture sauce
  • 2 tbs of tomato paste
  • flour- just make sure you have lots on hand
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt & pepper
  • white rice- instant or not- it’s your jam
  • a big ziplock bag
  • vegetable or canola oil
  • a croc pot or slow cooker

What To Do:

  • cut potatoes into large chunks. I halved, then quartered, then cut them so they were all about the same size. Think- you need to use a knife and fork to cut for a bite- drop into pot

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  • cut onion into slices- drop in pot

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  • if you’re using fresh carrots- cut into circles or get fancy and slice of each rough side so it looks like a box and cut little squares- dump into pot
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i did both- squares and rounds

  • NOW- HERE IS WHERE THINGS WENT “WRONG” FOR ME. I MISUNDERSTOOD THE RECIPES I WAS ADAPTING THIS FROM AND DUMPED THE FLOUR INTO THE POT. YOU ARE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO USE THE FLOUR FOR SOMETHING ELSE. IT ENDED UP BEING MORE THAN OK, BECAUSE IT WAS TOO WATERY SO THE FLOUR HELPED BUT I WILL EXPLAIN HOW TO DO THIS AT THE END INSTEAD.
  • dump about 1/2 cup of frozen peas into the pot. At this point I freaked – hence no photos of the peas.
  • heat a pan with a couple tsps of canola or vegetable oil- as you prep the meat
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you will get no photos of the next few steps because I was in frantic mode

  • take a 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of pepper and the meat and put them into a big ziplock bag- shake and coat so the meat is evenly covered.
  •  I ALSO BIFFED THIS AND JUST COATED IT ON THE TABLE- IT SURVIVED.
  • take the meat in batches and sear each side in the hot pan until the meat is brown. SEAR it- don’t over cook it. Just make sure it hits almost all sides and turns a different color. This happens quick- so I advise to do about three chunks at a time. When they are brown- drop em into the pot
  • pour your box or can of gravy over the top of everything
  • dump 1/2 cup of Worsteschire on top of everything
  • add 2 bay leaves to the mix
  • sprinkle 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp pepper up in there too

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  • put your Croc pot on HIGH and set for 6 hours- place the lid on top
  • stir every few hours or so (if you can- if not- no biggie) and add a pinch of salt and pepper with each stir
  • after about 6 hours your stew should come out pretty BOSS. serve over noodles, rice, with bread- or solo.

HERE IS THERE THINGS WENT VERY WRONG- AGAIN FOR THE WIFEY… PLUS! HOW TO FIX A WATERY STEW

I opened my pot around the 5 hour mark to show Alex and wasn’t greeted by a beautiful thick stew- rather it looked more like soup. There was zero thickness. I silently freaked and went to the internet to search for how other Wifeys fixed their issue.

Here’s what worked for me:

  • take out 2-3 cups of stew liquid (try to only get the liquid) and dump into a sauce pot
  • add 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste and stir
  • add about 1/4 cup of flour and whisk over medium to low heat until there are no lumps in your gravy.
  • still not thick enough? slowly add flour while you whisk – a bit at a time- until it’s how you’d like it
  • add 1 tsp salt and pepper, stir
  • return your now THICK gravy to the pot and stir with the rest of the stuff to combine
  • let it continue to cook for the final hour
  • serve your perfection with confidence- they never even knew there was an issue! WINK.

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