Brown Ale Chicken Chili

Brown Ale Chicken Chili (serves 6)
1 chicken leg quarter, with skin and bone
1 dried cayenne pepper
1 dried California chili pepper
4 c. water

8 oz. dried black beans

2 medium carrots, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 c. brown ale

1 can of corn, drained

Salt and Pepper to taste.

1. In a crockpot, place chicken quarter, dried peppers and water.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Remove chicken to cool.  Remove peppers and discard.  Keep the water in the crockpot...it is now similar to a chicken broth. 
2. After chicken has cooled, remove and discard skin and bones.  Shred meat and return to crockpot.
3. Sort and rinse the black beans.  Quicksoak beans according to package directions. Then add beans to crockpot.
4. Add carrots, onion, bell peppers, spices and beer to crockpot.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours.
5. Add corn to crockpot and heat till corn is warmed through, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Serve over cornbread and garnish with sour cream and cheddar, if desired.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Info (per serving)
212 calories
29 carbs
2 g fat
17 g protein
85 mg sodium
3 g sugar

Yes, I know... Quite some time has passed

I realize that there are few to none of you that regularly check this blog.  I admit, its my own fault.  I have dropped the ball big time.  But I am here to say that I am back and will be posting with regularity.

Over the last year, I have been in a car accident which totaled my Jeep, suffered through a short sale, moved three times - of which, one was an apartment in which it had very VERY dated appliances (it made it so difficult to bake/cook with inconsistent heating and temperatures).  However, I was also lucky enough to sell some land I bought many many years ago which enabled my family to buy a home. Oh, and I also go knocked up ;) and now expecting my second child this next spring. So a lot has happened, but the seas look great for smooth sailing and I ready to get back on to blogging my kitchen experiments!

Love you all!

Prison Wheat

One of my favorite shows on TV is AMC's The Walking Dead. Now that the second part of the third season is back on air, the one week wait between shows is torturous. To make my passion for the show worse, TWC currently has a great commercial featuring Daryl. Needless to say, this show and the anticipation of what happens next has been on my mind all the time! So to pay homage to the show, I am naming this heavy hitter beer, Prison Wheat.




Prison Wheat (yields 5 gallons)

• 3 lbs. Pilsner malt
• 2.5 lbs. Flaked wheat
• 1.13 lbs Flaked oats
• 0.2 lbs. Munich malt
• 0.25 lbs. Rice hulls

• 3.3 lbs. Wheat LME

• 1 oz. German Hallertau (4.3%) 60 minutes
• 0.2 oz. German Hallertau ~ 15 minutes
• 1 tsp. Irish moss

• California Ale Yeast

Mill grain. Mash for 90 minutes at 152F.

Sparge with 150F water into brew pot.

Bring to boil. Remove from heat and add LME. Stir well.

Return to boil. Add 1 ounce of German Hallertau hops. Begin 60 minute boil.

After 45 minutes, add remaining 0.2 ounces of German Hallertau hops and Irish moss.

After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer to fermenter. Add enough cool water to bring total volume to 5 1/8 gallons.

Once wort has reached 70F, pitch yeast.

Seal with lid and airlock. Let the yeast do its business then bottle or keg like usual.

O.G. - 1.080
F.G. - 1.012

Enjoy!