Beer can chicken

Tonight I made Beer Can Chicken for Dad's birthday dinner. I made two since I had Greg and JM there, and with a total of 4 of us there was just a tiny bit leftover. The chicken itself was delicious, but it was definitely a messy situation! Especially for someone who doesn't like to see bones and that kind of gross stuff on the food she eats!!! After I got the chickens all oiled and seasoned up and put the cans up their behind they cracked me up so I had to take a picture...

Here's the recipe that I found on foodnetwork.com. Keep in mind that they will be dripping, oily and hot when you get done so have a way to cut them up close by!

Ingredients
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
1 can beer

Directions
Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside.

Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.

Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

I also made corn souffle with fresh corn from the farmer's market. We get it from My Dad's Corn up in Tipton County and it's amazing! I found the recipe on their website:

3 cups corn -- 1 cup sour cream -- 1 egg -- 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix --1 stick margarine

Melt margarine. Stir in egg, then all other ingredients. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Kodi's 8th Birthday

Today was Kodi's 8th birthday and Murray's 6th. For those of you who didn't know, Mom had been told Murray's birthday was sometime in July so she made it Kodi's birthday so she wouldn't forget. I can't believe Kodi's 8 already! I swear I just got him!!! We've been really lucky so far, for such a big dog he's had no major problems. He has a thyroid issue but I forgot to refill his prescription over a month ago and he seems to be doing fine, and he had a touch of arthritis in his hips this past winter but it only seemed to bother him on really cold days.

Of course, since I thought 8 seemed like a big birthday, we had a mini-celebration of a trip to the dog park and doggie cake :-)

Kodi's licking his chops already!

I finally figured out I should cut it in half so they didn't have to break it themselves.

Kodi's half didn't last long!

Murray looks like he thinks he's in trouble! No Murray, that is not the beer bread from the counter...this is ok for you to eat!

Studying is for pansies

I have an exam tomorrow. At least I've opened the notebook, right? :-) I'll get to it, I swear. I wanted to upload the pictures from this weekend first!
Saturday JM and I slept in and went to Bob Evans for breakfast. We had an awesome server who hooked us up with free pumpkin and banana nut bread, then sent us home with some free biscuits. Low carb diets are something we obviously aren't trying.
We were going to head down to Oliver Winery and maybe Nashville (Indiana) but it was SUCH a beautiful day that we made some adjustments. It was seventy-something degrees out, not a cloud in the perfectly blue sky, and the leaves were changing. We picked up Kodi and threw him in the car (ok, we walked him to the car, didn't throw him) and headed down to Brown County State Park. Neither of us had been there so it was quite the experience.
If you want to see all the pictures from the weekend, I've posted a bunch of new ones at http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonmoliver

This is my favorite picture. We took trail 7, which went around Ogle Lake. Everything was gorgeous and I took 500 pictures. Wow, I exaggerate a lot.

This is Ogle Lake at the start of the trail. We were just amazed, it was so beautiful. There was a wedding going on just to the left. That couple totally lucked out with the great weather and scenery. Any other day this month has been rainy or hot as Haites!

Kodi, JM and I off the trail. I'm obviously slipping on the leaves.

Another gorgeous view of the lake from the trail.

Our last stop, Hesitation Point. Kodi was as exhausted as he looks!

We did stop at the Oliver Winery on our way back but were only able to stay for a few minutes because we got stuck in stupid IU football traffic. Then we rushed home and my parents took us to dinner at Harry and Izzy's downtown. It was sooo good. I had filet and lobster...woo hoo! Then we went to Nicky Blaine's, the martini and cigar bar downtown. I had a few more excellent martinis before we had to leave because the stupid mall parking garage closed at midnight!

JM left for Georgia today for two weeks for Army stuff. I took Kodi to my parents because I have really long days and without JM here, Kodi may go insane. We had birthday cake, the traditional Taylor's with fall flowers. It's the same one I've had every year -- I believe since we moved here about 18 years ago.

Mom and Dad got me some great presents as well. They got me the Dansko's I've been wanting. I swear everyone at the hospital has them and says they're the best thing for your feet. They also got me a "Life is Good" t-shirt with a turtle on it -- I love sea turtles. I also got a frame/memory box since I'm all into trying to decorate the apartment with pictures.

Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave sent me a giftcard to Barnes and Noble...my favorite store. I can't decide which book to get. I have a huge list of to-reads!

Ok, Wedding Date is on so I should get going. Wait, what I meant to say is that I need to study a bit before I go to bed!