Texas Barbecue Chicken with Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers and Basil Garlic Crostinis

A colleague that I assigned to an implementation in Ennis, Texas brought me back some really nice sauce that we decided to try tonight. The finished product was pretty awesome - if I say so myself.


Texas Barbecue Chicken - what you need...

• Boneless skinless chicken breast
• Bottle of barbecue sauce. This was from Texas  so I dropped that in the name but, really you can use any dang sauce you like.
• Ziploc bag

Place chicken breast in Ziploc bag and pour sauce into it. Place sealed bag in fridge for a few hours (I did this early in the morning and let it marinate the whole day). I skipped a step this morning and didn't flatten the chicken breasts - so I strongly suggest that you do this before bagging and tagging (doing this helps the chicken cook evenly).

Image Courtesy of seriouseats.com

When ready preheat grill and place marinated chicken breasts on the upper grill grate.  It only takes a few minutes per side, so keep an eye on it or you will wind up with dry chicken. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Give it a couple of minutes to rest before plating.

Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

Swung by the local fresh & easy and grabbed a prepackaged offering that comes in a ready to use grilling pan.  Unwrap and put on the grill - that is it, nothing complicated.  If you are in a time crunch but, want a filling side dish then this is the way to go.  While there is some great layering of flavor in this, I have to believe that if you spent a few more minutes you can get a customized result that blends the flavors your want (garlic, basil, parmesan, feta, whatever).  Next time I am going to give fixing this myself a whirl and I will let you know how it goes.

Basil Garlic Crostinis - what you need...

• Fresh baguette
• Butter
• Garlic
• Basil
• Seasoning of Choice - mine is Cavender's

The method that I am sharing works for me.  I like the texture of the finished result but, crostini snobs out there will tell you that this isn't a "true crostini. Personally, I am not wanting something that will disintegrate the first time you bite into it (plus, this is my blog). You have been warned - read on if you want a soft crispy product. If not, then there are a zillion other recipes out there for you.  I will leave you to decide now...

Thanks for sticking with me - it really means a lot that you have bought into my vision.  Move oven rack to near the top of the oven and pre-heat broiler to 275 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in sauce pan. Add garlic and basil to taste.  Once all ingredients are combined/melted, add seasoning to taste.  While the butter is melting, slice the baguette into 1/4" portions. Place on ceramic baking sheet. Brush/spoon/pour melted butter mix over the baguette slices.  Place on top rack of oven and cook for five minutes. If yours isn't a light golden brown, then leave it there for another minute but, keep an eye on it. There is a fine line between yummy bread product and burnt toast.