I read, I conquered, I grilled!

In our family, T is the grilling go-to-guy.  I have grilled on my own once...and still T was home when I did it.  I'm just nervous I'll burn the house down or blow something up.  I am also not a fan of whole chickens.  Don't get me wrong, I love to eat them, I just get creeped out cleaning them.  Just gross, right? 

Well, I am here to brag, yes...brag on the dinner I made a few nights ago.  I LOVE Kraft's Food & Family magazine.  Every recipe I have ever tried out of it ranges from a way-more-than-average-good to amazing.  And easy!  You can get tons of recipes on the website, but I like getting the magazine.  Seeing as how both T & J receive at least 3 magazines a month each, I figure I can get one for myself ;-)  It's under $20 a year too, definitely within my budget.

So back to dinner...not ONLY did I grill, all by myself, but I grilled a whole chicken!!  And it came out beautifully :-)  Ok, so T did show me how to work the grill before he left to help a friend fix his lawnmower, but still I didn't blow anything up or burn...much... There were a few "flamey" times but no major damage to me, house or the bird.  It was a hit!

So here is the recipe...you will want to try it!
1 cup cola
1/2 cup original bbq sauce  (I used Sticky Fingers Original Memphis from South Carolina...so good!!)
1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce
1 whole chicken, cleaned


**Turn grill on medium heat**
1. Take the chicken and cut out the backbone.  
2. Flatten chicken skin side up with the palms of your hands, to get it as even and flat as you can for better grilling.
3. Lay chicken skin side down on grill, cover and let cook in direct heat for 15 minutes.  
4. While chicken is grilling, mix cola and bbq sauce in a saucepan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.  
5.  Take saucepan off of heat and add hot pepper sauce. 
6.  Reserve 3/4 cup sauce to serve with chicken.  
7.  Turn chicken over and onto indirect heat (I placed it on a piece of folded foil for this part).
8.  Cover grill again and cook for 35-40 min or until done. 
9.  For the last 15 min of cook time, turn chicken several times, basting each time with leftover sauce.  


EASY!!!