the goose loves tuesday's ten (#8)

Big news, friends! This week's episode of Tuesday's Ten is actually on time! It's Tuesday! Hooray!

And the ten for this week is super fun and exciting. It all makes me smile. Big smiles. And maybe you'll smile too. Or maybe you won't give a &%^* about the little things that make me super happy. Either way, I encourage you to read the whole thing.

1. I bought my first item from Pick Your Plum (which is generally like Groupon for crafts)! Most times, the items are a little weird (like satin rompers for kids, which is today's "steal"... Dad - you probably dont't even know what a romper is). But about a week ago, the daily deal was 10 spools of thread for $7 plus $3 shipping - so basically $1/spool. And these spools are at least as big as my normal ones, if not bigger, which I pay at least $3 for each spool. And these colors are pretty unique. And they showed up super fast. So I'm in love.

2. My sister went down to CA last week, and then came to Portland, so she provided delivery service between my parents and me! In the bag of goodies, along with easter-y cupcake tins and a scarf, was a bag full of delicious Slovenian honey cookies. I'm not even going to attempt the spelling of those. They may look a little strange, but believe me - they're delicious. And they taste like home. And childhood. Each bite is like eating a mouthful of young and carefree. The best part? Billy doesn't like them (something about them not having enough sugar and fat), so more for me! Unfortunately, there's only one left now. Pretty sure I ate over half the bag right when these showed up, before I took this photo.

3. Lots of blathering so far - I'll keep this one short. Here was dinner Saturday night - grilled chicken with a peruvian rub from Bobby Flay's Grill It book (its rubbed, not burnt), along with grilled garlic bread and a tangy mustard sauce. Mmm. Time out while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.

4. On Saturday, we also Redbox-ed for the first time! Even my parents got into the redbox thing before we did. Haha. Go Mom & Dad!

We walked down to Fred Meyer with the dog and picked up Midnight in Paris, with Owen Wilson and my ultimate girl-crush, Rachel McAdams. Oh, and written/directed by Woody Allen. The movie was good, but not Billy's style - he fell asleep within minutes. My parents would like it. I was in love with the 20's music.

5. We actually enjoyed some sun this weekend! Unfortunately, it's long gone now. But I'll include the obligatory dog-as-a-cat-in-the-sun photos. But look at that adorable face. How do you not take 30 photos of that?

Then he gave into the sleepy sun.

6. I went to a Tupperware party (yes, they still have those!) last week at Caryn's house. It was good hang-out time with her, Carolyn, and Caryn's adorable baby Brennan. Even Billy got in on the baby action when he came to pick me up. Notice the uneasy look on Billy's face, and how he can't even put his hands on the baby. We'll have to work on that one.

7. The best part of the Tupperware party? Buying these babies!

Yes, that's 8 gorgeous pieces of purple and blue flowered tupperware goodness. For a steal, too. I literally actually felt like I was stealing. At the party, I saw these purple ones in the catalogue, and fell in love (duh). Erin, the awesome tupperware goddess, had the same purple ones in her stash at home, brand new!! So she gave me a wicked-good deal. Eight pieces of the best-looking tupperware ever, for $30. YES. That's less than $4/piece for you math whizzes. And this stuff is dishwasher AND microwave proof - none of those plastic poisons. Did I mention they're gorgeous? At least 5 of the pieces are going to store my flour/sugar/cornmeal type things - I'll replace the old ziploc-types that I've had for years. YES.

8. We're moving though our meal plan pretty well - already cooked the potato curry (it was decent), and here's our white bean and ham soup. Still on the list? Chicken salad sandwiches and whore pasta.

9. My mom loved the picture I sent her (via Monika's phone) of me at work last week, so here's another one for you, Mom. Don't my glasses make me look nerdy awesome? Sorry about the bright fuzzy light. It's jsut the awesome flourescents in my cube.

10. And the best for last. Remember when I made a Vegas Showdog bowtie (#4) and then I took pictures of Bentley in the bowtie (also #4)? Well I promised you it was all for a good cause. And here it is!

I'm the captain for one of the PGE teams at the Heart Walk, and this is my team recruitment strategy! Who could turn down that face? You can join my team, the Hearty Hearts (yes, I'm currently accepting suggestions for a cooler team name), and donate lots of moolah. For every team member that joins and donates at least $10, Billy and I will throw in $10. But if you donate $50, we're still only putting in $10 on your behalf. But you'll get an extra big hug from me and a kiss lick from Bentley for donating more!

If you love supporting me can't say no to my dog but aren't in Portland, you can donate anyway. I'll walk for you. If you are in Portland, the walk is on May 19th and begins at 10am. It's an easy three-mile loop around the waterfront (from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge and back around). It'll be awesome. AND for you Portland residents, Billy and I will be hosting a heart-healthy BBQ post-walk. And it will be cooler than grilled-tofu-in-kale-wraps. So join me!

the goose loves beer-butt chicken

This one is a nice fast post. Short and sweet. And tasty.

Billy and I have been wanting to make a beer can chicken for awhile. Like years. So we wait until summer is practically over already and decide to grill one up. It was so surprisingly easy and amazingly tasty - we should have been grilling these ages ago.

There are a ton of recipes online, but we decided to use one that Billy's boss Bill gave us:

Rick Browne's Original Beer-Butt Chicken

For the dry rub:
1	teaspoon brown sugar
1	teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder
1	teaspoon summer savory
¼	teaspoon cayenne pepper
1	teaspoon paprika
1	teaspoon dry yellow mustard
tablespoon fine sea salt For the basting spray:
1	(12-ounce) can of your favorite
	beer
1	cup apple cider
2	tablespoons olive oil
tablespoons balsamic vinegar For the chicken:
1	large chicken

Make the rub: In a small bowl, mix the rub ingredients until well combined. Wash, dry, and season the chicken generously inside and out with the rub. Work the mixture well into the skin and under the skin wherever possible. Place in a medium howl, cover, and set aside at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
Prepare the spray: Pour one cup of the beer into a spray bottle, add the cider, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the bottle, and set aside.
Heat a grill to 300° to 350°. Slide the chicken tail-side down over the partially-full can of beer; use the two legs and the can for a tripod to hold the chicken upright. Grill for 1-½ to 2 hours over indirect heat. During the cooking time, spray the chicken with the basting spray several times. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 180°.

Carefully remove the bird from the grill, still resting on the can, and place it on a heatproof countertop. After your guests have reacted appropriately, remove the chicken from the beer can with tongs while holding the grill rack with an oven mitt. (Careful! The can is hot.)Give the chicken one more spritz of the basting spray, then carve and serve.

The dry rub.

Here's Billy, pretending to kiss the bacteria-filled uncooked chicken. And washing the chicken too. There's Bentley in the background, making sure his chicken doesn't go too far.

Wave hello!

Bentley keeping watch over his chicken. No, our beagle isn't as tall as the counter. He just stands on the back of the couch, which sits up against our bar.

That chicken's for me, right Dad?

I've never seen him so focused. Oh wait, unless he's looking at a treat in your hand. Or unless he's looking at the carrot cake cupcake-muffin in my hand. Okay he gets really focused on food, whether it's for him or not.

Ah, now yu can see his set up. I can't believe he broke his gaze with Mr. Chicken. I guess Bentley loses that staring contest.

Here's our glorious dry rubbed chicken.

Now don't let this photo fool you. We enjoy ourselves a good drink, whether it be beer or wine or something harder. And no, we did not substitute Sprite for beer in this recipe. It's just that my husband is a rather (terrific) beer snob, and doesn't buy beer in cans. So we poured the Sprite into a glass (and then I poured some raspberry vodka into that same glass - see? we drink) and then filled the empty can with beer.

See the foamies? It's beer. Billy made sure we took this shot to prove to people it was beer. :)

Remember this grill?

There's the cute little chicken, standing up on its duck feet.

Hahaha this picture cracks me up. Done chicken, just chillin in the microwave (keeping warm).

Looks like a fat person without a head.

Finally, the glorious result!!

Tasty, crispy, juicy chicken. I wish I still had some of you.

You were so tasty in the chicken noodle soup we made later from boiling your bones.

So if you are like we were, and haven't ever made one of these, I recommend it right away. Ready, go!