bbq – Hoots of a Night Al

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

February 5, 2015 3 Comments

Who’s ready for a delicious, easy dinner recipe? If you’re not…um…quit reading? 🙂 I found these Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches months ago, and I have since made them my own with a few modifications. They have quickly become one of my go-to dinner options. Read on for the recipe!

There are only a few ingredients in this recipe: chicken breasts, garlic powder, vinegar, brown sugar, and BBQ sauce. I always use Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce because I can find it anywhere, it’s inexpensive, and most importantly, it’s DELICIOUS. They have several varieties, but the original is definitely the best.

Another “ingredient” I use is a Reynolds Slow Cooker liner. These can be found by the Ziploc bags at the grocery store, and they make cleaning up the Crock-Pot a cinch! No more scrubbing and scraping and taking up half of your dishwasher after each Crock-Pot meal! They’re awesome, and I would totally add them to your routine when using your slow cooker.

Once you’ve assembled your ingredients, toss everything but the chicken in your lined slow cooker. Mix the ingredients together well, add in your chicken breasts, and coat them with the sauce.

Cook the chicken on low for 4-6 hours until it is thoroughly cooked and can be easily shredded with a fork.

Once your chicken is shredded, you can serve it a number of different ways. My favorite is to spoon it onto some lightly toasted buns and serve it with my simple homemade baked fries.

I know this meal is a hit because Louis always asks for seconds when I make it! Three chicken breasts usually make enough meat for about six to eight sandwiches, depending on how much chicken you put on each one. It’s great because it is so easy to make, and it typically lasts us for two meals!

I hope you enjoy these sandwiches as much as we do! Feel free to pin or print the recipe below, and let me know if you give it a try!

Food, Married Life, Recipe, San Antonio, Travel

Night Al Migrations: Black’s Barbecue

September 16, 2014 3 Comments

Hi y’all! Sorry I’ve been MIA for a bit! I started a new job, so that has definitely taken away my blogging time! I’m back today to talk about a mini road trip Louis and I took last week to Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, so we hopped in my Sunfire and drove up, get this, PICKLE PARKWAY. That was the name of the toll road we took! How cute is that? It has the fastest posted speed limit in the United States…85 miles per hour!

We enjoyed the quick drive and wound up in quaint, downtown Lockhart. If we ever make another trip out, I’d love to spend an entire day there. They have antique shops, gift shops, and three other popular barbecue joints. Maybe we can make it back one day to do a “barbecue crawl?” Sort of like a pub crawl, but more our style, since we don’t drink? I’ll add it to our “To Do” list. 😉

When we drove up, there was a line extending at least 20 people out the door! We were starving, but we figured the long line was a good sign. We only waited about 30 minutes, and it was SO worth it.

Once you get inside, the sides are served up cafeteria style and the meats are sliced as you request them. They had all sorts of sides including pinto beans, mac ‘n cheese, deviled eggs, and more, but I just couldn’t resist the green beans. I mean seriously, look at my plate. Our cashier looked at me like I was crazy, but they’re my fave veggie! Get off my back, man.

After waiting in line for so long, we didn’t want to miss out on trying anything, so we got a sliced turkey sandwich, an original sausage link, and a half pound of lean brisket. Oh, and a million green beans (but still not enough for me. Never enough.). The brisket was FOR SURE the best thing we tried. It was so moist and juicy that it didn’t even need barbecue sauce! I loved the sliced turkey sandwich, and (obvi) the green beans were probably my fave part of the meal. Who drives an hour for barbecue and fills up on green beans?? This girl. The sausage was just meh.

Overall, our meal was completely delicious, and we agreed it was totally worth the trip and the wait outside in the Texas heat! If you still need more proof that this is a quality establishment, check out this picture below of the owners…

They’re Aggies! No wonder the food is so delicious!! 🙂 The entire restaurant was filled with memorabilia gathered over the years including countless family memories. Black’s Barbecue is the oldest continuously family-owned barbecue joint in Texas (since 1932!), so it was great to see their family history represented throughout the establishment. It’s nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose by providing tons of checkered tablecloth covered tables for people to sit together and enjoy some delicious Texas barbecue (and green beans, of course).

We loved our mini trip our to Lockhart, and we can’t wait for our next trip out to Black’s Barbecue! Let me know if you’ve ever tried it, or if you know of any other Texas barbecue spots we need to try!

Food, Recipe, San Antonio, Travel

Night Al Migrations: Texas Pride BBQ

July 7, 2014 8 Comments

Summer in Texas means BBQ! Scratch that…Texas means BBQ. In our new quest to explore more, Louis and I remembered hearing about Texas Pride BBQ awhile ago. One morning, we woke up craving BBQ (like every other day), so we made the 40-minute drive from West San Antonio out to Texas Pride BBQ on a beautiful, sunny Saturday.

As soon as we pulled up, I knew I was going to love this place. The entrance is covered with amazing antiques (I almost typed “old antiques”…redundant much? Hah.) mostly centering around a Texan gas station theme (MUCH cooler than it sounds). We strolled past the rusty gas pumps and vintage Coca Cola bottles, through the screen door, and up the wooden ramp.

At the end of the ramp is a signed photo of Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. His show is actually how we first heard about Texas Pride BBQ, so shout out to you for that one, Guy. The rustic, vintage decor continued inside with all sorts of Texas artifacts but more exciting at that point was the smell of delicious BBQ.

We were greeted by a friendly worker who walked us through the menu and gave us his recommendations. We decided on sliced brisket and ribs for our meats, but they also have sausage (so dumb that we didn’t try this!), chopped brisket, pork tenderloin, and turkey. Everything looked and smelled amazing!

Louis ordered fresh cut fries for his side, and they don’t fry them until you order them, so they were fresh and delicious when they came out! I went with mac n’ cheese and green beans, which were both super yummy. We carried our tray of food to the indoor seating area, where they have tons of delicious BBQ sauce (original or spicy), pickles, onions, and all the fixin’s for a delicious meal. Below is a little snapshot of what we enjoyed.

If you’re not stuffed after your meal, they also have hand-scooped Bluebell, Pecan Cobbler, and a delicious looking Peach Cobbler I was begging my stomach to find room for somewhere…next time for sure. After we enjoyed our DELICIOUS BBQ, we strolled out the back of the restaurant to the amazing outdoor area.

We climbed up to the huge rooftop deck that would be so perfect to sit on during a crisp October night enjoying some BBQ and live music. That’s definitely on my To Do List! I bet it is so fun at night with all of the colored lights lit. From the upstairs patio there is a great view of the seating, game room, and stage below.

Texas Pride BBQ is really the gift that keeps on giving. Outside they have a stage where they have live concerts, a precious antique store, a game room full of arcade games, a playground for the kids, tons of unique photo ops, and plenty of seating for your entire group.

We loved wandering around in the antique store. We spent a long time talking with the owner, who told us about several of the pieces she acquired, and her love for seeking out Texas specific antiques. She was so kind, and we had a blast exploring all of the neat stuff she had for sale!

One funny find was a Texas vs. Rice football program from October 1948 with an ad for Camel Cigarettes on the back! Can you imagine seeing a cigarette ad in a college football program today?? I guess a lot’s changed in 65 years.

My personal favorite find was this cute Dr. Pepper wood crate. If I thought we had a spot for it in our apartment, it definitely would have come home with us. Dr. Pepper is my fave! Can’t you picture it full of some bud vases and baby’s-breath?? Love. Also, baby’s-breath…what a creepy name.

We went on Saturday afternoon, but it would be fun to plan a trip out to Texas Pride when they’re having one of their weekly events going on. Thursday is Bike Night, and apparently tons of motorcyclists come and park their bikes under the awning to enjoy BBQ. On Friday, they have a big Fish Fry at their back bar and live music on stage. Saturday evenings also have live music, and on Sundays, they have Classic Car Night. Apparently several of the car owners come dressed to match the decades of their cars…so fun! I’d love to go back one Sunday and see that!

Texas Pride BBQ totally has something for everyone! ….Except for vegetarians maybe? Sorry, y’all. We spent a couple of hours just enjoying the atmosphere and admiring all of the neat items they’ve gathered. It is a really unique place, and it reminded me how much I love Texas. 🙂 If you’re heading to San Antonio anytime soon or you live close by, I’d definitely recommend a trip to Texas Pride! It’s going to be our new spot to take visitors!

Food, Married Life, Recipe, San Antonio

Night Al Migrations: The Pearl

April 18, 2014 4 Comments

Howdy y’all! Remember me? Sorry…I’ve been MIA (no, not the singer/rapper M.I.A.) for a minute! Don’t fret. I’m back.

I wanted to share a pretty cool, new (to us) spot that hubbs and I explored a few weeks ago: The Pearl in San Antonio. We moved to San Antonio almost 2 years ago from our beloved Houston (where our families live) with the attitude that San Antonio would never be as good as our hometown. While that may still ring true, we recently decided to abandon our bitter attitude towards San Antonio and start exploring! I’m hoping as we venture throughout the city together, I can share our experiences here as Night Al Migrations. I’m sorry…I love a good theme, so I’m sticking with the bird idea here.

Our goal was to branch out from typical tourist spots like the River Walk and find other cool locations around the city. When we visited Bakery Lorraine for our anniversary, we drove through an area known as The Pearl. The Pearl is a grouping of restaurants, shops, and lofts in buildings that originally housed The Pearl Brewery. We recently made a trip there to enjoy lunch and browse around some of the stores.

We arrived around one o’clock on a Friday afternoon and headed to The Granary for some BBQ. (Side note: I instagrammed the picture above and misspelled “Granary” in my caption. So embarrassing.) The Granary is located in a charming house from the 1800s and is covered with rich wood, unique lighting, and handwritten chalkboard menus. They also have a dog-friendly, wrap-around porch, which was a nice touch! We got our drinks first (glass bottle Coca Cola for me, house-made root beer for Lou) and waited a few minutes for our meal.

We weren’t too intrigued by any of the sides, so we each got a chopped beef sandwich and 1/2 lb of beef brisket to split. The Granary is big on only serving humanely raised meat (humanely raised to be slaughtered for our lunch…contradictory?), and it showed in their prices! I can safely say though, that their chopped beef sandwich was one of the best I’ve ever tasted! It was on fresh baked bread, and their BBQ sauce (which is a crucial component for me) was super tasty. However, the brisket was marbled with LOTS of fat, which we’re not fans of. I can’t recommend it if you prefer lean brisket.

Once we finished lunch, we decided to walk around and explore some of the boutiques and shops. One of the boutiques we went into was Leighelena, which contained a mixture of vintage boots and clothes, handmade jewelry and various gifts and decor. It was kind of like a vintage, western Urban Outfitters? They had a ton of unique pieces and some really beautiful jewelry.

Another favorite store of mine was The Tiny Finch. They had some of the most beautiful home decor unlike anything I’ve ever seen providing several one-of-a-kind pieces. We popped in a few other shops including Ten Thousand Villages (pictured below), which contained pieces from around the world created by various artisans. Each store we visited was distinctly different and offered special pieces you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

In fact, The Pearl was so unique, I was kind of worried we weren’t hip enough to be there! Stupid, right? The Culinary Institute of America also has a campus at The Pearl, so, obviously, there is no shortage of adventurous (and pricey) restaurants. They have everything from an authentic Mexican street food ice house to a kosher vegetarian restaurant to a seafood and oyster bar. There’s something for everyone! Be warned though…most of the restaurants aren’t for picky eaters. Louis and I are pretty boring when it comes to food, and several of the restaurant menus require much more sophisticated palates. 😉 Like I said…we may not be hip enough for The Pearl…haha!

The Pearl has incredible lofts on site that would be a dream to live in! They are also in the process of renovating the historic brew house into a luxury boutique hotel. In addition to all this, they host a huge Farmer’s Market every weekend, which brings in tons of local vendors. I think The Pearl is on the brink of being really popular. I’m sure within the next couple of years once all of the storefronts are occupied and the construction and renovations are complete, the area will be booming. We had a great time exploring it, and I can’t wait to see how it grows in the future! If you’re a local, or you visit San Antonio, add The Pear to your itinerary for some unique food and shopping!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter, and I’ll be back next week with some more Beauty Blurbs and posts!

See you then!