Independent Barbeque!

When many Americans think of Independence Day, or the 4th of July, they think of Red White and Blue everywhere.
They think of gatherings and green grass and pool parties and....

Barbeque!

Ok, Ok, I'm American too. I had a craving for bar-b-q as well.
I said to my husband this morning... "Sticky Fingers!!!" Then I made a puckery lip face and he said, "You know that doesn't work on me."
"Fine," I said, pretending to be huffy. The truth is, I know that money is tight right now (for everyone, right?) And I LOVE to go out to eat. Even with my dietary restrictions, I still love the whole experience of sitting in a restaurant and leisurely ordering food. I love the leftovers I get to take home and eat for lunch the next day or (if we're being super honest) later that evening ;)

I have a lovely running list of all of the restaurants that I like to frequent in the Charleston area.
My favorite thing about this compilation of eateries is that when you ask for something Gluten Free, they don't Only offer you either a steak or salad.
That's my least favorite thing to hear when I ask for gluten free options: "We have salad!"
Yes, I'm sure you do.
But I was a pasta eater in my former life and that large part of my heart remains the same.

So Sticky Fingers (if you didn't already realize), is a chain restaurant that offers quite a few GF options. They have locations in downtown Charleston (on Meeting St), Summerville (on Main St, right by Target and Kohls) and Mt. Pleasant (on that frontage rd by Whole Foods and Trader Joe's) Every one of their delicious bbq sauces are Gluten Free!

side note: *Why would people ever think to put gluten in bbq sauce. Who are you helping? To those who don't know, Gluten is found in beer and flour. Many people and companies use one or both of these ingredients in their sauces, so Always Check You Labels!

So we happened to have some Memphis Original and some Sweet Baby Ray's (another GF friendly brand) on hand.
All I did was grab 2 (boneless, skinless) chicken breasts and a bit of sauce and the crock pot. I put them all together and turned it on High.
(this was at 9:30am)

Around 1pm I went to go check on it and boy oh boy! That was some tender chicken! Had it still been on the bone, it would've fallen right off!

So I cooked a box of GF fussilli pasta (Mueller's makes this for $1.79 at Publix, of all places!) and
some milk (just a splash -abt a tablespoon)
and cheese (1 bag -2 cups) shredded cheddar (the cheesier, the better!)
and ground mustard (one heaping teaspoon)
and whatever the heck else I wanted :) then I baked it at 350 for 25 min.

I had the most perfect mac and cheese with barbequed chicken for dinner! It was so tasty and tender and then warm and cheesy! It was a very very happy Independence Day in the Marshall house :)