Meat My Grill

Fun Burgers

2011-08-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

Let's face it, burgers can be boring. In the past I have tried ways to make burgers more fun...and the burgers I have made are usually fairly successful. However, tonight I did not want to make an extra trip to the grocery store for any special ingredients. So in an effort to make the burgers fun I looked through Juniors cookie cutters. The star quickly caught my eye due to ideal size for a burger.

After combining a pound of ground beef with a third a pound of sausage I shaped them into stars. A small amount of salt and pepper just before placing on the grill made these burgers taste great. After our crazy week we needed an easy dinner and the star burgers proved to be that.

I noticed some other fun shapes that I am sure I will use sometime soon!

Chicken Kabobs

2011-08-11T21:50:00.001-05:00

Tonight my wife had her staff and their and families over for the end of their staff retreat to start the new academic year. This cook out was planned over two weeks ago...not realizing we would have an offer on our house and be making an offer on another house. Did I forget to mention that our new house is in a different school district and I am trying to get junior registered and enrolled the day before school starts? And, the home inspector for the new house wants me to meet him there to "show me some things." The phone call I just took was from our realtor with a list of 'to do's' from the inspection of our house.

Nevertheless, the grilling went on! A dozen adults and three kids (counting mine) crowed into our small house while the Mrs. and I dreamed of our large new house.

Kabobs look good on the grill and on the plate. However, they are not much fun to cook. Meats and vegetables cook at different speeds so I typically cook the kabob until the chicken is ready and worry less about overcooking a mushroom or under cooking an onion. Tonight, I used a simple marinade on the chicken. So simple, in fact, that I really couldn't taste it. A generous cup of lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Once the food was 'speared' I brushed extra virgin olive oil on the kabobs. As you can see from the shot I had to use both charcoal and gas to grill the 30 kabobs in a timely manner. This weekend I am craving some red meat!

Busy Times

2011-08-08T20:53:00.002-05:00

Wow! Hard to believe that it has been so long since I updated my blog. I have been grilling some since May 15th (my last post) but life has been busy. June, as always, has me on the road much of the month and it will be a rare June that I am able to grill out.

Also, our house has been on the market since March and in an effort to keep it clean we really have not gone to the effort to grill out. We finally are under contract and have an offer on a home that has a great patio for future grilling efforts. I am excited about the possibilities there.

Finally, I have also started an executive EdD degree that took me away from home for three nights in late July. My class schedule will include two nights a month away from home...at least for the next two years or so.

Later this week I understand I am grilling kabobs for my wife's' staff retreat.... I will make an effort to post those pictures!

Teriyaki burgers

2011-05-15T19:42:00.005-05:00

I can't claim credit for this recipe. Found it after searching for 'unique burgers'. Called the aloha burger here. One new thing I did to try to make uniform burger sizes. To achieve this I used one of my children's circular cookie cutters. It was fairly successful and I will certainly be using that cookie cutter again in the future! I may even have to use some of the 'more fun' shapes to see if the kids will be more eager to eat a burger.

The recipe was unclear on how to cook the pineapple so I decided to use the top rack while the burgers cooked. While the cheese was melting I also put the buns on the top rack too!

This was what the burgers looked like just before they were removed from the grill. Through the hole in the Swiss cheese you can see the pineapple ring. I dressed the burgers with just a little bit of mayonnaise. The burgers were a delicious mix of sweet and salty. I will certainly be trying these again in the future.

Electricity restored

2011-05-01T21:39:00.003-05:00

Saturday afternoon we saw via facebook that several of our neighbors were celebrating the return of electricity. The morning started well with junior's t-ball game. Moments before the game started I was asked to call the names of the batters for the game. Of course, my daughter wanted to help.

Now I am searching the internet for a nice kabob recipe for Wednesday night. Eight adults and about that many kids are coming to our house. Hopeful to have more than kabobs on the grill. To be determined if my wife will allow me to cook another cake on the grill. :)

Weather

2011-04-29T14:00:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday night areas of north Alabama were hit with strong storms including some tornadoes. My neighborhood survived damage however, we lost power Wednesday morning and have been told it could be a week before power is restored.

My in-laws graciously allowed me to bring the contents of my deep freezer over to their house. It will be challenging to grill this week if the blackouts continue. We did have plans to grill kabobs on Wednesday...stay tuned to see if that happens.

Leftover Barbecue

2011-04-28T10:16:00.001-05:00

My travels take me all over north Alabama to small towns where I try to visit local barbecue restaurants. There is one place in Winfield, AL that has fairly good barbecue. Car Lots Barbecue, who does not have a website, is located on main street and is a great location for me to meet with families considering college.

One of their unique barbecue dishes is a stack of french fries covered in barbecue. With plenty of leftovers from my smoked butt this was a great and different meal.

Smoked Boston Butt

2011-04-22T08:02:00.002-05:00

On a recent weekend I decided to smoke a Boston butt. For those that are wondering, a Boston Butt is the upper portion of a pork shoulder. I had friends who had cooked all night. Deciding that I had no desire to pull an 'all-nighter' I decided to smoke the butt all day!

The starting product at 9:00 am. The pork (need to use a word other than 'butt') was rubbed with:

4 teaspoons Kosher salt

2 teaspoons Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons paprika

.5 teaspoons pepper

.5 teaspoons garlic powder

.5 teaspoons dry mustard

I wrapped the pork in foil and, like my rib recipe, poured a cup of apple juice/shot of apple cider vinegar. Around 4:00 pm., after adding lump coal four times, I opened the foil to check on the process. I also added a few ears of corn. In my opinion, smoked corn was not as good as grilled corn. I cooked this corn in the husks for twenty minutes then removed cooked directly on the grates for another fifteen.

This is what the pork looked like at 5:00 pm. The pork as very tender and was falling apart as I removed it from the grill. The pork made several great meals....check the blog in a day or two for other uses for the pork.

Chicken and Twice Baked Potatoes

2011-04-18T21:19:00.003-05:00

Grilled chicken breasts are often on sale and there are many ways to prepare them. Though I hate to admit it, Italian dressing by itself makes a fairly good marinade. These breasts were soaked for about an hour and cooked for about twenty five minutes.

The potatoes were the more interesting side. I nuked two potatoes for about five minutes then wrapped them in foil with an olive oil rub to cook. (Olive oil to attempt to crisp the skin a bit more.) After about twenty minutes on the grill I removed them and let them cool.

Once cool, I cut the two potatoes in half and used a spoon to scoop out the insides. The insides were placed in a bowl and combined with:

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

4 slices of bacon (One for each half)

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Once these 'guts' were combined I put them back into the scooped out potato halves and placed them on the grill with a foil bottom for an additional 15 minutes. Delicious!

Complete Meal on the Grill

2011-04-06T07:40:00.003-05:00

This weekend I decided to cook an entire meal on the grill. It turned out good! For the main dish I made burgers. I used a generous sprinkling of a season salt. Though I have plenty left over, this is what I mixed.

6 tbs salt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp celery seed

For the side dish I made a grilled potato salad. I had a rub (maybe too spicy) and a dressing to go over the cooked potatoes.

I cooked and crumbled (inside) five pieces of bacon and dumped the six diced red potatoes into the bacon grease. I then added the spices:

2 tbs Kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp celery seeds

Potatoes were cooked in a throw-away tin on the top rack of the grill. They cooked for about 45 minutes. They were the first thing placed on the grill!

The dressing, something I often mix for dipping sausage, was a mix of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and Worshestershire sauce. For this recipe it was a total of about 1/2 cup. Dressing was added once potatoes were removed from the grill.

For the dessert I grilled individual angel food cakes. In the top picture you can see the small cake tins. Since it was my first attempt to bake on the grill I used a box cake mix. I used Crisco in each of the tins and filled them each about half-way. Cake cooked on the grill about 45 minutes. I also pureed a bag of thawed mixed berries with some lemon and lime juices to top the cake. Cake turned out light with a slight smoky taste. Cake on the grill may become a regular thing now!

Cedar Plank Hot wings

2011-04-03T17:09:00.001-05:00

In an effort to try something different I decided to grill some wings on cedar planks. Another significant change from my previous wing grilling experiences is that I removed the skin. Typically the skin does not grill very well and can make the chicken a little slimy.

In the middle is a French bread pack.

Wings were marinaded for a couple of hours in Moores Hot Sauce. The grilling process on the planks too longer than I anticipated. I cooked them for about thirty minutes turning them once. For the final few minutes I did remove them from the planks to dry out a little more. Once removed from the planks more hot sauce was added.

Surf and Turf

2011-03-31T17:41:00.002-05:00

Shrimp and steak go so well together and it is fun to cook both. Shrimp seem to cook so quickly that you must pay close attention or they will be too tough.

Steaks were done with one of my typical rubs. For two steaks I used:

1 Tbs Kosher Salt

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp red pepper

1 tsp chili powder

Like most of my steaks, I used extra virgin olive oil on the steak prior to applying the rub.

Shrimp were also simple:

Olive Oil

1 Tbs Lemon Juice

salt and pepper to taste

Toss them in the mixture for a couple of minutes on each side.

Smoker

2011-03-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

For Christmas I was given a smoker. Shamefully, I have to admit I have only used it once and that was on New Years Eve. I purchased a Boston Butt from the butcher earlier this week so I will certainly be using it again soon.

When I cooked for New Years I smoked a butt on the top rack and about eight burgers on the lower. The butt was excellent and the burgers were good too. However, I look forward to more experiences with the smoker as I learn how to use it.

Chicken Sandwiches

2011-03-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend, with in-laws in town, I grilled some Greek chicken breasts. I used a bottle of liquid Greek seasoning and marinaded them in that for two hours. The breasts were large so they probably could have used an additional hour in the marinade. However, we were hungry and the grill was ready. I grilled them for about twenty minutes and used Cavenders seasoning prior to removing them from the grill.

I did not take pictures then but did have enough left over for mid-week sandwiches. One large breast, with additional Cavenders, was enough for two delicious sandwiches. With a big glass of sweet tea, it was a perfect lunch. Makes me think that I always need to cook extra!

Dessert on the Grill

2011-03-25T21:19:00.001-05:00

The grill is a great place to cook dessert. One the most important things before you cook dessert is to make sure your grill is clean. Nothing can ruin a nice dessert like drippings from the main course or crust from the previous days grilling experience.

I have tried fruit with mixed results so tonight I simply grilled flout tortillas with a butter and brown sugar paste. I added the mixture several times in the five minutes the tortillas were on the grill. Once the tortillas were crispy I removed them and served them with a nice scoop of ice cream.

Next time I plan to place an empty tin can on the grill and drape the tortilla over it. I am hopeful it will create a 'bowl'.

T-Bones with Mustard Sauce

2011-03-23T23:40:00.002-05:00

On the theme of trying something different here was one attempt. Most of my grilling experiences tend to deal with simple rubs. However, I do like to try new things and this turned out well. T-bones were marinaded in mustard sauce (below) for about two hours and grilled for six minutes on each side. Reserve marinade was poured on top for the final minute before the steaks were pulled from the grill.

Mustard Sauce

3/4 cup of yellow mustard

1/4 cup of honey

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons of ketchup

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

**Feel free to add more honey if you want a sweeter sauce. I think you could easily add another 1/2 cup with no problems.

Blue Cheese Steaks

2011-03-22T17:09:00.001-05:00

Blue cheese is a favorite at our house. A filet with a nice salad and potatoe au gratin it made for a perfect meal. Steaks were lightly oiled (of course) and rubbed with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cooked steaks on direct heat for about fived minutes on each side.

Updates Coming

2011-03-21T20:28:00.002-05:00

Though it has been a long time since I posted I still have been grilling. September and October are typically busy travel months for me but I did fire up the grill many weekends. I have faithfully taken pictures of my grilling experiences but that is where my faithfulness ends. I will attempt, over the next few days, to post what I can remember from those pictures.

Staff Training

2010-07-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

This past week I was out of town for much of the week with my annual staff training. I had an excellent prime rib steak at Mary Mahoney's in Biloxi. At the Hard Rock Cafe I tried a burger that is new to me...the Granny Smith Apple and Provolone Burger. Other than that, I was mainly eating seafood.

Finally home, I planned to grill tonight but there is a nice steady rain storm over Birmingham. Though we need the rain it sure puts a damper on my plans.

My wife can grill!

2010-07-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

Kudos to my wife! Friday afternoon, while I did yard work, I let her use the grill. Of course, I got the charcoals started and spread. I assembled the rub and patted out the burgers. She applied the rub to the patties and took care of everthing!

I tried a new hamburger seasoning that was fairly tasty.

3 teaspoons of paprika
3 teaspoons of black pepper
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

For now this is my new favorite burger seasoning.

More Shrooms

2010-07-12T13:46:00.002-05:00

Though we love mushrooms this recipe was not worth repeating. I created a mushroom "sauce" in a mixer. It also had sour cream and some salt/pepper.

I will continue to work on this recipe and post it when I get it right!

Mexican Chicken

2010-07-05T22:35:00.001-05:00

All about timing

2010-06-25T17:34:00.001-05:00

Steaks for the parents, hot dogs for the kids, and chicken for an upcoming meal. (And you can see a couple of potatoes in the coals). Rarely do I have the opportunity to try to cook different things at the same time and try to have them finish at the same time. The taters, of course, went on first followed by the chicken. Since we eat steaks on the rare side they went on the same time as the hotdogs...looking at this is making me hungry!

Hot Wings

2010-06-22T13:33:00.002-05:00

My wife loves hot wings. I am learning more about the best way to grill them successfully.

1. Toss them in evol a couple of minute prior to cooking.

2. Light salt/pepper the wings when you toss them with oil.

3. Cook on high indirect heat until they are finished (depends on the size of the wings).

4. Cover with your choice of buffalo sauce or barbecue sauce for the final few minutes.

Bacon wrapped sirloin with fried squash

2010-06-18T13:31:00.001-05:00

One of my goals as I continue to learn about grilling is to cook a complete meal on the grill. I did not attempt to use the side burner to cook the squash but I certainly could have!

The potato pictured was wrapped in foil and thrown in with the hot coals. I allowed it to cook for about twenty minutes before placing the meat on the grill. I did move it around one or two times to make sure it cooked evenly.

The sirloin was rubbed in a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I realize these ingredients are fairly standard in my cooking but they work! To secure the bacon I used a tooth pick that I removed the same time the meat came off the grill.

Quite tasty!

Racks of ribs

2010-06-15T17:09:00.003-05:00

As I look at this picture of the ribs I realize the limitations of my photograhy skills. I certainly could have set up the picture better!

Ribs were cooked very similar to my other posts about grilling ribs. A three-hour marinade followed by a four-hour cooking on indirect heat.

The only challenge that I had this time was I was cooking six slabs of ribs on my "small" grill. I am always amazed at how good ribs taste when you cook them yourself.

Burgers with tater circles

2010-06-12T17:01:00.003-05:00

You can't tell from the picture but the burgers in the back are stuffed blue cheese burgers. The burger in the front was for the kids to share and is a regular cheese burger. All the meat was lightly seasoned with a tablespoon of fresh pepper and salt.

The potato circles, as you can see, was two taters cut into slices. Cooked for about eight minutes on each side. Just before removing them from the grill I added a small piece of cheese and salted them. The tater circles were a nice change from our traditional wedges.

Updates Coming

2010-06-10T12:59:00.003-05:00

Over the next few days I hope to have lots of new pictures and recipes posted. I have about a dozen pictures saved on my laptop and have just been informed by my office it is my turn for a new computer.

This month I am traveling and have been away from the grill. I hope to have a busy July with many different meats on the grill.

Mushroom burgers

2010-05-10T17:35:00.001-05:00

I must confess that I have had a hard time updating the blog. With a busy travel schedule I am doing my best to even grill...much less post pictures and recipies. Last weekend my wife was on a "girls" trip with six friends from college. While she was gone I grilled some burgers. On the side I also grilled some mushrooms. Even the kids (age 4 and 2) loved the mushrooms. In fact, most of the shrooms were gone before I could assemble the burgers. The picture, as you can see, was taken with my phone. I did not do anything special to the burgers. On the muschrooms I added: 1 carton of white mushrooms 2 tbl Dijon mustard 2 tbl soy sauce 1 tsp fresh black pepper small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking I made an open foil pack and placed the ingredients inside. Grilled alongside the meat for about ten minutes. For the last minute I poked holes in the bottom of the foil for the juices to run off and the mushrooms to dry out. Great burgers.

Steak and Chicken

2010-03-19T16:06:00.002-05:00

Not wanting to give a wonderful steak to a 4-year old I decided to cook some chicken to go along with the steaks. The chicken can been seen in the back marinading in the small orange bowl.

On the chicken I created another sweet sauce that I was sure my kids would enjoy. The marinade for the children had:

1 T soy sauce

1 T honey

1 T extra virgin olive oil

pepper to taste

The steak had my usual rub that you can find several places on the blog...most recently in late December.

Grilling Mistakes

2010-03-14T20:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, these steaks may look good. However, you can see they are a little charred for most peoples taste. On a cold February night I was attempting to not open the grill cover at all. I could see a good bit of smoke coming from the top and had cause for concern.

Upon opening the cover I was greeted with four well done steaks. The steaks were just a little fatty so the dripping grease had cause a major flame-up. Next time I am going to stay closer to the grill!

T-bone Steak

2010-03-10T19:03:00.003-06:00

Once again, simple rubs are my mode of grilling. T-bone, or any bone-in steaks, are among my favorites. This steak was prepared with a rub of:

1 tbs Kosher salt

1/2 tbs of pepper

1/4 tbs of garlic powder

Rubs can be left on the steak as long as you would like. I like to rub the steak about thirty minutes before placing on the grill.

Pork Chops with Sorghum Barbecue sauce

2010-03-07T15:46:00.003-06:00

I am not normally a fan of a sweet taste on meats. I enjoy garlic flavors and salty flavors. However, in an effort to broaden my palate I tried this recipe modified from something I found.

The marinade contained:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sorghum

1/4 cup red wine vinegar (its what we had)

1/4 cup mustard

3 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T Kosher salt

1 T pepper

I added the ingredients into a pot and brought to a boil. After the sauce came to a boil I let it simmer for an additional five minutes.

The pork chops marinaded for about three hours in the sauce. After I removed them from the marinaded I poured the sauce back into a pot and brought to a boil. I wanted to be able to use it on the side.

On the side I grilled bacon-wrapped asparagus. I lightly brushed extra virgin olive oil on them and let the grill perform the rest of the magic.

The pork chops were very good and just needed more salt and pepper. The kids even seemed to enjoy them!

Birthday Chicken

2010-03-05T21:43:00.001-06:00

I recently celebrated a birthday. My wonderful wife was willing to cook, order take-out, or even go out. However, my choice was to grill my own dinner with her preparing the sides.

On the stove-top I cooked mushrooms and onions with a small amount of oil. Once the chicken was cooked these were used as a delicious topping.

I used a simple rub on the chicken with:

1t- garlic powder

1t- black pepper
1t- Kosher salt

Another delicious side was the stuffed stuffed baked potato from the Omaha Steak delivery from Santa.

With a cold beer the dinner was perfect.

Whole Chicken

2010-03-02T19:42:00.002-06:00

I have had a whole chicken in the freezer since I worked at the Valleydale Farmers Market last summer. I defrosted the chicken and discovered that it was already cut into pieces. However, I wanted to experiment with injectable marinades so I decided to attempt to inject the marinade into the various pieces.

In the marinade I used:

3 Tablespoons of butter

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of black pepper

1 Tablespoon of onion powder

pinch or two of salt

I injected the chicken about thirty minutes prior to placing it on the grill. I cooked it loosely wrapped in foil for about an hour on indirect medium heat. After an hour I moved it to the hot coals for the remaining thirty minutes. At this point I put the wings and legs on the grill.

The marinade was very good but did seem to be missing something. Next time I cook a whole chicken I will probably add something to the marinade. Any suggestions?

Grilling Tools

2010-03-01T15:38:00.004-06:00

Though it has been a long time since I updated the blog, I have grilled several times. I had a birthday at the end of January and even got to grill for my the occassion. I hope to have five or six updates over the next week.

The main birthday gift I received was a remote thermometer. I recently grilled an small chicken and the thermometer was a great help. You can see that I snapped this picture right before the thermometer sounded.

Grilled wings

2010-01-20T21:03:00.001-06:00

Recently we had wings. Though I enjoy hot wings I wanted to try a different flavor. The wings on the left are honey barbecue and on the right hot wings.

For both sets I marinaded the wings in extra virgin olive oil before putting them on a hot grill. After cooking on both sides for about seven minutes I added the sauce. I used store bought sauce for both of them.

The more often I eat bone-in wings, the more I crave boneless wings!

Grilled Turkey

2010-01-18T20:46:00.001-06:00

This afternoon I finally prepared the turkey. I decided to use an injectable marinade but did not have a syringe. My veterinarian offered to supply one but I never made it by his office. Since this was my first attempt in using an injectable marinade, I used a store-bought product along with instructions.

Following the directions on the bag, I cooked the 9 pound turkey for about three hours. I covered the bird in foil and put it in a roasting pan that I bought specifically for using on the grill. I cooked mostly on indirect heat but moved it to direct for the last twenty minutes. I also used some smoke chips and they produced some great smoke for half an hour.

Once the turkey reached an internal temperature of 165 I removed the foil cover and took it off the grill. I did a good job of keeping the lid closed. From the time I put the bird on the grill I only opened the grill four times. Twice to add more charcoal (and rotate the bird) and twice to check the temperature of the bird. Before cooking, I did have to remove the top rack from my grill in order for the turkey to fit. I hope to reinstall it tonight when the grill cools.

I carved the bird and you can see the great lines of marinade in the turkey. The flavor of the injectable marinade was "Creole Butter." I also used a small amount of Cajun seasoning on the skin of the turkey. The bird was moist and quite delicious. After this I may be drafted to cook the Thanksgiving turkey!

My two year old daughter had no objections! The rest of us were also pleased with the bird. I am excited about future attempts and making my own marinade.

Grilled Chicken Salad

2010-01-16T23:02:00.002-06:00

I have never been accused of eating too many vegetables. Salad probably doesn't really count as a vegetable and a salad loaded with a sweet dressing probably isn't a "health" food. However, I enjoy grilled chicken salad.

I marinaded the chicken for about three hours in:

3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of orange juice
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

After removing from the grill I diced the breasts into bite-sized pieces. I searched for grilled chicken salad and found tons of recipes. It seems there are a wide variety of ways to prepare a grilled chicken salad. I look forward to new experiments with this dish.

Frozen Turkey

2010-01-14T16:29:00.003-06:00

The turkey is still frozen! I will have to allow it another few days to defrost. I will be firing up the grill this weekend. Seeing that there is still frost on my grill cover I am going to say it is a good thing!

Temperature is supposed to be much warmer this weekend and even into next week. Right now it is "run from the car into the house," type weather.

Roasted Turkey

2010-01-11T07:04:00.001-06:00

Coming later this week...a roasted turkey. It is defrosting in the refrigerator now. Hope to prepare it Thursday night.

Any suggestions? Considering some sort of injectable marinade.

Grilled Asparagus

2010-01-10T22:53:00.002-06:00

Since the start of the new year it has been extremely cold in the South. I have grilled about three times but have not updated the blog. I hope to do that in the next few days. One of the first grilling experiences was with friends and we grilled chicken and asparagus on the grill. I took a picture of the asparagus before placing them on the grill but forgot to take the "cooked" picture. They were great!

I marinaded the asparagus in:

3 tablespoons of bacon grease (previously saved)

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

You can see that I wrapped two uncooked pieces of bacon around six shoots. I used two toothpicks to hold it all together.

Bacon always makes things better!

Left-over chuck roast

2009-12-31T21:50:00.001-06:00

The chuck roast that I made the other night was good. However, there was plenty left over. To use it, I thinly sliced the roast and toasted a piece of bread.

With a little bit of barbecue sauce it made a wonderful open-faced sandwich.

Grilled chuck roast and potatoes

2009-12-29T22:14:00.002-06:00

Chuck roast can be tricky to decide how to prepare. I have several in the deep freezer and I will try to do significantly different method to prepare them. You are always safe cooking it in a crock pot overnight and dumping a coke and a bottle of barbecue sauce over it...that works well.

However, I wanted to try a completely grilled method. I marinaded the roast in a mixture of beer, salt, pepper, and onion powder for about three hours. I wrapped the roast in foil and cooked for three hours on indirect heat. For the last twenty minutes or so I removed the foil and cooked closer to the coals (but still not on direct heat). All in all it turned out well.

The potatoes were wrapped in foil and were cooked in the coals. I put them in and ran an errand away from the house and 45 minutes later they were perfect.

Coming tomorrow...using leftover chuck roast.

Apricot Chicken

2009-12-28T20:54:00.001-06:00

For some reason my son is still not a big eater. He will eat a pbj three times a day if we would allow it but meat and veggies are out. He will eat chicken nuggets but will not use any dipping sauce. I wanted to make something a little on the sweet side but not too sweet.

I cut three chicken breasts into strips and marinaded them in the following:

-big spoonful of apricot preserves
-2 tablespoons of soy sauce
-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

I let them soak in the mixture for about two hours. Junior loved them and has asked for them several times.

Grilling Christmas Gifts

2009-12-26T17:13:00.002-06:00

For Christmas a gift I really needed was a new grill cover. When I purchased the grill a little over a year ago I was given a basic cover with it. You can see from the pictures that it is more than a little worn. My wife let my parents know that I needed a new one. The duct tape and painters tape were no longer doing the job. My new cover is already installed and hopefully will last longer than a year. My next job on the agenda for next week is a complete cleaning of the grill.

Thanks mom and dad for the new cover. Can't wait to have you visit and I will grill a steak for you!

Christmas Gifts Continued

2009-12-25T18:04:00.003-06:00

When I started the Christmas gifts post I had not taken a picture of the rub in the jars. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Also, if you are interested in a jar contact me at meatmygrill@yahoo.com

Christmas Gifts

2009-12-20T17:54:00.001-06:00

If you aren't on our naughty list then you will likely receive a jar of meatmygrill rub.

Omaha Steaks

2009-12-16T13:00:00.004-06:00

Dear Santa,

Thanks for the package of Omaha Steak that was waiting on my doorstep when I came home for lunch today. Since it is quite cold today we plan on cooking indoors tonight and will have the shrimp and crab stuffed fish. The kids are excited about the "gourmet" hot dogs.

I am sure that we will get good use out of these steaks this the year. I know that I am excited about variety since we have an abundance of chicken breasts and hamburger meat.

Have a Merry Christmas.

P.S. If it is not too much trouble I could use a bottle of bourbon as well.

Asian style Chicken

2009-12-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

My wife has been craving Chinese food. Since going down to one-income we rarely get to eat out. However, as you can tell from the blog, we are not going hungry. Chicken breasts were on sale for $1.79 a pound this past week so we loaded up.

The chicken was marinaded for about two hours and with the fried rice had a "Asian style" taste to it.

The marinade contained:

1 can of diced pineapple

1/4 cup of honey

1/4 cup of ketchup

1/8 cup (or so) of Worcestershire sauce

clove of garlic

Salt to taste

After removing the chicken from the marinade I brought it to a boil and used as a topper on the chicken. My wife cooked the fried rice inside while the chicken was on the grill. The kids were even willing to eat some rice and chicken. This is something we will try again soon. The only thing I would do differently is marinade the chicken longer...maybe twice as long.

Grilled Buffalo wings

2009-12-10T20:35:00.001-06:00

I love wings. I generally prefer boneless wings but bone-in wings are good too. The wings were marinaded in a store-bought hot sauce. I didn't really "learn" anything from cooking them and would do the same thing again. (In fact, I have another three pounds of wings in the freezer to be cooked soon.)

One fun fact, the term "Buffalo Wings" comes from their place of origin...Buffalo, NY. Apparently Buffalo residents just call them hot wings. Who knew?

Grilled fish and barbecue shrimp

2009-12-07T22:16:00.001-06:00

With all the red meat in our freezer we rarely buy fish. However, fish and shrimp are great and with Thanksgiving complete and Christmas feasting upon us, we wanted to go in a different direction.

The shrimp were not cooked on the grill. Barbecue shrimp, which we get each summer during our family reunion, are always a summer hit. Winter break is also a good time to have them!

The fish were marinaded in extra virgin olive oil and Tony Chachere's Seasoning moments prior to placing on the hot grill.

Celebration Steaks

2009-12-04T22:53:00.002-06:00

December is a month of celebration in our house. Working in higher education we often have nine days of vacation and lots of opportunity to spend with family. On the 21st we recall the night we were engaged nine years ago. After Christmas we celebrate with more time with family and watching bowl games. For the past few years we have had chances to deer hunt and hope we can do it again this year.

The celebration begins tonight with my wife's birthday dinner. She requested grilled steak and sides.

Though the picture isn't great, this is a grilled stuffed mushroom. The "stuffing" is a can of diced tomatoes with onions and garlic added and seared on the stove top. I sprinkled bread crumbs on top and added salt and pepper. They were a little spicy but very good.

The t-bone steaks were cut about an inch thick and they are as large as they look. I used a very simple rub of salt, pepper, and chili powder. I used a small amount of olive oil on the steaks and cooked them for about eight minutes total.

The kids were treated with frozen pizza an hour earlier in hope that we could have a nice dinner. However, our "eater" returned to the table for bites of steak. We wouldn't have it any other way.

White sauce and potato wedges

2009-12-02T22:07:00.003-06:00

White barbecue sauce is quite popular in Alabama. Though I generally prefer a red sauce, my wife loves white sauce so I am happy to make it. I have made it in the past and included the recipe on this site. However, tonight I made a much smaller quantity...just enough for three chicken breasts.

More than enough for three breasts:

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/8 cup of vinegar

salt and pepper to taste.

Nothing unusual on the potato wedges. I tossed them in salt, pepper, and onion powder along with extra virgin olive oil.

Chicken was on sale at Publix this week so we are certainly cooking more chicken soon! Stay tuned.

Quick Chicken

2009-11-30T16:13:00.003-06:00

I have a basic rub that I keep on hand for nights when I am in a hurry and want to do something different than a store-bought rub. This is a rub that I put on burgers, steaks, or chicken. If you are on my Christmas list you are likey to get a jar of this. Here is what I use:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black powder

I sometimes need to add a little more salt. However, this is a good basic rub.

Creative Burger

2009-11-26T21:30:00.003-06:00

Really, how creative can you be with a burger? One way is to try new breads. I patted out four burgers and then realized we had no buns. However, we did have two pieces of French bread. I changed the shape of the patties to better fit the bread.

To the meat I added worcheshire sauce and a small amount of Tony Chachere's seasoning. I added cheese once the burgers were finished cooking. Burgers were good. I went a little too light on the seasoning since we had two relatives over.

Note: Today is Thanksgiving and the burgers were not cooked today. Today I celebrated with family. Over fifty relatives gathered at my parents farm for food, fellowship, and fun. Great tradition!

Camping

2009-11-24T22:25:00.004-06:00

Last weekend I took the family camping. We ate dinner, breakfast, and lunch all over the grill. I went with foil bags for dinner and breakfast with hot dogs for lunch.

In the dinner bag I put steak tips, mushrooms, onions, and potatoes. Before dicing the potatoes I nuked them for about three minutes to begin the cooking process. I also dumped half a bottle of Moore's Teriyaki marinade on top. Once we arrived at the camp site I got the fire going and put the foil pack right on top. After fifteen minutes I turned it and put two hot dog buns on top.

For breakfast I used a cheese grater on a potatoesto make hash browns. I also bought some frozen link sausages and included them in the foil pack along with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and scoop of butter.

I did take pictures but all you can see is the foil bag. Not very exciting. Both tasted great! Next time you go camping, I recommend you

Next time we camp I need to buy the pots to prepare hot coffee for breakfast. Iced coffee was good but not what we needed on a cold morning.

Tony Chachere's and bourbon

2009-11-13T16:04:00.002-06:00

Tony Chachere's is a great seasoning blend that goes well with chicken or steaks. I favor dry rubs like Tony Chachere's over most marinades. I pulled a couple of steaks out of the deep freeze and allowed them to defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

I rubbed a generous spoonful of TC on the steaks and placed them in a bag with 1/2 cup of bourbon. After living in Kentucky for four years bourbon is among my favorite adult beverages. I allowed the steaks to marinade for about four hours an then cooked on each side for about six minutes.

In-doors my wife cooked potatoes and green beans. With a side salad and cold beer, it was a perfect meal.

Grilled bacon = Fire

2009-11-11T15:56:00.003-06:00

I recently grilled bacon cheese burgers for some friends. I love grilled bacon. Cooking above the burgers allows the grease to drip down onto the burgers and make them taste even better. However, the grease also drips onto the flame and can pretty much make everything catch on fire.

A few minutes after the initial flip of the burgers I opened the grill to see many of the burgers in flames. I was able to blow out the flames and retrieved the water bottle from inside to help control future flame-ups.

The burgers were seasoned with Cavenders Greek Seasoning and the bacon grease. Other than being a little too charred in places the burgers were great. I will grill bacon again soon. However, next time I will have the water bottle on hand from the beginning.

Saturday Picks

2009-11-07T08:02:00.003-06:00

Should have several updates this week. Even though it is starting to get cold I have been grilling often. Headed to a children's birthday party this morning and hope to watch some football this afternoon.

South Carolina @ Arkansas. Both teams come into the game desperate for a win. Arkansas has shown it can score and you can never discount the ole ball coach. Since it is at home, I see Arkansas winning a close high-scoring game. Arkansas 29- South Carolina 24.

Tenn Tech @ Georgia. Amazing that all the SEC games are on TV. Georgia 34- Tech 6.

E. Kentucky @ Kentucky. EKU fans will come out for this game since these schools are only 20 minutes apart. EKU has had some strong teams in the championship division but they are not SEC material. Kentucky 38- EKU 14.

Furman @ Auburn. Auburn tunes up for their last two rival games with an easy win. Auburn 42- Furman 7.

LSU @ Alabama. Game of the day in the SEC and one of the best national games. With a win Alabama wraps up the SEC West. LSU is in the drivers seat with a win...but then must win-out to represent the West in the championship game against Florida. LSU is good but doesn't have the quarterback play to keep up with Alabama. Alabama's defense is just too strong. Alabama 26- LSU 17.

Memphis @ Tennessee. Memphis has played some tight games with Tennessee in the past. This year both teams are far from solid. In fact, Memphis is bad. Tennessee 23- Memphis 9.

Vanderbilt @ Florida. Lots of chatter this week with the eye gouging incident and suspension. Vanderbilt won't be in a bowl this year but want to end on a high note. Too bad they have play Florida. Florida 44- Vanderbilt 13.

Northern Arizona @ Ole Miss. The lumberjacks will be the second Division I-AA opponent that Ole Miss plays this year. Expect similar results from their earlier game. Ole Miss 49- N. Arizona 3.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-07T07:57:00.003-06:00

In an effort to get junior to eat a hamburger I tried to make a jack-o-lantern face in the cheese. For some reason he has decided he doesn't like hamburgers. He won't even eat a happy meal burger. A cheesy face had it work. This picture was just as I was pulling it off the grill. Granted, it does not really look like a jack-o-lantern. However, he is four. Surely if I tell him what it is then he will eat it.

It didn't work.

Rainy Saturday

2009-10-31T08:21:00.002-05:00

I did grill bacon cheese burgers last week. However, I never got the pictures posted. With another busy travel the week was gone before I knew it. Today we have picture scheduled for the kids. We have not finalized plans for trick-or-treating but have several different ideas. The weather will dictate which one we choose.

There are a couple of good games today. I probably will not to get to watch much but it should be a good day with family.

Ole Miss @ Auburn. Should be the second best game today. Auburn, after losing three straight, really needs a win. They won't get it this week. Ole Miss looks good after their big win against Arkansas. Ole Miss 24- Auburn 13.

Georgia @ Florida. The heat increases on Richt after this week. Florida has had two weeks with close wins but look for them to win by a comfortable margin today. Florida 31- Georgia 17.

Eastern Michigan @ Arkansas. Eastern Michigan has not won a game. Arkansas will let lots of players get on the field for homecoming. Arkansas 48- E. Michigan 0.

Mississippi State @ Kentucky. The two schools I attended square off. Both teams are 1-3 in conference. Kentucky needs two more wins to become bowl-eligible. However, UK's rush defense is poor. Look for the bulldogs to run all day. Mississippi State 26- UK 14.

Georgia Tech @ Vanderbilt. Georgia Tech has shown they are a legitimate team. Vanderbilt has four straight losses which they scored 10 points or less. Don't look for them to score 10 this week either. Georgia Tech 34- Vanderbilt 9.

South Carolina @ Tennessee. Tennessee played great last week and should have beat #2 Alabama. If South Carolina wants to be more than a second-tier team in the eastern division they need to win this game. South Carolina 24- Tennessee 20.

Tulane @ LSU. Tulane is win less in Conference USA. LSU knows that if they can win-out they will play in the SEC Championship game and possibly the BCS national championship. LSU 34-Tulane 3.

My picks last week were excellent. Two really tough games this week. Auburn/Ole Miss and South Carolina/Tennessee. Probably won't grill tonight but do have a couple of experiences from last week to post.

Weekend Fun

2009-10-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow morning we are headed to a local pumpkin patch to have fun and pick our pumpkin for the year. We are going early so we will certainly be back in time to watch the bulldogs and fire up the grill. With family visiting from out of town we might try to do something nice. Check back later this weekend to see what we cooked.

My football picks last weekend were fairly good but doubt that I can do it again this week.

Arkansas @ Ole Miss. The first game of the day and a hard one to pick. Both teams have shown themselves to be good teams. Which Snead will show up? Will Arkansas rebound from last weeks tough game with Florida. Think Arkansas leaves Oxford with another close loss. Ole Miss 24 Arkansas 17.

Tennessee @ Alabama. Tennessee had a big win two weeks ago against Georgia. Lane Kiffin has shown that his team can play strong defense. I think that this could be a low scoring game but Alabama win. Alabama 23 Tennessee 13.

Vanderbilt @ South Carolina. Hard to believe Vandy was in a bowl game last year. South Carolina 34 Vandy 6.

LA Monroe @ Kentucky. As Kentucky looks at their remaining games they will probably be favored in four of their six games including tomorrows game. The LA Monroe Warhawks are actually a good Sun Belt team...however, a bad SEC team usually wins against a Sun Belt team. This game is going to be closer than UK would like. Kentucky 31 LA-Monroe 26.

Auburn @ LSU. Is Chris Todd hurt? Sure looks like it. Auburn, after starting 5-0, now just wants to get that 6th win to be bowl eligible. LSU does not have the offense to blow out any team. Auburn does not have the offense to hang with LSU. LSU 20 Auburn 14.

Florida @ Mississippi State. Hard to believe that Florida has lost their last four trips to Stakville. Spurrier had to move to South Carolina to get a win in Davis-Wade Stadium. The line on this is way to large at 22. Mississippi State, other than the loss to Auburn, has played their nationally ranked opponents close. Florida is ranked #1 for a reason and will leave Starkville with a win. Florida 38 Mississippi State 28.

Pizza Burgers

2009-10-19T09:35:00.005-05:00

In an effort to try a variety of flavors in hamburgers I recently grilled "pizza burgers". In the burgers I added Italian bread crumbs. I also added a little oregano, salt, and pepper. When the burgers were on the grill I added some tomato sauce. Finally, when the burgers were almost finished I added some shredded mozzarella cheese.

On the side, I grilled diced mushrooms and onions. These were cooked in an open foil pack on the grill with a little extra virgin olive oil and salt.

I thought the burgers were excellent but my wife thought we should have bought a better cheese. I can't wait to prepare these again!

Football Saturday

2009-10-17T13:00:00.002-05:00

Alright, I neglected to post my picks. Last night I grilled a great "pizza burger" and hope to have pictures and recipes posted tomorrow.

Though two games are at the half, neither are surprises.

Georgia @ Vandy. My wifes Commodores are not even an average team when you take away an excellent QB. Chris Smith may develop into a solid QB but until then, Vandy will continue to stink. Georgia might be playing for Richt's job. If he goes 6-6 this season then he may be shown the door. Georgia 31 Vandy 17

Mississippi State @ MTSU. MTSU is favored. They shouldn't be. They may have upset a poor Maryland team but State will be too strong for them. If Mississippi State can avoid turning the ball over they win big. Turnovers might make the game close. Miss State 38- MTSU 21

Arkansas @ Florida. With another week of healing from his concussion Teabow comes back sharp and Florida wins big. Arkansas may score some points but it won't be enough. Florida 29-Arkansas 9.

UAB @ Ole Miss. UAB is not a good team. Ole Miss is much better. Even if Snead has the same type of game he had last week against Alabama, Ole Miss still wins. Ole Miss 31- UAB 0.

Kentucky @ Auburn. Though my track record of picking games is poor this appears to be one of the more challenging games to pick this week. Kentucky probably can't win at Auburn. Auburn has a better team and should win. Auburn 26 Kentucky 24.

South Carolina @ Alabama. Alabama jumps to #2 in the national rankings this week. A solid South Carolina team comes to town. USC has only lost once, to Georgia in Athens, and should play a close game with Alabama. South Carolina will probably leave Tuscaloosa with a second close loss. Alabama 31-USC 27.

Grilled Rib Eye

2009-10-11T19:40:00.002-05:00

I grilled some rib eye steaks on Friday night. The recipe came from all recipes.com

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper

The steaks were very flavorful. Maybe too flavorful. I marinaded them for about four hours and am glad I did not soak them longer. Don't misunderstand, they were very good but I would probably not cook them again.

Saturday football

2009-10-10T08:03:00.003-05:00

Lot of good games on at 11:00 this morning. However, we are going to have a picnic. Anyway, onto my fearless predictions.

Auburn at Arkansas. Auburn jumped to #17 this week. Arkansas should give them a good challenge at home. Is Auburn truly one of the top teams in the country. They will have a real test this week. Arkansas 27 Auburn 21.

Vanderbilt at Army. Vanderbilt goes on the road to a place they should win. Vandy 29 Army 9.

Georgia at Tennessee. Will Tennessee lose for the second week in a row at home? What team will show up for Georgia? Tennessee will slow the game down again but in the end Georgia will have no problem taking down the Vols. In a low-scoring game Georgia 20 Tennessee 13.

Houston at Mississippi State. Can my bulldogs get a win? Houston wants to show their loss last week was a fluke. I have truly no idea which way this will go. My head says the smart money is with the Cougars. My heart says the dawgs have enough. Mississippi State 31- Houston 28.

Kentucky at South Carolina. Hard to believe that UK once had some decent teams. South Carolina 33- Kentucky 20.

Alabama at Ole Miss. One of the two big games this weekend. Alabama is slightly favored on the road and should have enough to win. Ole Miss knows if they can somehow win-out they still have a shot at the BCS national championship. Those hopes end this weekend. Alabama 31 Ole Miss 17.

Florida at LSU. Night games in Baton Rouge always favor LSU. This should be a great game. Hopefully, after the kids are in bed, I can catch the second half. I don't really see Florida blowing out LSU but I don't think LSU is the 4th best team in the country. Florida 30 LSU 24.

Seven games in the SEC today. Would not shock me if I went 2-5 in my picks.

Don't have any plans to grill tonight but did grill a great rib eye last night and hope to have those pictures and recipe posted tomorrow.

College Memories

2009-10-09T20:59:00.008-05:00

Earlier this week I decided to cook a chuck roast in a crock pot to make barbecue. I seared it on the grill for about a minute on each side. Then put in the crock pot with a bottle of barbecue sauce. If I was feeling industrious I would have made my own sauce but store bought sauce was good enough for me.

I let it cook all night on Wednesday and had it Thursday for lunch. On Friday I had memories of going to Sonnys. It was a hole in the wall type place. In fact, in the middle of the floor there was literally a hole to the dirt underneath. Sonnys was only open on Friday and Saturday so Friday after class was an unofficial assembly place for my fraternity and many others. There were no menus and I don't remember anyone ordering anything except the barbecue plate. Two pieces of white bread and sweet tea with a heaping pile of barbecue. Delicious.

Grilled Fajitas

2009-10-06T16:24:00.004-05:00

I had a nice sized flank steak. It was almost two pounds and we had been craving fajitas. I searched for a recipe and could not find anything that did not involve marinading the steak for a couple of hours. So I decided to do a dry rub.

I rubbed two table spoons of extra virgin olive oil on the steak and then prepared my rub. For the rub I used:

2 teaspoons of paprika
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoons of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoons of cumin

I combined the above ingredients and rubbed them into the steak. I would like to have let them season for a little while but we were hungry!

After grilling for about 7 minutes on each side I cut the steak into strips. We also had leftover chopped onion and green pepper from something we cooked about a week ago. Earlier this year my wife planted a pepper plant in the backyard along. There was one red pepper on the plant.

The peppers and onions were put into a skillet along with the flank steak. After cooking together for about five minutes the fajitas were ready. Next time I may try to marinade the meat but given the short time I had to cook, they were great!

Travel

2009-10-03T13:40:00.002-05:00

For much of the past month I have been traveling. Lots of nights away from home. I am happy that the busiest part of my travel season is over. Though I will leave before 8am most days I should be home before five. I don't know who is more excited...my family or me!

I probably won't get to grill at all this weekend for the family. Though I grilled for a couple of hours this morning at the farmers market that doesn't count since the food wasn't really for me! We are headed to a birthday party later this afternoon so cooking tonight is out. Tomorrow Renie has "sorting" at kids market so I doubt there will be any grilling.

However, the rest of this week I plan to grill lots. I have a flank steak defrosting that I plan to make fajitas with later this week. I also have a roast that I plan to cook. Stay tuned!

Right now I am watching Alabama-Kentucky and ready for some more good football today.

LSU-Georgia. LSU barely escaped Starkville last weekend. Georgia has looked good so far this season. I expect Georiga to win. Georgia 27 LSU 14.

Mississippi-Vanderbilt. How will Ole Miss respond after their loss last weekend to South Carolina? Though their SEC title hopes are almost gone I expect them to come back strong. Vandy, who beat them last year in Oxford, always plays them strong. Ole Miss 31 Vandy 22.

South Carolina State- South Carolina. Yawn. USC wins 33-3.

Arkansas- Texas A&M (in Dallas) Should be a good game. If I weren't headed to a birthday party this would be the game to watch. Arkansas has shown they have a fairly good offense. I see A&M winning a close one. Texas A&M 35 -Arkansas 31.

Georgia Tech @ Mississippi State- Last year both teams put up lots of yards but only Tech put up points. That should chance some this year. I hate to pick against my Dawgs but I don't see them winning this game. Georgia Tech 29- State 28.

Auburn @ Tennessee- Both teams fired their coaches last year after poor seasons. Auburn has more talent right now than UT. UT hired the coach that everyone wanted and Auburn hired a coach that only Auburn wanted. Auburn wins. Auburn 24-UT 14.

Special Thanks to the Pioneer Woman

2009-09-23T20:38:00.001-05:00

This recipe was posted on the pioneer woman. Pork chops with an onion sauce. I love onions so this was a great recipe for me. Though my pork chops don't look as good as the ones in her shot, they were great. Check out her blog for more cooking ideas.

Asian Honey Chicken

2009-09-21T21:35:00.002-05:00

I recently grilled some chicken breasts and used a bottle of Kraft Asian Honey Barbecue Sauce. Served over a bed of rice these breasts were perfect. Kraft makes a variety of sauces that sound different than a typical barbecue.

I rubbed the breasts in salt and pepper. After cooking on both sides for about six minutes I added the sauce and cooked a few more minutes on each side.

Saturday menu and football

2009-09-19T08:43:00.002-05:00

Today I am planning on grilling a combo sausage-beef burger. I have seen these called "ham" burgers or sausage burgers. To be honest, I am not sure what I will call them. I have not yet decided what spices I need to add. Depending on the sausage it may not need any. I hope to have an update posted soon.

Should be an exciting day of football. The forecast is for rain much of the day so between games of hungry-hungry hippo and Geo-trax, I am sure I will catch a little football. As I sit down to make my "picks" I realize how little I know about football.

Louisville at Kentucky- After living in Kentucky for four years I enjoy this rivalry. Kentucky is picked by 12 and I think that they will just cover. I see UK winning 24-10.

North Texas at Alabama. Look for Alabama to roll over UNT 44-3.

Tennessee at Florida. Marquee game of the day. All followers of football are aware of the drama that Lane Kiffin has created this off season. Florida is picked by 25 and it probably won't be that close at the half. Will Florida take their foot off the gas? With our current format for selecting national championship participants I look for Florida to win big. UF 56 UT 9.

Florida Atlantic at South Carolina. Two teams that I know little. USC 31 FAU 10.

Mississippi State at Vanderbilt. My Alma Marta vs. my wife's. A guys night out vs. a girls night out is on the line. Vanderbilt is rightly picked on paper. Good thing games are not played on paper. Mississippi State 27 Vanderbilt 20

Louisiana Lafayette at LSU. LSU takes down an in-state "rival" LSU 35 ULL 17.

Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss. Ole Miss needs a big win to justify their #5 ranking. Ole Miss 42 SLU 10.

West Virginia at Auburn. Another exciting game. Is Auburn for real? Auburn 27 West Virginia 23.

Georgia at Arkansas. Another game with lots of questions on each side. Is Arkansas ready to take it to the next level. Which Georgia team shows up? Odds makers like Arkansas. I like Georgia. UGA 29 Arkansas 17.

Pork Chops

2009-09-17T18:17:00.005-05:00

Another night cooking on the grill. Though I usually prefer a custom rub there are many delicious rubs available in your local grocery store. The rub I used was Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. I lightly rubbed both sides with the seasoning. After letting the pork chop sit for about 20 minutes I cooked them on charcoal for about 6 minutes per side.

Along with a salad and potato wedges cooked on the side burner it was a great meal.

Coming tomorrow...pork chops cooked following a recipe on Pioneer Woman.

Shrimp Kabobs

2009-09-15T20:59:00.005-05:00

On Saturday along with the pork roast we also had shrimp kabobs. While cooking the pork I twice added charcoal to keep the coals hot. Once the pork was removed the shrimp were added to the grill. Since the fire was starting to cool I was a little worried they would not cook. However, they were perfect.

Since one of the guests brought the shrimp I am unsure how they were prepared. From the picture you can probably notice the green peppers, onions, and pineapple on the skewers.

A loaf of French bread on the top rack rounded out our dinner.

Grilled Pork Roast

2009-09-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

For football Saturday I decided to try to to grill a pork roast. Though I could not find a great recipe on-line I attempted to try. I cooked it similar to the way I prepare ribs. I used the dry rub of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I also dumped some barbecue sauce into the foil pack.

I also wrapped it in foil and cooked it over charcoal for around two hours.

After cooking the pork I sliced it as thin as possible. Some of the guests used barbecue sauce with the pork but it was fine without it. I have never tried an injectable marinade but next time I grill a pork roast I will try it.

My football predictions did not turn out well but I did enjoy watching the game and the fellowship.

Finally football

2009-09-12T13:23:00.002-05:00

I have been busy traveling much of the summer but have had plenty of opportunities to grill. I usually take pictures but, as you can see, have not updated my blog. Today we have friends coming over to watch football- specifically the Auburn/Mississippi State game. I am going to attempt to cook a pork roast on the grill. Later this evening I will post the results.

Driving home from working at the farmers market I thought I would post some of my SEC football predictions for today. I don't really know the point spreads nor do I know the over-unders. I have no inside knowledge so I would not recommend placing bets based on my predictions. Having said that....

LSU-Vandy. LSU did not have a great game last week but were on the road. I look for them to roll over my wife's Commodore team. LSU 27 Vandy 14.

UCLA @ Tennessee. Lane Kiffin has made everyone outside the state of Tennessee become Vol haters. However, UT should have no problems this week.

South Carolina @ Georgia. This should be a good game. UGA does not want to start 0-2 and USC is looking to start the SEC season with a win on the road. If this game were not the same time as my team then I would certainly tune-in. I see Georgia winning a close one 21-20.

Alabama vs. FIU. FIU has no chance. Alabama 47 FIU 3.

Mississippi State @ Auburn. I was one of the unfortunate fans who got to attend last years 3-2 game. I think that after that game the writing was on the wall for both schools. Six months later both schools had new coaching staffs. Auburn is picked to win by 14. Why? I have no idea. Both have new offenses and strong defenses. Look for Mississippi State to "upset" Auburn. MSU 28 Auburn 23.

Happy Fourth

2009-07-11T18:00:00.002-05:00

Ribs are one of my favorite things to grill. It takes a couple of hours to do it right and if the weather is nice, sitting by the grill with a cold drink is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The ribs were marinaded overnight in my secret (for now) sauce. I do use a bottle of store bought barbecue sauce in the sauce but add several things to it.

I cook them for at least four hours in a foil pack, remove them from the pack, add dry rub, and leave them on until they dry out some.

I would love to enter an area contest in the next year or two so I am not going to give away all my secrets yet. You can see that my fourteen month daughter had no objections to the ribs!

Boutwell Farms

2009-07-09T11:59:00.001-05:00

The pork chops and burgers are both from Boutwell Farms. If you live in Birmingham or Montgomery then you should check out Boutwell Farms. Boutwell is an organic farm with great meat. My wife claimed the burgers were some of the best that she had tasted.

If you have eaten any burgers or steak at Lulu's in Gulf Shores then you have eaten Boutwell meat.

Boutwell will be at the Valleydale Farmers Market this summer. I will be helping at their tent. Come by for some free samples!

Same Old, Same Old

2009-06-27T18:48:00.001-05:00

Grilled corn has become one of my favorite sides. I rub the corn (like I would rub a steak) with butter, salt, and pepper.

Cheese toast is melting up top for the kids.

Chicken Breasts

2009-06-19T18:32:00.001-05:00

More neighbors over for grilled chicken. I did a quick rub on these with my typical salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I realize I need to be more creative with my chicken! But they were good.

Weekend Get-away

2009-06-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

In May Renie and I had an opportunity to go "camping" at my parents hunting cabin. We got there Saturday afternoon and left shortly after lunch on Sunday. The kids had a night with the grandparents.

I was in charge of cooking all weekend. This is what I planned the first night. I took three chicken breasts and cut them into cubes. I also cut one green pepper, one red pepper, and one onion into pieces. All were dumped into the foil pack. I nuked a potato for a few minutes, cut it into pieces, and added it to the bag (since potatoes take longer to cook). Finally, I added a bottle of teriyaki.

Once I got a fire going in the fireplace, I added the bag. Renie and I took a walk through the woods and came back to a delicious dinner.

This is the homemade grill that my dad made a few years ago. It worked well but I did have to remove two small hornet nests prior to cooking.

Notice the large hole in the gill...Lunch the next day was something simple, burgers and corn. Mostly we enjoyed being together.

The food was good too!

Strip Steak

2009-06-08T19:47:00.001-05:00

We are almost to the end of the steaks from the Atlanta Cattle Company. After these four steaks there are only about four more left. I was happy with the steak purchase from the Atlanta Cattle Company and would consider purchasing more.

These steaks were marinaded in soy sauce with a little salt and pepper. Though they turned out fine, I am sure there is a better way to cook strip steak. (I think that I said that every time I cooked strip steak.)

Pork Chops

2009-06-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

I committed the blogging "sin". I forgot to take a picture of the food cooking. My young daughter was happy to pose with the bone from the pork chop.

Pork chops are not something that I cook very often. These were rubed in olive oil and rubbed with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Let them marinade for about three hours.

Even baby Helen was happy.

Burgers

2009-06-02T18:29:00.001-05:00

Another week night grilling burgers. May was a great month for grilling for me. I should have updates about every other day for the next few weeks. June I am traveling way too much but hope to have opportunities to cook out some.

Pizza

2009-05-30T18:27:00.000-05:00

Though I wish I could claim credit for it, yes, it is delivery! I do want to learn to grill pizza but not tonight.

Nothing Exciting

2009-05-29T18:19:00.002-05:00

Though I have not had a blog update in about three weeks, I have been grilling. My goal for the next few days is to at least get some posts scheduled. My June schedule probably won't allow me to grill very often so I hope to get "caught up" with my posts.

The hotdogs were from a week or two ago. With two kids under three, hotdogs are a staple.

Church Picnic

2009-05-07T17:12:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday our church had our annual spring picnic. Much of the afternoon was filled with tornado warnings and a tree had fallen across the street less than a mile from the church. However, we were not to be deterred. You can't tell from the pictures of the grill but there were four or five "shelves" that roated inside in the grill. This is the way to do church picnics! You can notice the propane tank at one end...this was just to get the charcoal started.

Though I can never imagine me needing a grill this size it sure was fun to see in action!

Community Group

2009-05-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

We are a part of a neighborhood community group through our church. We have dinner each week and a great time of fellowship and prayer. This past week Robert was kind enough to cook burgers. The burgers were great. I donated a pound or so of venison burger to add to the other burgers...but Robert did it all. I didn't get a chance to ask him was marinade he used but the burgers were excellent.

Grilled Ribs

2009-05-04T14:36:00.005-05:00

Once again spring is in the air and it is time to cook some ribs. This past Saturday was "We love Homewood Day" and was the perfect opportunity for ribs. First thing in the morning we headed to the park two blocks away for the hot-air balloon ride. Unfortunately it was too windy and rainy.

Around lunch time I began marinating the ribs. I usually marinade in a combination of fruit juice and barbecue sauce. After about three hours of soaking I wrapped them in foil and placed them on indirect heat to cook all day. The community parade took place at six and while we were there we invited two more couples to join us. Once back home I added hot dogs for the children and a couple of chicken breasts for the ladies. Also, I removed the cooked ribs from the foil packs, added my favorite dry-rub, and let them dry for about 20 minutes.

If you ever want me to cook ribs for you, please let me know. You supply the food and supplies and I will take care of the rest.

Venison and T-Bones

2009-04-08T10:46:00.001-05:00

Okay, so venison and a beef T-bone are an unusual combination. I agree. However, upon checking the deep freeze and seeing what option we had this is what stood out. There were several t-bone steaks and plenty of venison items.

Pork Chops

2009-04-04T13:57:00.006-05:00

We do not regularly eat pork. No specific reason. We do enjoy the taste of pork but usually keep our eyes open for chicken to go on sale. However, this weekend I decided to cook pork chops. I made a rub and a dipping sauce.

In the rub I used:

1 t. fresh pepper

1 t. paprika

1 t. brown sugar

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

Though I do not often make a dipping sauce I do enjoy it from time to time. I am a total amateur when it comes to knowing what to include in a dipping sauce. I followed a recipe but did add to it. This is what I used:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

2 T. sorghum

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. brown sugar

2 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. fresh black pepper

a few drops of Tabasco

Splash of bourbon

I combined these ingredients and cooked them on the stove top until boiling. Next time I make the dipping sauce I would probably use less water in order to have a thicker sauce. I would probably also use slightly more Tabasco.

Cedar Plank Fish

2009-04-02T18:44:00.002-05:00

After Aunt Ellen's birthday we had two left-over catfish filets. These filets were "blackened" following a recipe that I found on All Recipes.com. That recipe called for cooking the fish in a cast-iron skillet. Instead, as you can see, I cooked them on a cedar plank. The "blackened" recipe called for:

1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

The fish took longer to cook than I anticipated but were perfect.

Grilled Catfish

2009-04-01T17:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Aunt Ellen. Last week Aunt Ellen had a birthday and requested some type of fish. I grilled catfish and they turned out nice. To prepare them, I crushed a sleeve of crackers and added a little bit of Greek seasoning. They were dipped in melted butter, of course, to help the crackers mixture stick to the fish. Grilled on gas for about fifteen minutes.

I purchased six catfish filets. They were so large that two were saved to cook later.

Are you crazy or just plain stupid?

2009-03-22T22:33:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I posted a picture of the backyard with the beginning of the root removal. The root removal continued this weekend. All day Saturday and much of the afternoon on Sunday we worked on removing the roots. Needless to say, I did not grill out once this weekend. Saturday we cooked a pizza and tonight we had "breakfast for dinner".

From the front yard we have removed the roots for three trees. The final tree has some large roots that I hope to tackle tomorrow night. I asked junior to pose in front of the pile so you could appreciate the number of roots that we have dug.

During the kid's nap time both Renie and I were working together to get the roots out. Renie asked, "Do the neighbors think we are crazy." I was reminded of this great quote from Forrest Gump and have titled the post accordingly. Yes, the neighbors think we are crazy.

Leftover burgers

2009-03-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

I cooked way too many burgers last Friday night for family in town for Helen's birthday party. Renie and I had them as leftovers at least twice this week. A tip I learned, I think, from college roommate Michael, is to put the burgers in a bowl of water to warm them.

I microwave them for one minute. Sometimes I will add a little bit of Worcestershire sauce (we are out right now) to the water. After a minute of nuking them in water I empty the water, add the cheese, and microwave it again long enough to melt the cheese.

Delicious.

Dead Tree Removed

2009-03-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

If you saw our yard right now I would be pretty embarassed. One dead tree in the back yard was removed and you can see the roots that Renie and I have been digging. The stumps were ground but the roots, for the most part, were not touched.

In the front yard three trees were cut out. One tree was damaging the sidewalk and another was breaking up the driveway. The final tree was in the middle and we were worried that removing the trees and roots of the other trees would kill it...so all came out. The front yard is also a mess but I hope to have it back to normal soon.

Indoor Grilling

2009-03-19T20:18:00.001-05:00

Rain, rain, go away. I don't know what the weather is like in your area but in Birmingham we have had a lot of rain. I don't often use the indoor grill and after cooking the chicken I was reminded why.

Though I lightly seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon peel, the chicken cooked so slowly that it dried out. I will probably never cook chicken on the indoor grill again. With a different cook-top it is great for cooking pancakes.

Table for 12 please

2009-03-17T20:20:00.000-05:00

Baby Helen celebrated her first birthday this weekend and both sets of grandparents came to town. Friday night the entire family came to our house for dinner. It was a great chance to spend time together and to cook on the grill. With such a large group, it seemed that burgers were the easiest thing to cook.

The party was held Saturday morning and included approximately twenty children and their parents. It was fun and Helen enjoyed being the center of attention. We had a delicious cake and snacks before the party ended. Helen received her first doll but still wants to play with big brothers Geo-Trax trains.

The other fun thing this weekend was watching the SEC Basketball Championship. Way to go Dawgs!

T-Bone and Shrimp

2009-03-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

I tried something new and it didn't work. It was so bad I am not even going to post the recipe. However, I will say that I used mostly "red" spices. Some sweet and some hot. It didn't work. Live and learn!

However, the barbecue shrimp were good. They were a last-minute addition to the grill and I would like to have marinaded them longer. In my house, shrimp are always a hit.