Left-over chuck roast

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

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

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

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

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

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

Omaha Steaks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. I am guessing (how I would do it) that a heavy brushing of olive oil then adding salt and pepper.  The olive oil not only keeps the food from sticking to the grill but also adds flavor to the food!

The shrimp cook quickly...really a couple of minutes on each side.  Since peppers and onions can be eaten raw it wasn't too big of deal.  If I did it again I would likely have a skewer of shrimp and a skewer of vegetables. 

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

Grilled Pork Roast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.