Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The garden is growing!




I hope everybody had a good Memorial day weekend. I had to work Monday, but had a good rest of the weekend. Stacy and I went outside and planted more things in the garden while Isabella napped on Saturday. We planted some rhubarb that came from one of Stacy's aunts. Also some rhubarb  roots. Stacy planted some fuchsias in hanging baskets and a sunflower. Then in her Topsy-Turvy, we planted a couple tomato plants and sweet pepper plants. Also we weeded the flower bed in front of the house and planted some Alaskan scatter garden seeds.
Our rhubarb
Hanging baskets and Topsy-Turvy
Isabella came outside after dinner to inspect her flower

 Our squash, zucchini, carrots and onions are all looking good.














   
 For dinner, I made grilled turkey breast tenderloins. I salt and peppered them, then rubbed them with Pampered Chef Smoky BBQ Rub. I grilled them till they were almost done and basted the breasts with Pampered Chef Blackberry Balsamic Sauce. We dipped them in more of the sauce when we ate them. We also had grilled peppers, onions and carrots. We liked the sauce. It had a nice flavor that went well with the turkey. Stacy and I made milkshakes after Isabella was in bed. I used the sauce in my milkshake. It was different, but good. After dinner we all went outside and took a family walk to the end of our street and back. What would take Stacy and I, 3 minutes or so took us all 15 minutes. Isabella kept stopping and  touching rocks and sticks or sitting in the gravel and playing.
          Sunday, we went over to Stacy's parents house and had a BBQ. I manned the grill since it was raining. We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves.
    I have added a "follow by email" gadget at the side. If you want to get this blog by email when I post a new blog, type your email in the box and hit "subscribe".
  Also, I will be having a Pampered Chef Grilling Party on June 9th at 4pm. If you can't make it you will be able to order online. I will have the instructions for ordering and details in my next blog. Have a great rest of your week!
Matt

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Bacon Wrapped Pork!

Mmm, bacon!  What is turning into a normal Wednesday blog is a Thursday blog this week. I was working on a plane till almost 11:30 last night, trying to get an inspection done. I got it to the point that all we had to do was run the engine and check for leaks and put the cowling on. (Cowlings are the parts that cover up the engines). Then this morning when I was fresh, I gave the plane a quick look and ran it up. It is back flying again and making money!
       So last weekend, we went to one of Stacy's friend's house for a BBQ Saturday night and had a fun time. Isabella got to see chickens up close for the first time. Sunday, I put some child proof locks on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Isabella is getting more adventurous.
For dinner, I decided to try out something. I took pork sirloin and seasoned it and wrapped it in bacon.   I started out by salt and peppering the pork, then I rubbed it with Pampered Chef Smoky Applewood Rub. Next, I wrapped 2 strips of bacon around each piece and salt and peppered again. I then grilled them for about 15 to 20 minutes until the pork was at 160 degrees internal temp. Also, I cut some potatoes up in 4 wedges each. I tossed the potatoes in vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Then, I grilled them on the Pampered Chef BBQ Roasting Pan and Can Holder. Be careful when pouring the potatoes on. I had a huge flare up with a big fire ball. Luckily, I was fast enough not to burn myself. I flipped to potatoes till they were browned on the outside. I also grilled some bread and Stacy made some salad.


 The outside edge looks a little pink because of the rub and the bacon created a nice crust. It was really good. Stacy liked it and she is not big on eating pork. The potatoes were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Yummy all around!

After dinner, Isabella and I played outside while Stacy transplanted her herbs. We checked the garden and our carrots, onions and zucchini had all sprouted!

Tuesday turned into a lit bit of a hectic day at work. One of our aircraft was stuck on the glacier for about 8 hours. I almost had to fly up and help fix it, but the pilot got it going again. Just as he was landing a rainbow came out and the sun started shining.
I hope everybody has a great Memorial day weekend! Get out there and grill something this weekend! Have fun and I'll talk to you all next week.
Matt

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Otter!

     I hope everybody had a good Mother's day weekend. I did, I got to grill 3 times in two days. Saturday, I grilled pork country ribs and stuffed mini sweet peppers. The peppers were stuffed with the same cheese mixture from the last blog post. This time they weren't wrapped in bacon since we had used it up over the week. I also cut an onion in half and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I cooked it on the grill till it was tender. Also, I buttered some sourdough slices and grilled them. Isabella really liked the onion and peppers, she kept wanting more of them. 
   Since Sunday was Mother's day, we went over to Stacy's parents for lunch. I manned the grill and cooked steaks. The Steaks were seasoned with: salt, pepper, and Pampered Chef Smoky Applewood rub. I also grilled corn on the cob seasoned with Pampered Chef Chili Lime rub. Next time I grill corn, I think I will brush it in melted butter and them sprinkle the rub on. We had a good lunch and everybody contributed something for the meal. 
    Sunday dinner was breaded chicken patties and home made mac and cheese. I grilled the chicken patties, Isabella's fake patty (she is allergic to chicken, so she had a Morningstar vegetarian patty), and the buns. I also made the mac and cheese from scratch. We all liked the mac and cheese. It was elbow pasta, cheddar cheese, parmesean, mozzerella, butter, and milk mixed together over low heat. 
      Monday, Isabella had a well child doctor visit. She is a good healthy growing girl, although all of us have colds right now. She is 24 lbs and 31 inches tall. She kept wiggling when the doctor was trying to examine her, but she still did good. I then drove to work after the appointment and got to see our new plane for the first time.  They are leasing a turbine powered Single Otter for the year. Out of the three companies that have Turbine Otters in Talkeetna, we are the only ones that can drive it right into the hanger. It pays to plan ahead when you build a hanger. Here are some pictures of the plane. The engine cowling is off so we can do some work to it.


It has been a fun airplane to work of so far. 

So, I am entering a contest sponsored by Bush's beans. I would have served Bush's SOUTHERN PIT BARBECUE beans with the chicken patty's on Sunday night. Grillin' Bold this Memorial Day?  Bush's has the beans for it.  Come join the cookout with Cookin' Canuck and Hoosier Homemade sponsored by Bush's Grillin' Beans. I am entering to win some cool grill stuff and free Grillin' beans. 




Have a great week. I'll catch you next week.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Gardening and ABTs



    We had a super busy weekend. To start out with, on Saturday Stacy's parents came over and watched Isabella while we worked in the yard. Stacy and I raked the lawn and got all the sticks and leaves off it. We also picked up trash that had blown onto the property. After that came the fun part. We put our raised bed kit together and filled it with dirt. We then divided it in four sections. In those sections, we planted: carrots, onions, summer squash and zucchini. I also planted strawberries in a spot that I prepared.







Here is the raised bed with stuff planted.







Garden covered to keep the heat in.
Strawberries are between the two stakes.
I also filled a couple holes in the driveway, sprayed the foundation for ants and changed the alarm company signs. We had a nice lunch of bbq Hawaiian pizza that I cooked in my cast iron skillet in the oven.
      Since Saturday was Cinco De Mayo, we had Mexican fare for dinner. In case you didn't know, Cinco De Mayo was started during the American civil war and was celebrated by both Latinos in this country and Mexico. The Mexican army had won a decisive battle against the French army and helped turn the tide of the Mexican French war toward the Mexicans. The French were supporting the confederate army and the Latinos in the US supported the Union army. Anyway, we had grilled pork fajitas, beans and Mexican rice. For the fajitas, I marinated pork, frozen pepper strips and onion in salt, pepper, taco seasoning and vegetable oil all day. I cooked it all on the Pampered Chef grill pan until the meat was cooked. I then grilled the tortillas for a few minutes to crisp them up. The beans were a combination of kidney beans, black beans, a can of diced green chilies, Pampered Chef Chipoltle rub all simmered together for a while. The rice was brown rice that had been cooked previously, re hydrated by mixing it with salsa and cooking until it was done. To drink we made a virgin Pampered Chef Cucumber Mojito Itty Bity Bev. Every part of dinner came out great. 
     Sunday, I went the Alaska Airmen's Aviation Trade show in Anchorage. Isabella and Stacy had lunch at her parent's house for a couple hours while I walked around and talked to vendors. We then went shopping and home. Stacy left to an appointment and I watched Isabella. She helped me prep dinner. I cut up a fresh pineapple into rings. Then I cut some mini sweet peppers in half and seeded them. Next, I mixed cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese, and Pampered Chef Applewood rub and stuffed the peppers with the mixture. After that I wrapped it up in a half slice of bacon. These are normally made with jalapeno peppers and are called ABTs. This is short for Atomic Buffalo Turd ( I didn't make up the name).We then went outside and put it all on the grill. Isabella and I went in the living room and played for five minutes or so. When we went out to check on the grill, the temp was zero. I committed a BBQ sin, I was out of propane! Both of my tanks were empty. I scrambled and got the pineapple and ABTs in the oven. We were also going to have chedderwurst brats for dinner, so I got those on the George Foreman. Stacy got home about this time. I was able to take the pineapple out and grill it on our grill pan. I put some brown sugar on top to melt after flipping them. I also turned the oven to broil and broiled the ABTs until the bacon was cooked. We really liked everything even though I had to go to plan B. 
I hope everybody has a good week. Don't forget your Mother's on Sunday!

PS: If you go to  www.grilling.com there is a $2 off coupon for Kingsford charcoal under the Mother's day section. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Funfetti Waffles and BBQ Pizza

       Last weekend was a busy one for us. Saturday morning we got up and I made Funfetti waffles for breakfast. These waffles are pretty easy to make. All you do is take a funfetti cake mix ( any flavor cake mix would work too) and mix the batter according to the directions on the box. Next, you pour some of the cake batter in a heated waffle iron and cook just like any other waffle. You then cook more waffles until the batter is gone. They taste good plain, or with butter on them, or however else you what to serve them. The leftovers freeze well and taste good heated up in the toaster.
      Saturday afternoon, we went to Anchorage and went to a birthday party for our niece Ashlynn. Isabella had a good time playing with all the toys they had. Lot's of fun was had by all.
Sunday we went to the Mat-Su Home Show. We won $5 at a booth. We also got some good information on various things. Isabella enjoyed herself getting pushed in her stroller and she got a purple balloon.
     For Sunday dinner, I made another BBQ pizza. This time though, I made it in my 12 inch cast iron skillet. For the crust I put corn meal on the bottom of the pan and stretched a refrigerated pizza crust over the bottom and up the sides. I then poured some Pampered Chef Beer Barbecue sauce on the crust and spread it around. After that came cooked ground pork that had been seasoned with Pampered Chef  Smoky Barbecue Rub. Next came sliced sweet onion and pineapple tidbits. Finally a mixture of mozzarella, cheddar, and parmigiana and pepper. I put the whole pan on my heated grill and turned the 2 outer burners to medium and the center to low and closed the lid. I cooked it for 20 minutes or so turning the pan about halfway thru cooking.    

The pizza slid right out of the pan and we all enjoyed it.
      I'm not sure what kind of grilling adventures I will have this weekend. We are going to be putting in our garden and Sunday will be a trip to Anchorage for the Aviation Trade Show. Have a great week!