Lazy Days of Summer - On the Creek

Here's the whole crowd - or most of them.

Dad plays Tarzan at the creek near his old home place in Oklahoma.

The little guy gets in on the fun while his brother cheers him on.

This kid-o is a lifeguard, but he didn't learn this trick at the YMCA.

The boys went out to Oklahoma to visit the relatives before the summer wrapped up. They especially enjoyed the rope swing out on the creek.

They also had a great time grilling, and I'm sure they all packed away a ton of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

Be sure to check out my tips for grilling perfect hamburgers. There are some little tricks that make them much tastier - not that a grilled burger is ever bad. Well, some of the burned ones might not be primo.

Castleberry's Chili Recall - Oops - I have a can of this.

If you have a can or cans of Castleberry's chili sauce in your cabinet or other products made by the company, be sure to read the recall information.

The original recall was July 18 and included only the chili sauce with "use by" dates from April to May 2009. The recall has been expanded. The list includes more products now and also batch numbers rather than just the "use by" dates.

I just checked my cabinet, and I have a can of Castleberry's chili sauce. I usually make my own, but I happened to have a can on hand if I wanted grilled hot dogs and didn't want to take the time to make chili.

The use by date is hard to read. It appears that mine is March of 2009 for "use by," but when I check back on the batch numbers, my can falls in the recall.

The concern with the chili sauce is botulism. Whew. Don't want to get that. That would be one sure way to ruin a barbecue.

Check your cans!

Grilled Chicken with White Sauce

If you've never tried grilled chicken with white sauce, then you've got to whip up a batch of White BBQ sauce. It's a neat zippy sauce that really gives chicken an interesting twist.

Be sure to make plenty of sauce. It's good for dipping once the chicken is done too. When we made this last week in the mountains, we had to make up a second batch before we finished our chicken.

White BBQ Sauce is very popular in Alabama and probably originated there, but it's also a hot recipe in North Carolina where we raise loads of chickens and grill year round.

Texas Toast on the Barbecue Grill

One really easy food we cook on the grill is Texas Toast. Texas Toast is sold in the freezer section at the grocery store. It yummy baked as indicated on the package, but we like it even better with a smoky grilled taste.

If you need extra help or tips on making Texas Toast on the grill, see my article at Barbecue Master. I post all our favorite family grill recipes there at Garden & Hearth.

Texas Toast goes great with steak, chicken or seafood. It only takes a couple of minutes, so it can go on the grill while the meat rests and the flavors settle.

Free - Country Bob's Barbecue Sauce

If you love barbecue sauce, then try out a free bottle of Country Bob's. Just click here and fill out a simple form. They don't actually pack up and mail out the barbeque sauce. Can't say I blame them. That would get expensive. They send a coupon, so you can get a free bottle of Country Bob's at the grocery store.

Bluegrass at Southwest Virginia Community College

I headed up to the mountains this weekend and stumbled on a bluegrass shindig at Southwest Virginia Community College. It was a two day party with Rhonda Vincent headlining on Friday night and IIIrd Tyme Out on Saturday night. A number of local bluegrass bands also performed.

The crowd was very low key. I think that's the first time I've been to a bluegrass concert and didn't see folks up clogging or flat footing.

They had some good eats - hamburgers, hot dogs, curly fries.

For any bluegrassers out there, the Tazewell County Old Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers' Convention will be July 13-15, 2007 at the Tazewell County Fairgrounds. Camping is first-come-first serve with primitive and RV. The festival brochure is posted online with all the details.

Kabobs - Tasty but Not That Easy

Well, we got those barbecue kabobs cooked up. Pretty good eating. I think I may buy one of those kabob things to turn on the grill. You stick the kabobs in, and then you just turn the thing over all at once. It's pretty hard to turn kabobs with a spatula, and those suckers get hot. Feel my pain.

I tried some Lipton Onion Soup potatoes on the grill (they are similar to the tin foil potatoes I linked in the last post but not as good). I used the basic recipe for the oven. They were fair, but I doubt I'd make them again. The biggie is that they come out looking kind of brownish and gross with the soup mix there on the grill. They don't get that nice crust like they get in the oven.

I'm always trying new things on the grill. The recipes that make the cut go up on my site Yes You Can Grill. The ones that don't, well, we just eat them.

Chicken Kabobs on the Barbecue Grill

I had some chicken going begging here, so I decided to make some chicken kabobs on the grill. Since the boys don't like much of anything with or on their meat, that kind of limited what I could thread on the kabobs. They figured the green peppers were big enough to pull off and put in my plate. I promised them that the grilled green peppers would not jump over on the chicken and change the taste.

The chicken kabobs turned out good. I just used a basic homemade style Italian dressing to soak them a couple of hours before tossing them on the grill.

One thing I'd say about kabobs is that it sure would take a lot of them to fill a body (especially boy bodies) up. You can't jam them too tight or they don't cook even. With the food spread out over the kabobs, there's really not much on each kabob.

I think I know why folks usually serve kabobs with rice or potatoes. You've got to fill up on something. We, fortunately, made some grilled tin foil potatoes. We also tried grilled olive oil bread, but that Bunny BBQ bread is too soft to throw on a fire. It was tasty, but it looked like heck. I'm going to try that again but with a European bread with more substance.

OK. I did it. I'm the Squidoo Grill Girl.

A lot of my friends have been raving about Squidoo. I didn't know if I wanted to jump in.

But, hey now, it said I could get rolling in 4.5 minutes. Someone must have been smoking something and not meat when they came up with that figure.

In any case, I'm Squidoo Grill Girl.

It took me about half a day to get the basics up. I'm still doing some tweaking.

If you're familiar with Squidoo, you can build your own web pages (as many as you like). They provide templates. You write materials, paste up links, add photos and videos.

They've got some pretty neat stuff over there. Check them out. You can build your own page, but I'll warn you that it does take some time.

Ribs on the Weber Smokey Mountain Bullet

Yum. These were some darn good ribs. We've been smoking up a lot of ribs and butts, since we got our Smokey Mountain Bullet. That's one of the best purchases we've made in years.

This was our Memorial Day Celebration. Uncle Eric visited. He's in the Army and has been to Iraq twice. He's scheduled to go back again. With only 3 1/2 years until retirement, we are all holding our breath.

The guys did the ribs this time. I was making Onion Parmesan potatoes in the house. We kind of switch off on inside/outside. Works out pretty good.

Most Popular Grilled Foods - Weber Report 2007

Here we are cooking the most popular grill food for 2007. In fact, hamburgers have topped the list for the past four years according to Weber GrillWatch (conducted by Greenfield).

The top foods according to the yearly study (this is the 18th year), the top grilled foods are:

1. hamburgers - 64%

2. steak - 46%

3. chicken - 40%

4. hot dogs - 34%

5. ribs - 14%

See the Weber report for more interesting grilling trends.

If you want to make some really great burgers, then here's my best burger recipe with tips.

FREE Beer Butt Chicken Holder

It's hard to beat Beer Butt Chicken on the grill. It comes out so moist and full of flavor.

If you don't have a beer (perish the thought) or if you generally use bottles (not at all good to put up a chicken on the grill), then Perdue can fix you up.

Buy a Perdue Oven Stuffer chicken. Inside the package (make sure it's marked with the offer), you'll find a code number. Visit the ChickCAN page and fill out the form, including your special number. They'll send you a metal chicken cooking rack which works the same way as the beer can.

Enjoy the freebie!

Free Sportsman Magazine - magazine subscription

I know some of my readers are true outdoorsmen (and women), so here's a great freebie for everyone who loves the wild life.

Go to Sportsman and fill out a simple form, and you'll start getting a free quarterly magazine. The articles are lively. They also include some recipes.

North Carolina Settles Barbecue Food Fight

Some elementary kids wrote letters to Congressmen in North Carolina requesting that the Lexington Barbecue festival be the "official" BBQ festival of NC. Well, that set some tongues to wagging and articles flying. Barbeque is pretty serious business in NC where everyone minds his, her and everyone elses business (but not in a bad way).

The issue with the que festival request was that there are two styles of BBQ in North Carolina. We've got the tomato based barbecue fans and the vinegar sauce fans. And, minds don't much meet between these two groups.

State leaders did reach a compromise. Politicians are good about those things (sometimes). The Lexington Barbecue Festival will be the "official" Food Festival of North Carolina. See -no mention of barbecue there. But, you head over to the October festival, and I can tell you what you'll be eating. Yep. Barbecue - Lexington style (vinegar). Yum!

And while I was grilling . . .

While I was busy thinking about outdoor cooking, my mom was hard at work making Raggedy Andy and Ann for a family friend.

Mom has made rag dolls as far back as I can remember. My set is in lavendar.

I made one Raggedy Ann, but it took FOREVER. I don't have that much patience. So, I stick with grilling and smoking. It does take time to make great food, but it's not as tedious as trying to get poly-fill in the arms of little doll babies.

Polar Bear Grilling - Pork Loins

Yes! It's cold. And, yes, I am grilling.

Grab a jacket and join the Polar Bear Barbeque Club. It's really not that bad, and the food sure tastes great.

Tonight I'm grilling a pork loin on my small travel Weber. The big Weber is next door, and well . . . you know.

The last time I got a pork loin, my son wanted to know if it was the pig's leg. Guess I need to get him outside and learning more about barbecue. A visit to a farm might be in order too.

If I ever make BBQ pigs leg, I will take pictures and let everyone know.

Mexican on the Grill

Yum. Nachos on the grill are delicious. They only take a couple of minutes to heat. Then, you're ready to eat.

For directions on making Grilled Cheese Nachos, visit Barbeque Master at Garden and Hearth.

I also have a Pica de Gallo recipe that is fabulous with the chips or to serve with any Mexican meal.

Keep checking back. I've been grilling up some great Mexican and Mexican inspired dishes and will continue to post up recipes and directions.

Celebrating the New Picnic Shelter

The church picnic shelter was dedicated at the annual homecoming service. It was extra special, since one of our "kids" who grew up in the church came back to preach. Danny did a great job, and it was really terrific to see a local back and sharing memories of the "good old days."

We, of course, had a huge pot luck dinner. Methodists are big on those. The tables were loaded with delicious dishes - some old favorites and a few new treats. It's always hard to decide what to dip up. It's all good, so it's impossible to go wrong.

This is my sister and her husband and little Hannah. The baby, Abigail, must be under the table or something. She's a real rounder, and I won't confess to who she must take after.

If you're looking for good pot luck dishes, then I put my best recipes up at Garden and Hearth. Check Southern Cooking for some of the delicious dishes that you see on the table. That's my dirty rice in the green pot.

Eagle Scout Shelter Finished and Dedicated

WOW! The shelter went up fast. We're all ready to cook out or have picnics now.

This was an Eagle Scout project that my son started with his grandfather (my dad) who died in a traffic accident over the summer. Locke Steele, a close friend of the family, stepped in to make sure this project was completed. He was there every inch of the way, and he spent a lot of time teaching local young men the basics of building. He was my Little Baseball coach when I was a kid. His contributions to the community could never be measured.

We're now looking at adding picnic tables and perhaps a grill. It will be really nice to have a shelter at the church. I really didn't know how my son was going to get such a big project done when my dad passed. I thank Locke as well as all the men and women in town who pitched in and helped out. I'd also like to thank my brother, Matthew, who drove in from Ohio twice to help and to do the landscaping. He brought some of the teen boys who work for him who were also super helpful.

Best Job in the World - Full Time Tailgater

I caught up with Joe yesterday by phone. He had to park the RV before he could chit-chat. He was just as funny as I expected. Anyone who can sell the idea of working professionally in parking lots eating barbecue has to have a good funny bone.

But, hey, it worked. I've gotta give him credit. Very few people get a job doing exactly what they enjoy most.

If you want to read about Joe Cahn and his life as the Commissioner of Tailgating, then see my article at Garden & Hearth.