GRILL ALL THE FOODS!

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We are certainly giving the grill a workout during our kitchen remodel. The grill has become my cook top and oven.   We have a  local place I can take the tank and get it filled for $10 on Tuesday's. We have a couple of extra tanks and this is a cheap way to make sure we have a couple of  back-up tanks.

I found this neat little diagram that explains the thermodynamics of how a grill works which actually helped to determine where to place items on the grill when cooking.

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And while our situation is not an emergency, I came across some good tips for emergency grilling (when the power is out or maybe a kitchen remodel IS an emergency)

How about a handy dandy Gas Grill cooking chart?

Besides making the requisite burgers, hot dogs, chicken, steaks, chops and foil veggie packets, I have baked biscuits, griddle french toast, baked cornbread, baked chicken tenders with fries, cooked meatloaf, toasted garlic bread and baked a pizza-- all on the grill. The side burner has been great for making mashed potatoes, frying bacon, gravy (for sausage gravy) and making pots of spaghetti. It is almost like being on a camping trip  but without sleeping on the ground, lol.

Indirect heat, 350°F

Direct heat, low, 200°F

Meatloaf, Indirect heat, top rack, 350°F

The pizza was a little tricky when I tried to bake it on the grill. The first time I baked my pizza (from scratch), I used a disposable foil pan which was more heat reflective, the grill was a tad hot and I had too much direct heat.  It wasn't  horribly burnt but definitely more well done than I like, but the hubbs loved it. Go figure... 

The 2nd  time I cooked a pizza it was a semi-defrosted frozen pizza, I used my pizza stone and set the grill to medium-low heat. That kept the temperature around  300°F. And it worked  ok except it still was not perfect. The bottom of the crust was nicely browned, the cheese was hot but not quite toasted. And I forgot to take a picture anyway. It was still pretty tasty despite the flaws.  3rd time is a charm...right?

Actually the weather has been cooperative so I haven't minded all the grilling. It has also given me an opportunity to use my cast iron cookware which I don't use often with my electric stove. There is just something magic about cast iron skillets and a gas cook top. Although the hubbs did say, "Since you are so good at cooking on the grill, maybe we should get a gas stove." GASP! Did he just make a positive suggestion towards the remodel?! HA! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a dual fuel stove with gas cook top and electric oven. Alas, my budget can't stretch to accommodate new appliances. However, we are going to install the fittings without making a connection to the gas line for now, so we have it for the upgrade in the hopefully not so near future.

Then the hubbs dropped this little pearl of wisdom, "I bet since you are so good at cooking on the grill, you won't want to cook in the kitchen when it is finished." Shush up your mouth hubbs! I miss my kitchen and it's crappy stove. I will be glad to not grill for a while...like next summer just MIGHT be to soon...

And I broke down and bought a toaster oven

Grilled french fries are just not my thing!

My outdoor space looks like dookie

Another summer season has come to an end  but brought with it a list of things to do...

The hubbs took down the potable pool and now it looks like a spaceship landed in my yard

Drying the pool solar cover reminds of a prom dress gone so very wrong

I need to clean out and put away my portable greenhouse turned  pool storage

I need to mow down and rototil garden up because it is an overgrown and weedy mess

I need to trim the Weigela that is threatening to overtake the porch

I need toclean out and take down the flower boxes with their scraggly and crispy from the heat plant remains

The ONLY thing that looks remotely lush and lovely are my marigolds which exploded in size. No need to worry about insects in this bed next year or the one after that, haha.

How about you-Are you lamenting that summer is over or all the work it brings?

Grilled Biscuits

We are 5 days into our kitchen remodel and the urge for baked goods is driving me crazy. I thought we could plug the stove in the garage if we needed to use the oven bit the hubbs was mistaken on the receptacle. We have 110, 210- 3 phase and 440 in the garage (for arc welding) but no 220 for a stove...wah wah.

So I decided to search the web because surely somewhere, somehow, and someone has "baked" on a grill. And sure enough, I found exactly what I was looking for HERE.

My grill was heated to 350°F. I added 2 tbs of Crisco to my cast iron skillet and let it sit on the grill (indirect heat) for 15 minutes, to melt the shortening and get nice and hot while I made my biscuits. 

For ease of preparation I used a box biscuit mix and to be honest I have no idea where any of my stuff is right now even if I did want to make these from scratch. I added just a tad more milk to make my batter less stiff but not runny. 

I originally tried to mix my ingredients in the Ziploc bag with a spoon and then thought "DUH! Just squish the bag to mix it!"  Which is what I did and  it was waayyy easier.

I snipped the corner of the bag to "pipe" my biscuits into the hot pan. 

The pan was placed back on the grill (indirect heat), close the lid and let cook for 10-12 minutes without disturbing or opening the grill.

After 10-12 minutes I rotated the pan, closed the lid and let the biscuits continue to cook another 10-12 minutes. The biscuits were beautifully browned, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. In other words-- perfect!

This would be an excellent way to make biscuits if camping. You could premix all the dry ingredients for the biscuits in a Ziploc bag. Add in the rest, "knead" in the bag, pipe in the pan and cook.No muss, no fuss.  The hubbs LOVED these biscuits even though they weren't my scratch biscuits. He asked me would I make them like this even when I have my stove and I said I was considering it!

A 2 hour delegated project

I think it was sometime in January when the glass exploded on our patio table. And explode it did. Little shards of glass spewed everywhere. I am STILL finding glass chunks in the yard and in patio crevices. So none y'all best go barefoot around my house...

The table  is an odd shaped called a boat or bow shape. I have found it is cost prohibitive to purchase new glass.  Well the hubbs and I hemmed and hawed about trying to determine what is the best course of action--try to repair the table with a new top or purchase a  new patio set. Since glass and plexiglass were out of the question, we looked at having plywood cut to fit, then sealing. However the lip of the table was 5/8 inch thick and there were no supports for the wood. It would have sagged. Not to mention that table was almost 20 years old. So we bit the bullet and agreed to purchase a new table, chairs and umbrella.

Ummm easier said than done. The sets we found in our price range was light weight metal and not what we (and by we--I mean me) have in mind. I looked at all the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart) and everything I liked was over a $1000--um no can't afford that.

Finally one day I was at Target and I thought why not. I might as well see what they have. And then I saw it. The perfect table. Oil rubbed bronze with a tile table top-- it was on sale AND in my price range. I used my Target card and saved an additional 5%.  The table is HEAVY. The best part is the table top. It isn't glass and if anything happens to to the tiles I can buy new ones in ANY color to replace them. omg I can re-decorate my patio table?!

We live right around the corner from Target and once we came home I decided I wanted a set of rocker swivel chairs to match. So we went back and bought those. Now I have 6 chairs (4 regular and 2 swivel). 2 of the regular chairs are moving to the front entry porch and there is a project that goes along with that. It took the hubbs about 2 hours  to assemble everything. The market umbrella was purchased at Kohl's. On sale for $69.99, I had  a 25% coupon and $40 in Kohls cash. Out of pocket expense (before taxes)  was $12.49. SCORE! This is the first time in 23 years we have had a brand new patio set and we absolutely love it.