9/28/13

Beanie Weenie Year 12

2 lg cans Baked Beans (I like to mix baked original with maple bacon)
16 oz Lil Smokies Beef
16 oz Lil Smokies Pork
1 small bottle bbq sauce
2T Worcestershire sauce
2T Brown sugar
Add to crock pot & cook on low until hot.
Keep warm thruout the game.  Drink beer.  Beat OSU.

9/22/13

New Place: Mamma's!

 Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza  in Pasadena on Rosemead Boulevard turned out to be a surprisingly good alternative to the always busy, extremely LOUD Clearman's Galley (The Boat).









Dan ordered a wonderful pepperoni pizza with great thin crust; greasy, New York foldable style!  Yeah baby!!










 
Aidan ordered a calzone. They also had wonderful garlic knots. 
Yummo. Surprising and yet unplanned.  Love it when that happens.

On the way out, I saw a woman with a plate of fettucini; next time I
will go for the carb overload and get this:  

Nice to be pleasantly surprised by a little shop you stumble upon. They even served beer on tap. Dan had a Blue Moon and we watched the Dodger game and college football.  The manager lady came out and asked how things were and if our son enjoyed the Calzone.  She then went around and talked to several people to say hello.  It was very family friendly and pleasant.  We'll be back!

Calypso!

 
I LOVE Fall!  I couldn't resist this today with a high of 72, 
I could actually use my oven for the first time in months!

 
Is it me, or does my pie crust look a lot like Davy Jones from 
"Pirates of the Carribean"??  Either that or a poor man's Darth Vader.
This pie is HUGE.  I need a bigger pie tin to accomodate all my
apples slices!

 
And now, the alien apple pie.  I'm not very good at forming crusts.
I sort of fork-marked/pinched it haphazardly.  Oh well.  It tastes good,
even if it looks like a creature you'd encounter in another universe.

9/15/13

And after a terrible game result... you can drown your sorrows in this!

Cheddar Bratwurst Soup


One can cheddar cheese condensed soup
One can cream of potato condensed soup
1 1/2 soup cans of 2% milk
3 Bratwurst (grilled/chopped)
Cheddar & Parsley for garnish

Cook the soups as directed, then add the wurst to heat through.
Garnish with cheese and spice, then serve

 

9/14/13

Anatomy of a Tailgate, Badgerstyle

 It's UW vs. ASU day in our house, and since we can't go to the game in Tempe this time, we're partyin' up at home.  In our defense, it's already 100 degrees in the SGV, so we're imagining exactly how it would feel to be there in person.  Anyway... let's talk BRATS!

This is a pack of 5 beer brats;  normally, I don't buy them pre-beered, but this is all that Fresh and Easy had and I wasn't making two trips or missing my kid's baseball game to get Johsonville.  Thus...

With a sharp-tip knife, jab a few holes in each side of the brat so they soak up the liquid we'll be boiling them in.  Don't go too deep or you'll explode the meat out of the casing.

Slice up onions.  This is a yellow onion; I used half of it since I only had five brats.

Add the onions, brats, and enough beer to cover them. Today I'm using a Belgian White Ale. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and let them steep in the warm beer/onions until ready to bbq.


Meanwhile, at the cheese tent.... I've got me some Smoked Wisconsin Gouda and Wisconsin Monterey Jack cubed and ready for tasting.

As the game approaches, the charcoal grill gets hot, and we brown up those brats for buntasticness: 

And now, crack that bottle and get to it.  Let's go UW!














9/8/13

Sweet Baby Ray Crockpot Chicken

A Facebook friend posted this recipe and I'd not heard of it, so I gave it a try.  Made some very moist, tasty chicken and the sauce was thin, so it wasn't drenched in BBQ sauce, which is what I dislike. My ten-year-old enjoyed it.


Sweet Baby Ray's Crockpot Chicken

4-6 chicken breast
1 btl Sweet Baby Ray's sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
Mix everything but chicken
Place chicken in crockpot (frozen is ok)
Pour sauce mixture over chicken
Cook on low 4-6 hours