Random Thoughts...Food, Firearms, and Fun

I cooked the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Burgers the other night, and semi-followed the directions. We don't have a grill, other than our Foreman grill, so I tossed them in the skillet, and then once they were cooked, broiled them a bit to melt the cheese. I heated the rolls in the oven, although they didn't get too hot. I served this with the seasoned onion rings from the Finishing Touch Freezer. The sandwiches were good, and were very filling, although Mac and I both found the buffalo flavor a bit milder than we'd like. I ordered two portions of this, so for the next order, I'll probably add some extra buffalo sauce. I'll also pick up some lettuce and red onions before we cook the next portion, as I think the sandwiches really would have been more enjoyable with a topping or two like that.

A few months ago, I took my car to Monro for an oil change, tire rotation, and flat tire fix. It was simple enough, or so I thought. On Friday, Mac and I were out and about, stopping at Costco, September Farm Cheese, and Dream Dinners. At Costco, Mac ventured out to the car while I completed a comment card about their switch to Pepsi at their snack bar. As I walked out of the store, he was backing the Jeep out of our parking spot. While he was doing that, I heard a pop, and figured it was simply the suspension, so I didn't mention it to him. He heard the same thing at September Farm Cheese while backing out, but he too thought it was the suspension, and didn't mention it to me. On Saturday, we dashed out to run a few errands, including picking up beer and dog food. We were headed out to the sportsmen's club for their annual corn roast, and then Mac was going to camp there, while I continued home with the dogs to visit with my parents. As we were headed back home after our...

When preparing the Cheesy Bacon Quesadillas at Dream Dinners, I was slightly confused, as the directions indicated that I should roll them. I thought I'd probably fold them in half, or just place the filling on top of a tortilla, then cover it with another tortilla. In cooking these, I followed the directions to "fry" them in a skillet, although because they were semi-round, it was difficult to cook them on all sides. Also, the rice took far longer than the quesadillas, so in the future, I'll wait until the rice is cooked before starting on the quesadillas, or at least until it's almost fully-cooked. The quesadillas were very flavorful, and who can go wrong with bacon? I'd have preferred a bit more cheese, but overall, they had a nice flavor, with a hint of spice. I will definitely order these again.

When I placed my July order, and added 2 extra 6-servings to it, I opted to add an extra 6-serving of the Sweet Cider BBQ Chicken. It sounded like we'd enjoy it, but when I prepared the first 6-serving, we realized that it is not all we thought it would be. The sauce had far too much of a ginger and bitter taste for my enjoyment, and Mac, who enjoys ginger, did not care for it either. I was disappointed in the flavor, as there was not a BBQ flavor, but rather a bitter, ginger and ketchup flavor to the sauce. I will not order the Sweet Cider BBQ Chicken again, and it serves as a reminder that unless I'm positive we'll enjoy something, I should stick to ordering 1 6-serving of it.

On Saturday, Mac and Seth went to the range for a few hours while I cleaned and cooked dinner. I also had a quick grocery shopping trip so we could enjoy dessert as well. I prepared the Dream Dinners Crispy Coconut Chicken with Jasmine Rice, along with a side of mixed veggies, salad, and apple pie for dessert. The Crispy Coconut Chicken was extremely easy to prepare, as I simply tossed each piece of chicken into the Ziploc bag with the coconut and panko bread crumbs, shook the bag, and then removed the chicken from the bag. I placed it onto a cookie sheet that I'd covered with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Once I'd added all six pieces of chicken, I topped it with the extra coconut and bread crumbs. I baked it for 15 minutes, while the apple pie was baking, and cooked the rice and veggies. Mac and I really enjoyed the chicken, and Seth was impressed with it. I'd mentioned the concept of Dream Dinners to Seth and his wife before, so perhaps now th...

I really always try to just roll with the punches and not worry about if plans change. It’s not always easy, but I try. Mac and I have been planning a hunting trip to Wyoming. I’ve not had a real vacation from work in a few years, and I was definitely looking forward to having some time off of work and being disconnected from a computer and cell phone out in the wilds of Wyoming. Mac and his father go every year, driving out and back, and this year, I was going to fly out and join them, before driving back across the country with Mac. I was doing this to save a bit of vacation time. They were going to take separate vehicles, but follow each other. My parents were going to watch the kibblers, as that would save us the cost of boarding them, and I trust my parents to take good care of them. Last night, Mac talks to my FIL about the trip, and my FIL says, “Financially, it makes more sense for you to ride out to Wyoming with me, and for Wendy to fly out and back.” As the story continues,...

I'm very excited about the September Dream Dinners menu! It features the return of many of my favorites, including the return of Crispy French Onion Chicken, Cattleman's Pie, and Santa Fe Shredded Pork Burritos. It also includes Old Fashioned Meatloaf with Twice Baked Potatoes, Chicken Parmesan, with Garlic Bread, Fully Loaded Chicken and Potato Soup with Bread Sticks, and Colorado Beef Roast. My order, and the WW PointsPlus values are below: Crispy French Onion Chicken--6 points Old Fashioned Meatloaf with Twice Baked Potatoes--8 points Chicken Parmesan with Garlic Bread--14 points Chicken Enchiladas--8 points Cattleman's Pie--10 points Santa Fe Shredded Pork Burritos--8 points Fully Loaded Chicken and Potato Soup with Bread Sicks--17 points Pesto Cheese Ravioli with Chicken and Walnuts--11 points Colorado Beef Roast--6 points

I prepared the Dream Dinners Crispy Salsa Ranch Chicken for dinner last night. I was going to prepare it for dinner on Friday, but then decided I wanted BBQ, so it was tabled until yesterday. When I came home from work, Mac was napping, but woke up when the dogs let him know that I was home. I asked if he wanted dinner within half an hour or if he wanted to wait a while. He opted for dinner within half an hour, so I went to work cooking dinner. :) I served the Crispy Salsa Ranch Chicken with broccoli and cauliflower and southwestern style rice with peppers and onions. It was very easy to prepare. I simply lined a cookie sheet with foil, sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray, then placed the chicken tenders on the cookie sheet and covered them with the tortilla chips, cheese, and spices. I then baked it for 15 minutes, and while it was cooking, prepared a Caesar salad and heated the veggies and rice in the microwave. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the BBQ Chip Chicken Tend...

We had an adventure packed weekend. I worked a bit late on Friday, so when I got home, I immediately started lunch. We had knishes that we picked up when we were last at Costco. They were very good, although they'd have been better with sauerkraut. I napped after lunch, while Mac cut the grass. I wanted to go to a semi-local BBQ restaurant, but by the time Mac showered and was ready to go, we wouldn't have made it there until after they closed. So, instead, we hit our local Qdoba, and then did a bit of grocery shopping. Mac always teases me about my choices for veggies for dinners, so I left it up to him to select veggies! On Saturday, we were going to have the Dream Dinners Crispy Salsa Ranch Chicken for dinner, but I had a few mystery shops to do, so we decided to push those until later in the day, and then check out a different BBQ restaurant for dinner. The BBQ restaurant was very good, and their dry rub was incredible, but neither Mac nor I were enamored with their sauces...

Another Yahoo article , this one about how I love my sister. We may not always agree, but I do love her.