Random Thoughts...Food, Firearms, and Fun

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...

Mac and I had plans to head out to Elizabethtown this weekend. I won a $50 gift certificate to a shop out there during the Best Kept Secrets tour, and Mac wanted to get to a few gun stores out there. I also needed to head to Hershey for a mystery shop. On Friday, I found out that I needed to head into work, at least for about an hour. We headed to breakfast, then Mac dropped me off at work, and visited Gander Mountain. He was on his way back when I sent him a text message telling him that I had finished everything I needed to do. From there, we headed out to Elizabethtown. We stopped at Shoppes on Market, picked up my gift certificate, along with some coffee, and then stopped at two local gun stores. We didn't find much there, other than a new Walther PPK/S  in .22 LR. We discussed that as a birthday present for me, but upon further review, I think I'll pass. From there, we headed up to Hershey, and then to another gun store, before stopping at a semi-local brewpub for lu...

After work yesterday, I picked up the veggies and such that I needed for the freezer cookbook meals. I opted to take a short cut there, and all of the onion, celery, garlic, and ginger was already chopped, diced, minced, etc. This saved me a lot of hassle and time. As such, I was able to prepare four meals last night, in addition to dinner. I prepared: Beef Barley Soup Dave's Swamp Blues Barbecued Chicken Mariachi Chicken Rolls Caribbean Pork Tenderloin* I started with the Caribbean Pork Tenderloin, but to simplify things, I opted to change it into a pork roast. As such, I added to the marinade. We'll see how that turns out when we try it! The recipe was very easy to follow, although I will admit, I made a giant mess with splattering the soy sauce all over the table. From there, I moved to the Barbecued Chicken. I started the sauce, which smelled and tasted yummy, although I had to make a small substitute, so I think it'll have a bit of a sweeter flavor than intende...

I volunteered to monitor a rescue transport this weekend, after finding out that I didn't need to sit at home to do it. I thought they needed me to sit at home, while really, as long as I could use my phone to send emails, I could be wherever! Mac was thrilled that I didn't need to be at home. It allowed us to go have breakfast, do a few mystery shops, and run a few errands. We did a grocery store mystery shop and a restaurant mystery shop, and stopped by another grocery store to see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Yes, I'm a little kid like that. Oscar Mayer Wienermobile We also picked up the chicken and pork that I need for my first foray into freezer cookbook meals. The grocery store hosting the Wienermobile always has the freshest meats, and typically has the best prices on them as well. So, I picked up 12 pounds of chicken and 3 pork roasts. I'm going to pick up the rest of the items I need today, and will package those tonight. I'm not sure what we're ...

I'm anxiously awaiting my July Dream Dinners session. I'm actually getting 39 servings, while Tiffany is getting 33 servings. She was undecided about her last 3 serving choice, and finally said that if I wanted to select one, she'd prefer that. My selections are: Santa Fe Shredded Pork Burritos Kentucky Pork Chops Boston's Chicken Carbonara Chicago Style Choice Cut Chicken with Red Skin Potatoes St. Louis Smokehouse Ribs Mesa Grilled Pork Roast I'm doing 2 of the 6-serving Santa Fe Shredded Pork Burritos, and a 3-serving Chicago Style Choice Cut Chicken with Red Skin Potatoes. My cost/serving is $4.39/serving, which is reasonable. Most of our selections this month are pork, which is a nice change, since I rarely cook that at home. Mac and I were near Dream Dinners last night for a mystery shop, so after dinner, we stopped at the location. They were closed, and we weren't going to go in even if they were open, but at least this way, he could see the l...

Mac and I were a few towns over last night for an appointment. My grandfather and his parents and grandparents had stamp collections, and because we're starting a very relaxed search for a new house, we wanted to get those appraised, to see if there was anything of any value. We found a stamp collector/dealer a few towns over, who was willing to look at the collections. I was very close to my grandfather, and we were two peas in a pod. I was feisty, and he relished it. I have very fond memories of spending time with him, from looking through the stamps to when he bought a scooter for my birthday, and decided he was going to save the assembly fee, and decided to assemble it himself. The stamps were the only thing he willed to anyone. They were willed to me, with a handwritten note in the box of them indicating that he wished that they go to me. We never knew if the stamps had any real value, but we decided that if they were of value, we'd consider selling them to use towards ...

This week has been very busy, and I've not cooked at all! Well, I take that back. I have cooked, just not for us. Monday night, we had a baseball game. Tuesday, we had a mystery shop and checked out a house we wanted to see. Yesterday, I cooked lunch for my Toastmasters meeting today. That meant that dinner last night was pizza. Tonight, I'm cooking the Chicken Yakitori that has been in the fridge, thawed, since last week. I offered to cook lunch for Toastmasters. It's my last Toastmasters meeting, as I'm resigning as of June 30. We're having a celebration of the club's achievements throughout the last year, so we're having cake for dessert. Lunch is: meat lasagna, veggie lasagna, and chicken and spinach lasagna. I prepared all of them in crock pots last night, and a friend who is also in Toastmasters, was going to bring them to the meeting today, after cooking them this morning. Oh, we also have Caesar salad as well. Mac and I were supposed to have choc...