Not your ordinary slab of meat.

A couple weeks ago we decided to try a new establishment. We had been passing it up for many months and as we grew tired of the same old joints, we grew more anxious for a new dining experience. Since that first taste of heaven, we have not looked back.

The menu.

Burgers, hot dogs, chicken and fries. What more could one ask for.

Prices.

Reasonable, although slightly higher than the other burger joint.

Atmosphere.

Very welcoming and always clean with a dash of great music to go on the side.

The place.

Smashburger! Their meat is tasty. I don't know how to describe this thick piece of beef other than that. It spills over the egg bun and is topped very generously. Their fries are out of this world awesome. I get the smash fries. A generous portion of golden fried sticks tossed in rosemary with a hint of garlic. It is genius. My other half, gets the sweet potato fries. Another side of perfection. If you come to conclusion of the meal and are thirsting for more......try a malt or shake.

This place has a variety of burger combinations or just create your own. This burger joint, is hands down better than the competition although slightly pricier. They run promotions for free fries on their receipts and also reward you for signing up via email.

So, what are you waiting for. Try a smashburger today!

Easy Mac

Not the kind your thinking of.

Mac & Cheese the Outback way. If you haven't had Mac & Cheese at Outback, you need to just once and you'll be hooked. A while ago, I had been saying, this stuff seems pretty easy to make. Lo and behold, it is. After scouring the internet for recipes we finally found one and the great part.......only 3 ingredients (my kinda recipe).

So, let's begin!

Ingredients.

Pour heavy cream in with Velveeta and slowly warm. Do not heat this up fast!

You can use any pasta. To be authentic to the Mac & Cheese at Outback, I use Penne noodles.

Boil. Directions on box say, 12ish minutes. I bump it up to about 16 minutes.

Drain noodles and place back in pan.

Add cheesy heaven mixture.

Finished product. Salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients: 
Penne Pasta - 2 cups
Velveeta Cheese - 8oz
Heavy Cream - 1 cup *I bumped this up a notch. I feel it gives more coverage to each noodle.
Servings:
4 peeps
Cook Time:
Until noodles are done boiling.

This recipe, courtesy of CopyKat. Go there to find this and other great recipes.

What's for dinner?

On the menu tonight, we have Lemon Pepper Chicken, green beans, and what would any meal be without starch!

Not going to get too involved here. Remember, I am not complicated when it comes to cooking.

Grab some chicken. My breasts(not mine personally) were pretty large, so I filleted them and made two substantial portions out of one. Place chicken in a seal-able bag and add a little EVOO. For those not up to snuff on the cool cooking lingo, EVOO is extra virgin olive oil. Get your seasoning and coat each piece well. If possible, marinate over night to let the flavors infiltrate the chicken.

I use a lemon pepper, that also includes various herbs for a more beautiful flavor sensation.

Cook as recommended. Never eat raw chicken. Yuck. 

I use an indoor grill because we live in an apartment and are not allowed to have gas grills. I am too lazy to use charcoal, plus that can get messy.

Plate and enjoy,

As always, I do not endorse any product shown and if any company would like to come forward and help my cause, it would be appreciated.

Beef-A-Roo. Community staple.

Today, we have another restaurant from Rockford, IL making itself known. Philly has the cheese steak. Rockford has the Beef-A-Roo. A local establishment in the area for 40 years, Beef-A-Roo commands the attention it has spent on a great dining experience. I knew Jean Vitale back in the day, although as a child I am sure she really didn’t know me. My sister and I went to school with her daughter, my sister being in the same grade and classes as her. Beef-A-Roo has been in our family dynamic since I can remember and that is no exception when we get the chance to visit when we come up north from time to time.

The Beef-A-Roo I remember had a cool retro flair back in the 80’s. Restaurants were decked out with 50’s and 60’s memorabilia with an emphasis on rock and roll. Complete with a juke box, this was the cool place to hang. Since the 80’s, they have evolved not only their look, but also their menu. They have several different themed diners, including a lodge theme and a fire station theme. They also have an ever growing selection of menu items. These items include, the beloved beef sandwich, seasoning for their awesome fries, and an array of milkshake flavors you cannot get anywhere else.

I have fond memories, going to the Beef-A-Roo located on South Alpine with my father. Conveniently located to the route we took going home after a day of golf at Ingersol, we would often stop without letting my mom and sister know. Shhhh, don’t tell them. My father and I would enjoy a quick bite of juicy beef, a large bag of fries each (loaded with the season salt), and to wash it all down, a milkshake (watermelon in the summer). While dining you are always offered mints. Chocolate was a staple, but they have several to choose from nowadays along with wet towelettes. I will never forget these days and memories coming home and saying, we were not hungry. It was something special my father and I would always share and keep secret.

Since we are the subject of food, let’s talk fries. Not all fries are created equally. 

They have changed what kind of oil they cook their fries in, but they are just as crisp and beautiful today. Common salt would not do them justice, so they use a special seasoning to top them off before placing these sticks of gold into bags for the masses. This leads me to another memory I still hang onto to this day. I created my own special sauce to dip these wonderful fries in back in the 80’s and have been doing so nonstop, every time we are at a Beef-A-Roo. This sauce has no patent, so Beef-A-Roo, if you are listening, just do me a favor and name my concoction in honor of my father if you decide to make it. Ketchup, their barbeque packets, and the season salt are all you need. I start with a generous portion of ketchup and add a little barbeque sauce for extra tang. To top it all off, sprinkle season salt on top (enough to coat the wet ingredients). Take one of your stiffest fries, mix and enjoy. My fam thinks I am weird, but I swear by this sauce for Beef-A-Roo fries. Don’t forget to sprinkle more season salt on your fries.

Jean Vitale has kept this establishment wholesome, but has updated it at the same time. They still surpass anything you can get at the local chain stores that try to compete and will always be a stop on our craving train when we are in town. I am salivating now thinking about it and that is not good because we don’t get to visit often.  So, have some food for me and don’t forget to choose a wonderful flavored shake.

Visit Beef-A-Roo here or on Facebook.   

Busy bee.

Haven't posted a blog in a few days.

I feel like I am neglecting her. I am glad to see she hasn't left me for another man blog. My poor blogerina.

What have I been up to?

Friday was very hectic. All hell broke lose. And by hell, I mean fire, chaos, little gremlins, hot vomit! Poor old daddy, right?

Parker had started the morning, by hurtling throw up in the air like he had for the past few mornings. I thought to myself, this is getting old. So, I did what any dad would do and told his mother what had just happened. There was no fever and he was acting normal otherwise. Derek was also being a little needy devil angel that day. On top of that madness, I was busy packing like a little bee ready to go out for his first time to collect honey. We had plans to go to a wedding dinner reception of the brother in-law. He was getting married Saturday. Queen bee had given me a list and I was well on my way, until a wing snapped in half. As I landed face first into the dew drops of freshly growing blades of grass, I got a slap in the face. A blade of grass smacked me as I spiraled downward, cutting me along the jaw. Parker had his second bottle and was spewing vomit again. Like the Valdez, I knew I had to do something fast, before there were long lasting consequences. I had enough! I let mommy know again. A few minutes later, as I was cleaning up the vomit slick, I received a call.....
      "I have gotten Parker an appointment at 2:30."
That call was received at 2. I now have thirty minutes to get everyone ready, diaper bag packed, and the kids into the car. The doctor is about twenty minutes away and we are supposed to pick up mommy at 4. I thought to myself, "there is no way in hell!". I may be super-dad, but that was requesting a little too much, super.

Being speedy has its rewards. I was signing us in at 2:30. However, this day would get progressively worse. The doctor was slow. You may know the story of the Haire and the Tortoise. This was more like the Tortoise and the Snail. We finally left the office at 4. Yes, the queen bee was supposed to be picked up at 4.....don't remind me. Anyway, I still had to get a few things from the house and still had to drive forty-five minutes to where she worked. I made it to Rachel at fifteen til 5. Now we had to make it to the reception.

The reception dinner was to commence at 6 according to the mother in-law. If there is something I am not, I am not late. The current state of mind and mood I was in was very helpful. I made it. It was 6 and there was still no mother in-law. You really don't understand how far we had to travel, in rush hour traffic around Atlanta on a Friday evening. It was a near impossible feat. Done.

Next, we had the wedding to attend on Saturday. This was fine, except I was the photographer. The bitch behind the camera. To tell you the truth, I don't remember hearing or seeing any part of that wedding. It did not occur. I was focused on one thing......get as many pictures as possible, so I could please everyone. I did just that. Saturday evening came to a close and this busy little bee returned home, albeit hobbling and mangled.


My emotions.

Angry

Sad

Beef stew. The easy way.

We have another quick and easy recipe for you today.

Beef stew.

It is hearty and perfect for a chilly day. Again, there are only several ingredients, making this very simple, for even the basic cook in your family. A large sized Crock Pot  is utilized for this stew and prep time is only 20 minutes or however long it takes you to peel potatoes!

Ingredients.

In a mixing device, is one package each of stew seasoning and brown gravy mix. Trust me on the gravy mix! I have never liked gravy on anything and gravy should not be put on anything, except to cover up something that is not very great tasting to begin with. This aides in thickening up the juice while cooking.

Place stew meat into Crock Pot and pour in juice concoction. Set Crock Pot temperature to high setting. Mine has low, high, and warm.

In the meantime, peel potatoes. I use a peeler. I know many women who can use a knife, including my mom, but I have cut myself and bled before, so I recommend doing what feels safest to you. If that involves taking the potatoes to a neighbor, then by all means, do it. We don't want blood in our stew.

I then, slice the potatoes into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. I cut those slices into thirds and even fourths, if they appear too big.

Add the starch (potatoes) and carrots to the Crock Pot.

Stir.

Cover and wait. Normally, 6 hours is the right amount of time. Take a carrot or potato and stick a fork into either to see if they are still hard or are easy broken. You do not want to cook them too long, otherwise you end up with mushy beef stew.

Ingredients:
4lbs potatoes. I use baking potatoes because they are large in size.
12oz carrots. You can use a whole 16oz bag if you prefer, but I don't eat cooked carrots, so I minimize my chance of getting a stray carrot.
1-1 1/2lbs stew meat. I use closer to 2lbs when possible, because I like red meat.
Stew seasoning.
Brown gravy mix.
Water. Duh!
Servings:
6 people.
Cook time:
6 hours or until carrots and potatoes are tender, but not mush.

Extra tidbits of info. Do not, ever wash potatoes! Potatoes are already full of moisture and by washing them you are just adding more moisture. A moist potato, equals mush on a plate. You may also like to add other vegetables if you like. This picky eater does not want vegetable soup, so I stick with the orange and the good ole starch. All stew meats are not created equally. I have used every grocery store stew meat imaginable and the only one that is any good is Dodge & Sutton. I have only found this product at Target. This meat is so tender when the beef stew is done, that you can't even tell it is meat.

I normally start this dinner around noon, so it can be done by the time the wife gets home. Left overs can be taken for lunch the next day and are equally just as fantastic.

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.