Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Are You Hungry? I Can Help!

I was given the chance recently to review a few products from a wonderful place in Missouri, called Burgers' Smokehouse. Burgers' Smokehouse dates back to 1952. Although, it can be traced back even further than that! E.M. Burger started out by simply curing hams. He and his family cured 1,000 hams that year. Over the years he slowly left his farming business to run with this new ham business. By 1956 he was doing 5,000 hams annually. Today, located at the same site, Burgers' Smokehouse produces dozens of meats and cheeses. Please take the time to read their story. It is worth hearing.
I was seriously so excited to get this stuff. I love smoked meat! We all do. So when it was delivered today I couldn't wait to try it. Here is what we got to try:






















I know its hard to see, but you will get more details and better pictures in a minute! So we were out this evening a little late and it worked out perfectly actually.
We came home and heated up the pulled pork and the baked beans.
















I took the easy way out on heating those 2. I used the microwave. The directions are right on the packages, so it was simple. A few minutes in the microwave and we were eating. The Baked Beans and Pulled Pork heated very nicely. The baked beans were wonderful. They had a slightly spicy taste, but not overly spicy. Dylan (5 yo) handled it fine, so not overly spicy. They had a wonderful bbq flavor and just melted in your mouth. The flavor was awesome.
The pulled pork was great. You got to taste that smoke flavor which is why people smoke meat. For that smoke flavor. There was plenty of sauce in the packet too. So if you want to have it in a pulled pork sandwich, there is no way it would be dry. We ate ours plain, no sandwich. Dylan said "Mommy this is really good pork." Ethan loved it too. It was the first thing he ate off of his plate. So yeah, kid approved! The sauce was tangy and slightly thick. It would have made a good sandwich. I think we were too excited to eat it, so I just slapped it on a plate and went with it! Fantastic! Here is another picture of the pork:


We then tried the ribs. They were pre-cooked, so all they needed was a quick re-heat. Again, it was simple. I used the oven this time. It took about 30 minutes for them to be ready.
Normally I buy the baby backs when I prepare them at home, because I have an awful time getting the St.Louis style ribs to cook up tender enough. I just hate messing with them. But these were tender. Fork tender. The bones easily came away from the meat and you could cut the meat with your fork. I could taste the smoke flavor throughout. They were really good. I didn't pour on the extra sauce from the bag on the ribs because I tend to prefer dry rub ribs. I just love how the smoke flavor runs through ribs. These ribs were tender, and juicy. If you want smoked ribs, you won't be disappointed in these.
Next was the beef brisket. I have never tried preparing brisket myself. It can be such a tough piece of meat if not done right. And I would hate to waste my time and lots of my money on a large piece of meat that I would get wrong. So I usually save eating brisket until we are out. And someone else cooks it. Who knows how to cook it.

Well Burgers' Smokehouse knows how to do it. I used the microwave to heat this up. It was kind of nice getting smoked meat out of your microwave!! This brisket was so tender. It was more than fork tender. Does that make sense? Well, it was really really tender. You could see that the meat was smoked. If you have ever had smoked meat, you know that the smoke penetrates the meat and you can see the line from the smoke. In other words you can see the flavor. Fantastic. I like seeing that proof. That flavor. Some people will eat the brisket in a sandwich. Again, I like the meat without the bread. I just enjoy the flavor of the meat, I don't need anything getting in the way of that. I would never be able to cook brisket and have it turn out that tender. It was sliced nice and thin, but not too thin. And was still very juicy.  With both the ribs and the brisket, we of course all ate it. Both kids loved it all. We all did.
Up next was the bacon. Before opening the package, it looked better than what I find in my local stores. It looked thicker than the stuff in the store and had less fat running through it.
See, even in that not so great picture, you can see that there isn't as much white in the meat as normal. I cooked up a little of both. And even immediately opening the packages, I could tell another difference. This bacon smelled different. It actually had a slightly smokey smell! I was so pleased and excited to try it. I usually cook bacon in the oven. It is easier, and just takes less attention. So I placed some of each bacon on a baking sheet, and baked it at 350 for 20 minutes. It came out perfect. And I was right, there was not near as much grease with this bacon as what I buy in the store. I can't decide which I like better! The peppered bacon was nice with that added pepper flavor. It wasn't overpowering at all. This would be a great bacon to cook up and add to a sandwich, hamburger or even crumble to add to a salad. It cooked up crispy, and tasted slightly peppery, with a bit of smokey flavor to it. The apple wood bacon would be a perfect breakfast bacon. It is that classic bacon taste you think of. It too cooked up nice and crispy, and it had a bit more of the smokey flavor and smell than the pepper bacon. This would go great along side your eggs, pancakes or waffles. Again, I was most impressed with this bacon once it cooked up. There was just less grease. Less grease than a store brand bacon, or Tyson bacon, or Oscar Meyer bacon. Definitely a great bacon.


Go on over to Burgers' Smokehouse and request a catalog or place an order. You won't be disappointed. You know, the holidays are coming up! They even have gifts for under $50! If you don't feel like cooking a Christmas ham, they have those too! All you would need to do is reheat it!
www.smokehouse.com or go ahead and call them! 1-800-345-5185

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Weekend Review

Saturday went well for the most part I guess. I dropped Ethan off with Ryan where he was working. So Ethan got to spend the whole day with daddy, and he seemed to enjoy it. Dylan and I headed into town to go to the library book sale. We got there about 45 minutes into the sale and I was surprised at how many people were there. I had no idea that it would draw people out like that. We made our way inside to find it packed with people. Some people were toting around 2 entire boxes of books that they were going to buy. Insane! People were rude too! They would push you aside with out so much as an "excuse me" or "sorry." I even had Dylan with me. They didn't care as long as they got their stupid book. I went to hopefully get some cheap cookbooks. By the time I made it around to the cookbooks, they were all picked over and what was left was in a messy heap. I did buy a couple. They were older books and binded in a 3-ring binder type book. Even if I don't get a recipe out of them, they were only 50 cents! I just love having cookbooks though.
After we left the sale, I had to take Dylan to meet up with Ryan's sister. She was taking him for the night. He was excited. We stopped for lunch with quite a bit of time to kill. It was busy! People were everywhere that day. We had a nice relaxing lunch and then I dropped him off. I headed towards home just wanting to come home and relax. Ryan had me stop for a few things and then I went to get Ethan. He was content and happy. And quite dirty. So as soon as we got home, I stuck him in the bathtub. There was no way he could go to nap being that dirty. Once I put him down for his nap, we was out in a second. We just had an easy dinner of leftovers and relaxed here at home together.
Dylan will be home later this evening. I have been cleaning all morning. Nothing stays clean in this house for long. As soon as one room is spotless, 2 more look like a tornado hit. Its never ending. So I got quite a bit done this morning while Ethan played. Tomorrow Dylan has picture day at school. I need to do my best to keep the house clean for this weekend. Saturday will be Dylan's birthday party. I can't believe that he will be 5 years old! I need to go get the food for the weekend too. Friday he has a field trip with the school. I hope the weather is decent. They say that they will go rain or shine. So I am really hoping for a dry Friday. It may be a busy week! I wish that I was looking forward to having his birthday party. But for some reason, I just am not. I know it will go just fine. Just not looking forward to it. I feel awful for feeling that way, but I think it just has to do with my struggles lately. Dylan would be happy no matter what, as long as he had a cake. I hope everyone had a decent weekend.

Friday, October 7, 2011

I am around...

Still here. Still making it through. Trying to focus on things that make me happy and feel good. Its been a roller coaster week for me. I am so thankful for preschool mornings. Those days help out a lot. The weather has been amazing this week. We have spent quite a bit outside enjoying the last little bit of summer. I have been grilling dinner, holding on to that part of summer too. I am hoping for a decent saturday. If it goes like I hope it will, then it will be nice. But as we all know, things don't always go as planned. I hope everyone has a nice weekend....

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Thank You!

I just wanted to post a HUGE Thank You to all of you who offered support or even just read it. It is nice to be listened to. It does help to get the feelings out there. So thank you for reading and understanding. I know I will get past this. It won't be this way forever. It is just a rough patch that has taken a toll on me. I appreciate all of your kind words. That's what I wanted you all to know, that I appreciate it, the support means a lot. Thank You!

Thank You

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Emotionally Exhausted

I have been having a hard time recently. I have done a few posts on it recently. Everyone is probably tired of hearing me complain. Today its just all hitting me. Before breakfast was even finished I was crying. It just hits me and I have nothing else I can do but melt into tears. A series of small things keep hitting me. For the last 3 weeks Ryan has been so busy with a new project. A project that he told me would NOT take him away from home any more than he was. That has not been the case. For the last 3 weeks he has been gone a lot. He isn't home until 7:30 or 8 most nights. He isn't even home on the weekends. He has spent zero time with the kids. And its all on me. It's becoming a bit much for me. I am tired of being here alone. All of the time.
And that photography class that I am taking? I was so excited for it. Excited to finally have something FOR ME. Do something JUST for me. Nobody else. All of the fun gets taken out of it when I come home close to 10pm and have to clean up in the kitchen. Plates on the table. Some with food still on them. Ethan's tray, still dirty. Not wiped. Left overs just tossed in the fridge, not properly put into containers or even covered. Dirty dishes just tossed in the sink. I don't think I ask much from Ryan. This is one class, one evening a week for ONLY 7 weeks! Is it too much to ask to come home and see things cleaned up after dinner? No, not really. It's just one more thing that gets to me. One more little thing on top of the pile of all these little things that are slowly eating away at me. I never do anything for myself. This class was supposed to be something enjoyable for me. And its just not. Not when I have to come home and deal with something that should have been taken care of. It bothers me that I can't have something for myself.
And here I am feeling guilty! I feel guilty for feeling the way I do. For feeling like I cant handle it all right now. I feel guilty for getting angry about the mess in the kitchen. I feel guilty for wanting to get out alone. I feel guilty for wanting something for myself. My God I can't even describe to you how guilty I feel. I feel guilty for writing this. But I have to get it out. I have to. I just want things to be normal again. I have tried focusing on things that make me happy. Focusing what is good. But just doesn't help. I am not saying that everything is gloom and doom around here, because its not. I guess that's where some of the guilt comes in.
Part of me feels like some sort of failure. Because I can't keep myself together. I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have written this. So far its not making me feel any better. Maybe I should've just kept it all to myself. But then again, that doesn't work either. It gets bottled up and then ends in tears. See...guilt. I know this will end eventually and things will be back to normal. Right now though, I'm exhausted inside.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Biscuits

Yesterday was cold. I wanted a warm, comforting meal. So I made meatloaf. And decided to make biscuits to go with the meal. I have only made biscuits one other time and used Bisquick to do it. They were drop biscuits. The texture wasn't good and they lacked a lot of flavor. After that, I focused on rolls. This weekend, I decided to give biscuits another chance. This time they worked and they were great!


They turned out so golden, and made the kitchen smell great. It is an easy recipe and so much easier than I thought they would be. I don't know why I was so afraid to make them. See that little one in the middle there? I had a bit of dough left over after cutting them out so I made a small biscuit really quick, just to avoid wasting any dough. That one was Ethan's.
Here's the recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp cold butter or shortening or combination of both
1 cup cold buttermilk

Toss flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together. Quickly work in cold butter with pastry blender until it looks mealy. Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just enough to combine.

Turn the dough (it is very sticky) onto a floured board, dust the top with flour, and just push it over on itself 5-6 times, then pat gently until it is just about the thickness of your hand. Use a large biscuit cutter or glass to cut biscuits, place them on a baking sheet with sides barely touching, and bake 15-20 minutes at 450 until golden.
Oh, and I didn't have buttermilk. So I did 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, and enough milk to make one cup total. I let it sit for a few minutes and then mixed into the rest of the ingredients.

Good Luck!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

How I Spent My Morning

So the assignment from this week's photo class was Abstract Color. I have been having an awful time with it. I don't do abstract well. I'm not that creative. But this morning I went to Google for some inspiration. And found it. So I spent the rest of the morning finding props and snapping photos. The funnest part of these photos was editing them. I can get a whole new look with just little tweak. Anyway, here are the photos I took. There are a lot...































There were a couple more, but these are the ones that I liked the best.

and then, she {snapped}



Imprintalish
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