Mr. McGrilleverythingerson has moved in

Well, technically he already lived here, but he didn’t come with The Grill. We had our huge outdoor “baby” about a month ago, and it has taken over our lives ever since. Truth be told, I don’t entirely mind. So far, every item Jeremiah’s cooked on the new grill has been quite tasty! We’ve made cheese-stuffed double burger patties, the cedar-grilled halibut, simple but delicious hot links and dogs (not the barking kind)… even veggies! To celebrate the first month since our darling Brinkman came into our lives, I decided to do something special. Sometime right after lunch Jeremiah asked what we should do for dinner. Then again an hour later, and an hour after that, and then every 20 minutes until 4:30! When it comes to making decisions, I’m like the worst game of Magic 8-Ball you’ve ever played. “Ask again later. Outlook not so good. Cannot predict now. Concentrate and ask again.” I’m horrible! And suddenly like a whiff of poo when the cats haven’t been let out all day, it hit me fast and hard. GRILL, duh!

To explain why I have so much trouble zeroing in on a food plan, I must start with my grocery dilemma. Whenever I go to the store, I make my shopping list of the things I need, and then I proceed to stroll up and down every single aisle (literally, it takes over an hour) throwing any item that suits my fancy into the cart whether or not it’s on the list. Sometimes I’ll have a $200-300 trip, and then get home and realize I forgot to buy something that I actually went for in the first place. Since I’d recently attacked Fresh and Easy like a starving baby tiger, our fridge was full of random ingredients that looked so good on the shelves, but I didn’t have any plans for their use. I’d picked up these great cobs of corn still in the husk, remembering that Jeremiah had mentioned he grilled some years ago that turned out amazing. There was a sale on button mushrooms, so of course I had to buy them – I was saving money (nevermind I was purchasing an ingredient I didn’t need)! There were tons of fresh ingredients in the fridge to choose from, and I see-sawed back and forth about which ones to use so long that my daughter asked if she could just have Top Ramen, haha.

aw shucks!

After the grilling epiphany, I sent the corn out with Jeremiah. I then sliced the mushrooms in half (large pieces so they wouldn’t turn into something I’d need to serve in an urn), and added cut up pieces of potato and sliced white onion ever so lightly sprayed by our Kitchen Spritzer with just enough olive oil to make the garlic salt and Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning Mix stick. Tossed it all into my Grill Basket and handed that off to the grill’s daddy as well. While he was outside deep in grill-ah warfare with the flames and veggies, I mixed a very simple sauce for some Omaha Steaks Prime Pork Chops. Trader Joe’s has this awesome Garlic Aioli Mustard that is perfect for sandwiches, hot dogs, and more just as it is. To make it even more delicious, I like to add Pampered Chef Asian Seasoning Mix. I spread a healthy amount on each side of the pork chop before grilling, and reserve some to add a fresh thin layer after cooking.

do you have the chops to eat this?

Once everything was ready, we sat down to eat. First bite – crunch – the potatoes weren’t fully cooked! Everything else was on the verge of cremated (delicious, but decidedly barbecued), and yet the potatoes were still slightly “al dente.” The smoky flavors were so great, though, that I’ve got to do it again and make the dish work next time! Maybe I’ll par-boil the potatoes first or stick them on the grill alone for a little while before adding the other ingredients to the mix. Then I won’t have to hang my head in shame while we crunch our taters. Everything else was fabulous, though. The corn was ridiculously juicy, sweet and perfectly cooked, and we buttered them so easily with the Corn Cob Nobs (plastic and safe enough for Ryley to use) and Corn Butterer (shaped to fit the cob). With the individually vaccuum-sealed pork chops, we already knew they’d be good, but that asian mustard sauce adds just the right amount of tanginess without making us pucker our faces like Donatella Versace. And ultimately, the grilled onions and mushrooms helped mask the firm potatoes, so they really weren’t that bad. Not too shabby of a meal, cooked completely on our bouncing baby barbecue. It was a nice celebration of Brinkman’s first month with us, and I know we’ll love him for a long time. Jeremiah’s already spoiling him with presents: a chain and lock, a sleek new vinyl cover, and even a few toys like a metal flipper and the super exciting steam-cleaning grill brush! He’s even thinking about starting his own blog to post updates as we all grow as a happy family with Baby B. I’ll let you all know when we have his official christening, feel free to bring presents of all meaty kinds and we’ll be happy to share them with you… 😉

our baby working hard