Spring is here for many of us in the southwest and the Sonoran Desert can be quite spectacular this time of year. Arizona receives lots of winter visitors each spring and after traveling to downtown Chicago and the east coast several times – I completely understand why. While the area may be most well-known for the spring training baseball games and sunny skies, you might be surprised at how many winter visitors you’ll find at...
It’s time again for some smoked BBQ pork shoulder! Smoking meats is really quite simple, and can easily provide more than a few family-sized meals. We recently smoked a 12 lb pork shoulder for nearly 23 hours at 225 degrees. During that time, I flipped the pork at the half-way point, refilled the water tray, and checked the temperature a few times to make sure it was consistent. This recipe requires a little prep in the...
After filling up on mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, scalloped potatoes are a great way to change it up for your Christmas dinners. This is a relatively simple recipe, but can take some time if you do it entirely the old fashioned way. Therefore, let’s get a little modern with this vintage recipe and use a mandolin. There’s no need to sit and slice all of those potatoes by hand when you have one, and they’re...
Avocado is a must-have ingredient when it comes to making chorizo & egg burritos. We find that about once per week we’ll eat breakfast for dinner – based on what’s left in the cupboards. There was only one ingredient, the chorizo, that we didn’t already have in the fridge so this was a pretty simple recipe to put together. The ingredient that puts this recipe over-the-top is the fresh cilantro from the backyard garden. The...
We’ve got a late harvest of strawberries from the backyard garden. Normally, they’d be dormant by now but the extra heat as has been sweet. Some fresh fruit goes with just about anything – and it’s just fine by itself if that’s all you’ve got. We served it with rosemary rolls and butter. Grow tip: We picked the plants up from the local nursery 3 weeks ago and once we
How to smoke a Beef Roast We’re going Christmas tree hunting tomorrow morning and like to pack a nice lunch for afterward. We’re smoking a 4 lb. top sirloin roast and will use it to make roast beef sandwiches. This is a simple down-home recipe. Hope you enjoy! Here’s the ingredients and some pics and video of the process. Smoked Roast Beef 4 tablespoons of Sea Salt <or at least 1 per pound of meat> 2...
