• 16Aug

    I’ve always wanted a nice barbecue, but living in apartments put a damper on that idea for a while. So, since we moved, I’ve been thinking about getting one and watching to see what was available. First, this is what I’ve been cooking on for the past 2-3 years:

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    It did its job pretty well. You could get it hot, slap some food on it, and it would come out good. But those gas tanks are so small, they only lasted a few weeks when we use it alot. And don’t even get me started about bending down below my knees to cook! Also, its not big enough for a rack of ribs.. :(

    I did some shopping: The cheaper barbeques have smaller grills, usually 2 burners, and put out up to  about 40,000 BTUs. These are the sub-$200 grills, and they usually look the part. They’d certainly get the job done, but if I could get something better, I’m sure I would appreciate it.

    The big grills were anywhere from $200 and up. They have larger grills, 3 or 4 burners, side burners, and put out about 50,000 BTUs. Most come in stainless steel, and some come in colors as well. Different models have various features like the side burners, digital timers, meat thermometers, wood-chip boxes, etc, etc.. So of course I wanted one of those with all the fancy gadgets and gizmos!

    In the course of my web travels, I saw this BBQ at Walmart, that they had just dropped the price on: Walmart.com

    It looked pretty nice: stainless steel, multiple burners, and 68,000 BTUs. It also has a searing burner, a back burner (rotisserie), and storage underneath. Did I mention that it will give off SIXTY-EIGHT-THOUSAND BRITISH THERMAL UNITS. Afterall, you gotta cook with heat. :)

    A few days later, we went to the local Walmart to check it out. And bought it. The guys at Walmart were nice enough to help us tie it into the trunk — since it wouldn’t fit anywhere in the car! And this is my new BBQ:

  • 16Aug

    Okay, it wasn’t really a fancy dinner party.. We had some friends over and made dinner for them. We decided to make Italian, and we don’t have too many Italian recipes so we could try something new. We came up with spinach-artichoke dip as the appetizer, fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken, and roasted asparagus on the side. Hit “MORE” for the recipes…

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  • 08Aug

    Kohl’s department store has 25% off KitchenAid cooking accessories. I don’t know how long the sale lasts (probably until tomorrow), so hurry in. I picked up a set of stainless steel measuring cups for $12! Watch the prices though — the measuring cups rang up as $25 even though they were marked at $16. They have spoons, spatulas, graters, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos too.

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  • 04Aug

    Hmm.. no new posts in July. Probably not a good sign. But, now I’ve got a new theme that looks pretty cool. Same old content wrapped up in a fancy new package! I really like the yellow, and a sharp but simple design.

    Living in Arizona is pretty cool! The biggest change food-wise is the fruit. The fruit is really good, and we go to this local fruit market so its really cheap. I think we eat four-times as much fruit since moving here, and we probably spend about half of what we spent before we moved. We can get a box of strawberries for $.33! Also, cherries, watermelon, grapes, and more.

    There’s also a lot of new restaurants to try. There’s most of the usual chain restaurants, but there are also quite a few local restaurants too. I’ve been to 3 new barbeque places that I like: Tom’s, Waldo’s, and Joe’s. For mexican, Serrano’s is pretty good, and Crackers & Co. is my latest discovery. My first time there, I had a prickly pear chicken sandwich — a grilled chicken breast with grilled poblano pepper and prickly pear jelly (cactus). They also make really good burgers. Some unique and new things to try!