Hamburger/Rice Nachos

This was dinner ...

Hamburger & Rice Nachos with Beans & Veggies in a sauce.

I'm not sure what the recipe called for, but the wife browned the hamburger in bacon grease and mixed it with Zatarain's Dirty Rice (made according to the directions on the box).   The veggie salad was a can of black beans, a can of corn, and a can of petit diced tomatoes.  I think the foto shows chopped green onions in that ... so my wife garnished the plate with 3 young green onions.  And use a slotted spoon to dish it up ... so a lot of the excess liquid drains off.  That's it.  Oh, you do realize that there are tortilla chips with melted shredded cheese on top of the hamburger/rice mixture, right?  (the Nachos part of the dish)

We didn't do the parsley sprig on top ...  :-p

Football Day!! :)

Comin' right at-cha

Halloween Camp

Went to our Halloween camp party today dressed as an Iraqi Cowboy.  Figure that one out.  Got some strange looks at the dollar store when I stopped in to buy some ice.  :)

More Wires

Finally fought my way into the closet area ...

Now if I can just figure out what it all goes to ...

(all this stuff that is normally hidden out of sight)

Rocket Turkey Roaster

My wife and I bought the Landmann Rocket Roaster at TSC (Tractor Supply Company) on sale for $15.95. We opened the box and took everything out. I kind of wondered about the thin sheet metal and the tapered cylinder was slightly out-of-round. This can be tweaked by hand. But mine is still slightly out-of-round. My wife bought a 14lb turkey that we thawed in the refrigerator for a couple of days. I couldn't believe that this thin sheet metal cooker would really cook that big of a turkey ... no matter the time limit. However, I trimmed the neck-flap skin, removed the giblets, rubbed the turkey with sage, and put it on the tripod stand. I loaded plain charcoal around the base (my wife nixed the tinfoil liner idea) and put a generous amount of charcoal on top. The local dollar store didn't have charcoal lighter fluid, so I had to make a 6-mile trip to the nearest supermarket. I sprayed the charcoal with the starter fluid, lit it with one of those gas/piezo starter things (keeping my fingers safely away from flames), and when I started seeing gray ash on the corners I used a couple of hotpads to lift the top off .. inserted the turkey .. and put the top back on. I forgot to pick some rosemary from the garden and put it in the infusers before I started the fire. So, I just left it alone and went to watch a movie. I figured that when all was said and done, I could roast it in the regular oven or my Flavor-Wave oven. 2 hrs 45 min later (yes, I forgot and it ran over-time - It was only supposed to be 2-1/2 hrs), I took the top off and removed the turkey. I was greatly surprised to find it extremely well done! The drip pan in the bottom was filled with juices. Everything smelled wonderful. When we cracked through the dry skin, more juices poured out. Tender, delicious, and well-cooked. I can't wait to use the Rocket Roaster basket for a beef roast and some vegetables. So, the construction wasn't absolutely perfect, but the product (Rocket Roaster) works extremely well (with only $2 or less of charcoal).