28. Go on a road trip with no predetermined destination

Well another item stroked off the 101 in 1001 list. This time it was go on a road trip with no predetermined destination.

This trip was completely unplanned to start. I jumped in my car, didn't know what was gonna happen, but I knew I would be having a good time regardless. Fast forward 7.5hrs and I was on a back road stuck in a truck with 4 other people waiting for the tractor to pull us out. Let me start from the beginning though.

So I jumped in my car and made the 2 hr drive to a small town to visit some friends. We didn't really have any plans so we had a few drinks and played a little rock band, when the idea came to take the MPV van out for a little drive. When we got to the van, lets just say it wasn't in the best shape ever. But that was what made her so great.

Fast forward about 15 mins, and we had splashed through some pretty sweet puddles, and were now at the end of a lease road with the MPV at a stand still, she had died on us for the night. After getting it pulled back to the yard we thought that round 2 should be attempted, this time with a 1 ton superduty truck.

The truck lasted a good while, we hit few different roads, had some laughs along the way, and just a solid night, still no predetermined destination, just having fun was the only goal.

Looking back we may have needed one more goal for the night... Not to get stuck a second time. After attempting to go a little to deep on a road that we probably shouldn't have this is what happened.

It may not look deep, but it was. We were stuck and no getting out. So we called for help and an hour of so later the John Deere tractor showed up to pull us out of the snow.

We got out, and headed back home with the road trip complete. This roadtrip turned out to be a real fun night, and one that I need to do more often!

#28 is now compete

Birthday Wishlist: Round 2

I have been in need of new luggage for a while. I got a great set when I was 18 for my birthday from my parents. They have seen many miles from cattle shows and friends houses, to Thailand and many trips to the USA.

The large one now has a flat spot on the one tire and makes a terrible noise when it is being wheeled around. The carry on one the handle will only go up half way making it way to hard to use unless you are a child.

Needless to say it is time to retire them. I am not picky when it comes to luggage, only a few requirements.

The first is that it needs to be light weight. I tend to be a heavy packer so a few extra pounds in just luggage can be the make or break.

My second requirement is that I would really like 4 wheels. Again, I tend to have lots of stuff when I travel, so it would be great to make it as easy as possible to get around.

My third and final requirement is that it is not black. Something a little different, but still classy would be great. I love the idea of zebra luggage, but might get some funny looks when showing up at business events.

 Love the color of this set. It can be found here

This set is really nice to. I am a big silver fan too

Homemade Beef Burgers

I love to BBQ, and one of my favorite meals to make are homemade beef burgers on the grill. I am not sure if it was the +9 degree weather today, or the Masters on TV, but I was ready to fire up the grill for the first time this year.

I was not really prepared for grilling season, but I knew I would have some Alberta Beef in the freezer. My options were steak or ground beef, and some homemade hamburgers sounded really good to me.


I started with 2lbs of ground beef. This stuff was from the steer that we showed last year, but any hamburger will do. I prefer lean the best. This went into the microwave to defrost.

I needed something to go with my burgers, and what better then some fries. These were all I had in the house, but they work just fine!

Once the beef is fully defrosted throw it into a bowl and break it up. I prefer to use my hands, it can get a little messy, but it works the best.

To the beef, add some pepper, seasoning salt and 1 large egg. Mix this up good with your hands.

Next you want to form the patties. I like my hamburgers to be big in size, so I make mine a little bigger. When making them, keep in mind that they will shrink, so make them a little bigger then what you want to eat. Once they are ready, thrown them onto a hot, clean grill.

 While you are waiting for them to cook, you can get your toppings ready. Tonight I added a little lettus, tomato, pickles, and some cheese. You can use whatever you would like though.

Don't forget about your burgers on the grill! Make sure to flip them over once, and to cook them so that there is no more pink in the middle. You can either open them up to tell this, or use a meat thermometer. They should read about 160 degrees F. After I flip my burgers for the last time I like to put some BBQ sauce on them as well.

While I wait for my burger to finish cooking I prep the rest of it. Layering the toppings, and trying to keep the wet items (tomato and pickles) to the inside to keep the bread from getting soggy. I usually use buns, but like I said I wasn't prepared for grilling season!

Finally I add the cheese to the burgers and let that melt.

Once the cheese has melted take the burgers off, and add it to your toppings and bun. A few fries and this meal is complete!

Famous Twice Baked Potatoes

My good friend Bethan is an amazing cook. She always does large dinners for 10-20 people and doe an awesome job. Recently she has given up some of the power in the kitchen and allowed for others to help. My contribution is always to make the potatoes for the meal.

My favorite kind are twice baked potatoes. Although this receipe usually calls for them to be dished back into the shell, I put my own twist on the recipe and I think it makes them better anyways.

Start with some large potatoes. I like to judge about 1 potato for each person. If they are super big ones, go with 1 for each 2 people. Wash them real good and then wrap them up in tin foil

Set your oven to 350 degrees and throw them in the oven for about 1 hour, or until cooked. Once they have cooled slightly, unwrap, cut the tops length ways and scoop out the insides. You can try to save the shells, but I like them better without. Your choice.

This is where they get real good. Mix in the butter, sour cream, bacon bits, milk, cheese and green onion is you choice. I don't like green onion so I don't use it. Mix it up real good. I like mine a little lumpy, but whatever consistency you like then go for that! Then either scoop it back in the shells, or into a casserole dish. Throw it back in the oven just long enough to reheat.

 
Take it out and serve. Whatever is left over put in the fridge, as this makes some great leftovers!

 Recipe (makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 green onions, sliced, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4. When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
5. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Birthday Wishlist

My sister started this in her "Birthday Month" a few weeks ago. Since we are now in my "Birthday Month" I figured I would start a few of these posts myself.

I seen these the other day on The Pioneer Woman and thought that they were so cool. This is my favorite use for them.

You can find the placemats at b.a.Friend

Lack of Posting

I have to apologize for the lack of posting lately. I used to try to get most of my post up/written during the day. However, we have officially been banned from using Firefox at work, and since our email is all Google based, as is Blogger, it makes things tough. Hard to justify logging out of email just to write a blog.

I will try to get some scheduled so that you have lots to read about in the upcoming weeks!

Hotel Tour: Red Deer Sandman

While we were in Red Deer for the bull sale a few weeks ago we decided to stay in town rather then going back and forth from the farm. 

I had never stayed in the Red Deer Sandman, but it had always looked like a nice hotel from the outside. I am a big Moxie's fan, and that is connected right to the hotel so the amenities were great.

I was actually pretty disappointed with the hotel. The lobby is all newer and renovated, but the rooms themselves leave a lot to be desired. They were small and very out dated. Everything from the green carpets to the bedding seemed to have not been replaced for years.

I didn't find the beds that comfortable either. The bathrooms were alright. Clean and a hot shower. Nothing fancy, but after the bedroom portion I can't say I was expecting much.