My Birthday

We have used and enjoyed our bar-b-que grill for over 3 years. (This is the grill one of Pat's customers gave us when she was moving.)It has been slowly falling apart, the bottom is hanging on by a thread, and I had been thinking about taking it to a welder to see if we could salvage the grill.

Before I had a chance to visit the welder Pat surprised me, for my Birthday, with a brand new grill; not just any brand new grill but a homemade grill.

This grill is heavy, made with thick steel and lots of extras. The wire rack you see above the regular grill is a box that sits inside the lid to hold hot dogs.

On the side is a Lazy Susan that works as a shelf to hold your pan of meat or seasonings.

On one side of the grill is a smoker box with three shelves to use for smoking chicken or sausage.

In order to move the hot grill or hot smoker racks Pat built two tools that hang on the side of the grill.

These tools work so well; you simply stick the prong end into the grill and lift. I always dread moving a hot grill but now it's so easy and I don't get anywhere near the flame.

Pat also built a griddle which I used this morning to make bacon.

There is a shelf to one side that works well for holding plates of finished foods and cooking utensils.

I also used the griddle to make pancakes;

And eggs.

When breakfast was done cooking I added steaks to the griddle; these are covered with onions and bell peppers from the garden.

The steaks slow cooked, in their own juices, until golden brown. And, I must say, they tasted amazing when I took a small bite.

At the last minute we added some potatoes to bake so we can enjoy them with the steaks.

While cooking this morning I felt like a modern day pioneer cooking my food over an open flame. Fun, fun, fun!