Monday: Crispy Ham Bites, Teriyaki Summer Sausage & Diagnosing the Grill

Got up this morning and pulled out some of the bacon I made over the weekend.

One of my kiddos also found a leftover baked potato in the refrigerator and decided that was breakfast. She added some butter and had it alongside everything else.

We also had some of those square Costco ciabatta rolls, and then we got to work on school.

Finishing the Last of the Ham

For lunch, I was determined to finish the Costco ham I opened on Friday.

There wasn’t a ton left, so I diced it into small pieces, put a big pat of butter in a hot pan and pan-seared the ham until all those little edges started getting crispy.

This is probably my favorite way to reheat ham.

It’s already cooked. I don’t need to cook it again. I just want it hot with some delicious browned edges.

I made a box of Annie’s mac and cheese to go with it, added fruit and vegetables, and that was lunch for the kids.

I made myself a salad with some of the crispy ham, but there wasn’t quite enough protein left for me. So I grabbed some of last night’s grilled chicken, warmed that with a little barbecue sauce and added it too.

And with that, the ham we opened Friday is officially gone.

School Outside & the Acorn Collection Service

It was so nice outside today that we ended up doing quite a bit of schoolwork outdoors.

We also took a little walk with the bike brigade.

My kids always stop at one particular neighbor’s yard because there are little acorns all over the ground that they apparently need to collect.

What are we doing with these acorns?

I have absolutely no idea.

But I’m sure our neighbor appreciates the free acorn-removal service.

An Ice Cream Reward

My mom has a little practice chart going with the kids for piano and violin, and they finally filled it.

So this afternoon we went to Graeter’s for their reward.

Not a bad prize for practicing your instrument.

Then we headed home, and I got started on an experiment I’ve been thinking about ever since we made the teriyaki beef sticks.

Teriyaki Summer Sausage Experiment

Those teriyaki beef sticks were such a hit that I immediately started wondering:

Could I use the same flavor profile for my homemade beef summer sausage?

There was really only one way to find out.

So this afternoon I took part of the Costco ground beef and made a big batch of homemade summer sausage using the teriyaki flavors from the beef sticks.

It’s in the refrigerator curing overnight now, and I am very excited to see how it turns out.

If it’s anything like the beef sticks, I have high hopes.

I’ll report back.

The Rest of the Ground Beef Became Burgers

I used the rest of the Costco ground beef to make burgers.

Nothing complicated here. Ground beef, kosher salt, patties onto the grill.

Except tonight I noticed something wasn’t right.

Particularly on the right side of my grill, the burgers weren’t getting that really good dark sear I normally expect.

They were cooking.

But they weren’t searing.

And once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop noticing it.

Burger Night

I still got dinner on the table.

I cooked down onions and mushrooms until they were soft and browned.

The kids had burgers with chips, side salads and whatever other toppings they wanted.

I turned mine into a burger salad with the onions and mushrooms piled on top.

Dinner was good.

But I was now very suspicious of my grill.

And So Begins the Great Grill Repair

Once we were finished eating and the grill was completely cool, I went back outside and started investigating.

I took the grates off so I could actually see what was happening with the burners.

And suddenly the burger problem made perfect sense.

One section had flames shooting out like I would expect.

The rest?

Very minimal flame.

Okay then.

At least I know I wasn’t imagining the difference in how the burgers were cooking.

So I got on the phone with Weber, figured out which replacement parts we need and ordered them.

Apparently we’re going on a grill-repair journey.

I use this grill constantly, so we’re going to figure this out and get it working properly again.

Stay tuned.

Going Into Tuesday

The Costco ham is officially gone.

We still have plenty of the grilled chicken from Sunday night, so that’s ready to turn into lunches or dinner tomorrow.

We’ve got cooked burgers now too.

Tomorrow we’ll bake the summer sausage and find out whether taking my favorite beef-stick flavor and turning it into summer sausage was a brilliant idea.

We ended the day with a questionable game of Pretty Pretty Princess….very few rules were followed.