Day 2 - French Toast and Bacon

Weather: Moderate cold and dry.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Bacon:



1 lb bacon

Spread the bacon out on a cookie sheet. I used one with edges to help contain the grease. Turn the grill on high, toss in the cookie sheet, and let cook for 15 minutes. When the bacon is crispy enough, transfer it to a foil packet and let it sit in the grill to keep warm.

French Toast:



6 slices bread (of course, mine was gluten-free bread straight out of the oven)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Coat the bread slices evenly. Take these out to the grill and turn the burners down to medium low. Put the bread directly on the grill surface - this will leave nice char marks across the bread. Let cook for 5 minutes and flip. Finish cooking, approx. another 5 minutes.

Pineapple Topping:

20 oz can pineapple
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix the pineapple and brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Make sure the pan does not have a plastic handle. Pop this on the grill and let it simmer while the bacon and french toast are cooking. For a thicker sauce, pour out half the pineapple juice before adding the brown sugar.

Verdict: French toast is definitely better inside. I'm not looking forward to scrubbing the grill. Bacon, however, was awesome and faster on the grill. Who'da thunk?

Day 1 - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Broccoli

Weather: Less than ideal. Cold, rainy, and gray.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Meatloaf:

3 pounds ground meat (I used 50/50 turkey/beef.)
2 lg eggs
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup crushed potato chips
1 12oz can of diced tomatos
1 small onion, diced
1/2 large green pepper, diced
1 large broccoli stem, diced

Toss everything into a large bowl, and mix and mash it all together. I find the Kitchenaid works well for this. Get a grill-safe baking dish and toss in the meat mixture.

Our grill has four burners. To best simulate an indoor oven, I turned on the two outside burners to med-low and put the meatloaf in the center. This brought the grill temperature to 400 degrees. Let the meatloaf cook until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Mashed Potatoes:

6 small - medium potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tesspoon ground pepper

Our grill has an extra burner on the side - which makes mashed potatoes on the grill real easy! About an hour after the meatloaf started, start boiling the potatoes. When they're tender, drain the potatoes and mash them all together. (Again, I use the Kitchenaid.) Add the butter, sour cream, garlic salt, and ground pepper and mix again. If the meatloaf isn't finished yet (mine wasn't!) put the potatoes in another grill-safe container and pop them in the grill to stay warm.

Steamed Broccoli:

1 broccoli head, rinsed and diced

Wrap the broccoli in an aluminum foil "envelope". If desired, toss in a pat of butter. Put the foil packet on the grill 20 minutes before the meatloaf is finished. I put mine on the top shelf of the grill, far away from any flames.

Verdict: Success! Of course it was a success - otherwise I'd never have started this blog! The meatloaf was moist, the potatoes were delicious, and the broccoli was tender. A perfect weekend meal.

-- Save your meatloaf leftovers (and the juices in the bottom of the pan). Leftover Wednesday starts with extra meatloaf!

The Challenge

The Challenge: Use the backyard grill every day for 1 year.

The Inspiration: It's the start of the grilling "season" in Ohio this year - and I aim to take the joy of outdoor cooking one more step!

The Rules: Must use a grill for at least a portion of one meal every day. No duplication allowed.

The Schedule: Monday - International Day
Tuesday - Fruits and Veggies
Wednesday - Leftovers!
Thursday - Baking
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Meat!
Sunday - Breakfast