When I was preparing for my trip to England with my dad in April, I bought 4 books to read while we were overseas. One of those books was Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song. I knew that the movie was coming out soon and I typically prefer to read any book that is becoming a movie prior to seeing it. It was a book that once I started it, I could not put down... My dad was sleeping while I was up until about 3 in the morning bawling my eyes out because it was your classic Nicholas Sparks tragedy. I don't consider myself to be one of those people aptly affected by movies and books, but it was so beautifully written and could pull at every one of your heartstrings that I could not help myself. When I got home, I gave it to mom to read on the trip down to Arizona for Brandon's graduation. She promptly read it on the airplane and then told me she felt like an idiot because she was crying like a buffoon on the flight. After all that emotion, I did not even see the movie in theaters... Not because I didn't want to... I just never made it!
On that note, Mom and I went to Wal-Mart on Wednesday night and I talked her into buying the DVD. (It really didn't take much to "talk" her into it, though!) Oddly enough, when we got home, it was kinda late so we didn't want to start it then. But while channel surfing, we caught a commercial for the movie and it told you to go to a website to get a $10 off coupon for the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo pack!!! Sooooo, since we hadn't opened the DVD yet, I went and printed the coupon and took our copy back and got the combo pack for $5 less than the original DVD copy!!!
So last night, mom and I watched the movie and we both were crying our eyes out... I know that it got absolutely horrible reviews because of Miley Cyrus, but I don't think she did that bad!... It was a reduced screenplay compared to the book, but I think they did it just right. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the waterworks it incurred. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a really emotional night!!! HAHA!
Sooooo, it's been a few weeks since my last post. But, lets just say I've been readjusting to life without the huge responsibility of designing classes every time I turn around and not having to get to the Island to check in the new batch of product that just arrived... I can hardly believe that it's already been almost a month since we closed the store. It still seems surreal because we honestly thought we would be in business for at least another 2 years!!!
Our garage (two-car) has been taken over by the Island monster and who knows how long it will take us to actually go through all of it... The basement is finally starting to take shape as a space that Mom and I can actually work in! The prospect of being able to crop simply for pleasure is absolutely intoxicating.
It is fantastic to have the energy to come home from work (most nights) and want to cook! I love trying new things, maybe not as much as my dad does, but at least with ingredients that are familiar and 'sound' good together. This recipe for a Grilled Red Potato Salad with Bacon and Ranch is one that Dad discovered on his "Grill It" app on the iTouch. That's our new favorite way to find recipes on the fly! It's pretty easy and DELICIOUS!!! Trust me.... TRY IT!!!
Ingredients:
1 bag of Red potatoes (about 3 pounds)
1 package of bacon (you’ll only need about 8 strips)
1 bottle of Ranch dressing
1 bunch of green onions, diced
Olive Oil
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1.What goes better with potatoes and Ranch than bacon? Not many things. Start by cooking about 8 strips of bacon using your favorite method. We want them to be crisp since we are going to crumble the bacon into our salad.
2.While the bacon is cooking, wash and then cut the potatoes into even quarters. When I say even quarters, I mean you want all of the pieces to be about the same size so that they all cook evenly. Don’t make them too small thought because they will be a pain to handle on the grill!
3.Boil the potatoes in a pot of water until just about cooked. You don’t want them too mushy, but you want them just about cooked all the way through.
4.At this point, go ahead and light the grill and preheat to medium-high.
5.Remove the potatoes from the water and drain.
6.Toss the red potatoes in some olive oil and fresh ground black pepper.
7.Pour the potatoes right onto the now hot grate of the grill. The point here is to mark or char the potatoes so that we get that great grill taste.
8.Using tongs, a spoon or a spatula (bring them all out, one might work better than others depending on the size of your red potatoes) turn the potatoes every few minutes to create char marks on all sides. Keeping the grill closed will speed up this process and keep the grill hot.
9.Once all sides of the potatoes are marked with grill marks, transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.
10.Add about 1/4 cup of the Ranch dressing (add more if you like), crumbled bacon and chopped green onions.
11.Stir well to combine.
That’s all there is to a great last minute grilled potato salad! The grilled bits from the potatoes adds a great flavor to this recipe. The Ranch dressing makes it easy to throw together at the last minute. The hardest part to this recipe, in my opinion, is cooking the bacon. I’d say try bacon bits, but I’ve got to draw the line somewhere. Bacon bits to me aren’t nearly the same as real bacon. Not saying I wouldn’t try it if I were in a pinch though…
