My Favorite BBQ Sauce

While eating our traditional Fourth of July dinner last Saturday I asked my sister what she liked better: Fourth of July food or Thanksgiving food. With her mouth full of potato salad she enthusiastically pointed at her plate. I was in the minority at the table because I picked Thanksgiving food. It wasn't an easy decision to make though. Especially when there was platter of grilled chicken made with my favorite bbq sauce right in front of me.

My dad has absolutely no sweet tooth so this was the sauce that I grew up on. No ketchup or brown sugar here. It's a thin, tangy sauce that requires small cupfuls placed on the table for extra dipping. I hope you love it as much as I do!

BBQ Sauce

3 sticks butter
8 cups water
1 quart apple cider vinegar
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup salt
1/2 TBS black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Heat through until butter is melted. Set some aside for dipping and use the rest as a marinade for chicken.

P.S. Remind me at Thanksgiving, when my sister is enjoying buttered rolls, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie, what her favorite food holiday is!

Wordless Wednesday: Saving Marriages All Around The World

Honorary Husky

Hi.

I'm Indie.

I'm new here.


Look who showed up at my house the day before Independence Day last week. Isn't she adorable? I know, I know, I need a another dog like I need a hole in my head but I just couldn't turn her away. So for now she is renting out our front porch. I haven't introduced her to the huskies yet for a couple of reasons. One, she is covered in ticks and fleas and two, I need to brush up on my dog whispering skills to insure a peaceful introduction. So, if anyone has any suggestions on that I'd love to hear them. And, according to petplace.com, it costs $7,000-$12,000 to care for a dog throughout its lifetime SO if anyone has a spare $10,000 bill lying around I'd love to have that too. Thanks.

Beware, Home Video Included

This is what the Fourth of July looked like here at the Home of the Lazy Dog, or I should say the Parent's Home of the Lazy Dog. It rained off and on all day and night. In between downpours the boys were able to play with the kiddie fireworks but we had to postpone the big show until the next night. It's Big pup's favorite holiday in the world so having it 2 days in a row was fine by him. And being able to have grilled chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, AND my mother's praline cheesecake twice in one weekend, well, I wasn't complaining either!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

spangle-noun-a small piece of bright metal sewn on fabric for decoration

Do you know what Big pup's favorite song is? It's The Star Spangled Banner. I'm not even kidding. He learned it in Kindergarten last year and it was love at first listen. When it would play on TV--for a sporting event--he would run into the living room and say, "Hey, it's my favorite song!"

His second favorite song is Life Is a Highway because of the Cars movie. I would like to tell him that Tom Cochrane did it so much better than Rascal Flatts but, meh, who wants to argue with a 7 year old?

Anywho, back to The Star Spangled Banner. It was originally written as a poem called Defense of Fort McHenry by Francis Scott Key back in 1814 (hello public domain!). And then it was set to music, renamed, and officially proclaimed as our National Anthem in 1931. There are 4 parts to the song/poem and the first part is what everyone knows but I kind of like the second one, too.

from The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Happy Fourth of July!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

I love the classic mustard based potato salad full of hard boiled eggs and olives. My husband, well, he doesn't like it. At all. And since summer wouldn't be complete without potato salad I came up with this recipe for a Loaded Baked Potato Salad. The concept is pretty popular but after making this several times and trying different ingredients (chives, no chives, white cheddar crumbles, no cheese, more or less mayo, etc.) I think I've found the right combination. Now we just have to agree on whether it should be served hot or cold!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

3 lbs. red potatoes, diced
2-3 TBS salt
pepper, to taste
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Combine mayo and sour cream in a large bowl. Add pepper, onion, cheese and bacon and mix together. Add cooked potatoes and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wordless Wednesday: Dear Memphis, You Owe Me An Apology