Tips For The Week!

Alison’s Tip

Here are a few of my favorite grilling tips:

• Buy a meat and grill thermometer and make sure the meat is cooked perfectly
• Let all your meat rest for at least 10 minutes (some chefs recommend 20 minutes), so the juices redistribute and the meat stays moist
• Place a thumb indentation in the middle of your raw burger patties to evenly cook the burger- when the burgers cook the center rises.  This technique avoids uneven cooking and even burger patties
• Everyone knows to soak bamboo skewers so to avoid catching them on fire when grilling. Soak a big batch once for an hour or so, drain, then freeze them in a plastic bag and take as many as you need  rather than having to soak a few each time you grill
• Grill delicate fish fillets and small foods such as chopped veggies in a perforated grill pan to prevent food from falling through the cooking grate
• Do  not apply sauce to the ribs too early, especially if you are using a sweet sauce.  The sugars will burn the ribs and give them a bitter flavor. Sauce them during the final 30 minutes of cooking
•  Bone-in pieces take longer than boneless and direct heat alone would burn them. Use indirect heat for bone-in pieces

Katie’s Tip

With the summer months here, I see many children in the ER for heat stroke and dehydration.  Did you know a child’s body surface area makes up a much greater proportion of their overall weight than an adult’s? This means that children are at a much greater risk for heat-related illness. A day outside should be treated as if your child is participating in a sporting event. It is recommended that a child drinks 5 to 9 ounces of water (10 to 18 “gulps”) every 20 minutes during activity depending on weight (teenagers should drink more). Younger children should be given water bottles with marks on the sides showing how much they should drink or be told how many “gulps” to drink. Bring a cooler filled with hydrating fruits like watermelon and cantaloupe.

Carrie’s Tip

Happy Memorial day weekend everyone! I am sure many of you are headed out of town for the long holiday weekend. If you are headed towards the beach then here is one of my favorite tips that my mother in law actually gave to me. Instead of using a big towel to sit on, bring an old fitted sheet. If you anchor down all four sides it creates barriers to keep out the sand. Perfect if you want to prevent your baby from eating the sand haha. And if you like that tip then here are some more great summer tricks for the beach! Have a wonderful long weekend everyone.

Picture found on tescoliving.com

Our cousins Kyle on the top who’s in the Air Force, and Shea bottom right who is in the Special Corps Navy.  We love you guys so much and are so proud of everything you do.