Crowd-Pleasing BBQ Menu

There's a funny thing about Oregonians.  The thing is, there is never a day that you can schedule a BBQ where you know, with out a doubt, that you will have good weather.

So was the case with our Yardwarming BBQ party last week. First day of summer, an entire week of nice weather, and...rain on Saturday.  Actually, despite the weather report (which warned of a 70 percent chance of rain), we decided the party must go on, especially since up until 3pm the skies looked clear and beautiful.  In fact, I think that was the exact conversation we were having with our guests when we rolled out the BBQ, started grilling, and then got ambushed by a complete downpour!

But that's the thing about Oregonians.  Without hesitation, question, or the slightest bit of confusion, every person grabbed a chair, drink, and food item and brought it inside without so much as a single word muttered.  It's like ants in a rainstorm...we just know when to run for cover.

Fifteen minutes later, the storm was over and the party continued.  The clouds, which completely drained themselves, retreated, and we even enjoyed five or so hours next to a warm fire outside.

I guess if we had to spend part of the party inside, the best time to do it was at dinner.  And here's what we ate:


Build Your Own Gourmet Hot Dog Bar
Let your guests create their own gourmet hot dogs with dozens of dogs and toppings to choose from.

Citrus-Mango Slaw
2TSP of Sugar
1/3C Rice Vinegar
1/3C Veggie Oil
2 Navel Oranges (peeled and diced)
1 Mango (peeled and diced)
1 Green Cabbage (Shredded)
Salt and Pepper
1/2C of Fresh Cilantro Leaves
Make a dressing out of the sugar, vinegar, and veggie oil.  Distribute over oranges, mango, and cabbage and toss.  Add salt, pepper, and cilantro leaves.

Strawberry Salsa
1Pound Strawberries, diced
1/4C Scallions
1 Jalapeno, diced
1/4C Cilantro
2TBSP Fresh Lime Juice
1TBSP Honey
Salt
Combine ingredients in bowl and mull together.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Peach-Bacon Baked Beans (crowd favorite!)
6 slices of bacon, cooked and diced
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of kidney beans
2 cans of peaches
1C diced sweet onion
1 can of tomato sauce
1/2C apricot preserves
1/3C molasses
1/3C apple cider vinegar
2TSP cayanne pepper
1TBSP dijon mustard
3/4TSP salt
Combine beans, peaches, onion and bacon in a slow cooker.  In a separate bowl, combine tomato sauce, preserves, molasses, vinegar, cayanne pepper, mustard and salt.  Mix together and pour over beans.  Slow cook on high for three hours.

Broccoli Cheddar Bacon Salad 
6C fresh broccoli florets 
1-1/2C (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese 
1/3C chopped onion 
1-1/2C mayonnaise 
3/4C sugar 
3TBSP red wine vinegar 
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled  
In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese and onion. In a mason jar, combine the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Pour over broccoli mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the bacon.

Passionfruit Iced Tea
8 Packets of Tea (you can always water it down)
2 Gallons of Water
3/4C or so of Passionfruit Syrup (the kind they use in coffees)
One Lemon
Brew tea in the sun the day before.  The day of, add passionfruit syrup.  Stir and add ice.  Create lemon art by zesting lemon in a pattern and then slicing.  Place lemons in iced tea.


Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ok, I made these from box.  Frosting too!  But put them in mini muffin pans and frost using a pastry bag, and they are hit all the same!

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The Backyard Patio Project - Check!

I am so behind on my postings. But you will understand why when I announce..."We're Done! We're Done! The Patio Project is Done!"

It took two months, a lot of money, and about two weeks off work, but the patio project is done!  

Just to remind you, here is the before:

And now for the after:

We added all hardscape, to include a 1000 sq ft paver patio, retaining wall, and shredded Juniper and pea gravel boarder.

The steps (all 22 of them) are made of railroad ties we scored for $10/piece, inlayed in left over paver stones.

I was opposed to a retaining wall, but my husband talked me into it, and now I'm happy with it.  It gives the patio another dimension and also adds seating.

We made my son a sandbox to play in and then got the idea to make the cover out of plywood coated with chalkboard paint.  So whether it's open or closed, there's something fun to do!

I love these trees!  They were $89/piece, but they are pretty sun tolerant, drought resistant, yet able to handle the freezing nights here.

The dual-hardscape was achieved by staking down weed paper and creating a boarder with ceder slats ($3.49 for 10').  The cedar slats were staked into place, then the entire thing was backfilled with pea gravel and Juniper shavings.

Instead of traditional hard-wired lights, we opted to hang solar lanterns ($39 for 4) using plant hangers on the fence.

All the plants are fairly drought resistant, so we need very little water to make things bloom.  The downside is, most of these plants are nearly upgraded weeds, so they need to be cut back every year to prevent them from overtaking the yard.

Off the left, you can see my dog's pee pole, which we turned into a directional sting.  The big rectangular structure (also to the left)--an afterthought--has become a large fire pit.

I found this porch swing for $120 at Big Lots.  It doesn't match perfectly, but seriously, how cute, right?

The Firepit - So easy to make!

We decided to use pea gravel instead of bark to backfill the retaining wall.  I think it draws in the hillside and doesn't compete with the hardscape.

This will one day house crawling purple flowers.  I saw this on Pinterest, and it ends up looking like wine spilling out of the barrel.  The flowers are still seeding, but we found some beautiful perennials, so once they bloom, we will have the blooms year after year.  My husband had to install a mister in order to water these.

The stairs.  We are still backfilling the area with rocks, but they are a bit hard to find.

My husband made me this adorable herb garden.  Another idea from Pinterest.  Can't wait until it's done, because I love fresh herbs for cooking.

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Seems Like We're Building A Staircase to Heaven (feels like Hell though)

This was suppose to be the staircase to heaven.  It's turning out to be the staircase of hell!  But almost a month later, this is the progress we've made.

In case you ever get a contractor's bid for a landscaped staircase on a hill, and you think, "No way, that's too much," let me warn you that they're not crazy...it's adequately prices for the labor involved. 

This was our inspiration...and hopefully what the stairs will look like when we finish.  The only difference is we used railroad ties instead of 4x4's and our yard is a lot--I mean a lot--steaper.

Here is the before picture.  The stairs will come down the right-hand side, just to the South of the deck.

Slow going...this was the first two steps which were started about a month ago.

A little progress...

In order to make it all the way up, we had to bend around some of the larger lava rocks.  That's ok though; I think it gives the whole thing character.

It's a good thing we didn't need a permit for these...some are higher, some shorter, some longer, some square, some trapezoids.

Almost to the top...

Just keep building, just keep building...

Holy staircase of hell!

Twenty-two steps.  That's how many it took to get to the top.  But they are done and ready to be filled now.

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We must be crazy putting in a paver patio in the snow!

We will never admit when we've bitten off more than we can chew.  Note that I said admit.  That doesn't mean that we've never had to tear down one of our projects and re-do it when we figured out the correct way.  Or, the serious moment of buyer's remorse when we entered our newly purchased home and realized it was merely a set of stringers and logs on the water.

Yes, we've definitely taken on our share of challenges.  And what doesn't kill you, is likely to grow your property value.

This is the latest project: a paver patio and set of stairs for our sloped 1/4 acre desert backyard.  We were planning on hiring out the work using some of the cash from the sale of our houseboat.  But after a $4,000 bid for the stairs alone, we retreated and decided to do the work ourselves.  Ok, so my husband decided to do the work himself.

Here are the pictures from beginning to now:

The Stairs to the Patio.  I didn't know how we were going to tackle this.  It's just a hillside made of lava rock with no way down to the bottom.

Days later, this is the only progress made trying to "carve" steps out of the hillside.

It was about this time that I was screaming, "What the ---- have you done to our yard!"

Bring in the heavy machinery!  With an excavator that we rented, we were able to dig a pathway down too the bottom in a matter of hours.  Now for the steps...

Using some old railroad ties, concrete blocks, used all-thread from my husband's work, and make-shift scaffolding from two car jacks, my husband has managed to build two stairs in two days.

Each step requires drilling through the railroad tie, and sometimes the lava rock below, and holding into place with foot-long all-thread.

All the meanwhile, work on the paver patio begins.  We were worried that the snow would prevent us from excavating, but thanks to an expert friend, we plowed through the excavation and gravel laying in two days.

Day two of the excavation and the site was leveled, gravel was down and compacted.  We ended up having to make our patio two levels because the ground was too uneven and too much dirt would have to be excavated to make it a single level.  The step down was finished, and we were ready for pavers on Sunday.  Then it snowed until Thursday.

After the ground was compacted, my husband spray painted the dimensions of the patio out so we could get a visual.  It's actually much smaller than anticipated!  Yeah!  Less money!

A view of the patio and where the staircase will come down.

All compacted and ready to go--pre-snow.

My husband decided to add a ramp to one side of the patio stairs so we could move things easier, like lawn equipment.

Waiting for pavers...

Thursday (Day 7 since excavation).  Snow is finally melting enough to install pavers (on the right side of the picture).

Patio install begins.  This is the easy part!

Stay tuned for updates on how the project is going.  Hoping to have it close to done by the end of the month!  Given it ever stops snowing!

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