Week 17: Guns…BBQ…and uh Guns…we arrived in Texas !!

So last week we took a road trip to Texas and this week we pretended that we actually arrived there and wanted to try out some good old BBQ.  I mean, what would Texas be without some kind of meat involved?  I’ve only driven through Texas once and we got stuck in an airport in Dallas on our way back from our honeymoon.  So I really don’t know that much about it, but I know they have great hunting and awesome BBQ…..oh yeah….and lots of GUNS !!!  Every man’s dream !!!  Ok, unless you are a dude who wears skinny jeans then maybe Texas doesn’t get you that excited.  My brother recently moved to Texas so hopefully we will be out to stay with him soon and get the real deal Texas feel.  For now, we are going to have to settle for some imagination.  So come join us as we visit the “Lone Star” state.

First we had to decide what the heck we were going to eat.  Ok, let’s face it, that was easy. We chose to make some crockpot BBQ pulled pork.  For an appetizer we decided to make Texas Sushi.  Now you might think this involves fish, but it doesn’t.  It involves a mouth full of awesomeness.  We wanted to go a little easier for the dinner because we’ve been struggling to get the kids into bed early.  Since the time change the kids are going to bed around 8:30pm and then we start dinner. Some of the dinners have been taking us into 9 or 10 before we eat.  So crock pot BBQ was the way to go and the Texas Sushi, as you will see, is super easy to make and I guarantee you at your next get together you are going to make these for an appetizer.  The activity was the best part of the night.  Since we were in Texas we had to do something with guns.  So we took out the shotgun and sat outside and shot squirrels as they ran along the fence……ok…..we didn’t do that. I would be in jail if we did that.  So since I live in a densely populated area and I choose not to spend a couple of years of my life with bubba in the Big House we decided to play a game with super soakers.  It was AWESOME !!…..except that I lost to a girl.  That sucked and I’ll probably have to give up my man card…..(ok really, who are we kidding guys, we gave up that man card the day we said, “I do”).  We will talk about the game later and I’ll explain all the rules.

The night started off normal. Kids cleaned up and into bed around 8:30pm.  The pulled pork was already finished and we had given some of it to the kids for dinner (they love BBQ).  So we were ready to chow down.  I quickly made the Texas Sushi (This involved bacon, and you know my kids and bacon, so of course the oldest wondered down with his sniffing nose and grubby hands wanting some bacon….of course…we gave him some.)  The Texas Sushi is pretty much cream cheese, some chipolte Tabasco, bacon pieces, and green onions, put into a little tortilla and rolled and sliced.  It’s super easy and delicious.  Once we were done we piled up our plate with some BBQ pulled pork and Texas Sushi and sat down in the living room to eat, laugh, and chat.

So my wife brings up this article she read earlier in the day how Puerto Rican women, science says, has been classified as the perfect Human Specimen.  The article went on to say how Rican women are the closest thing to perfection in the Human DNA and all that.  My wife says, “I could have saved them a ton of research time and money if they just came and talked to me, they would have found out within hours that Rican woman are perfect.” ……She’s a pretty humble gal.  Come to find out there are numerous articles written about this topic and it comes down to how the Rican women are the perfect mix of a bunch of different descendants.  Anyways, this topic pretty much owned the conversation for most of the night.  Well, it was time to find out how well the perfect specimen performed in a friendly game with super soakers.

So the game was pretty simple.  I saved a bunch of recyclable bottles over a couple of weeks.  I set up two bases and put tables about 25 feet apart with around 10 empty bottles on each table.  It was hot outside and dark so it was going to be perfect.  I couldn’t wait to own this gal with perfect DNA.  I was a dude and this involved gun fire, no way I am losing.  So the goal of the game was to knock off all of your opponents bottles before they knocked off yours.  You had to spray them to knock them off.

I thought to myself, “I feel so bad for her; she is going to get owned.”……the bible says, “Pride goes before destruction.”   I really need to start believing that.   So I decided to make the game best 2 out of 3….figured I would give her a chance.   So we started with full super soakers and I ran a hose and turned it on in case we needed to re-fill.  We put our backs together in the middle of the yard and took 10 paces toward our own base each and then it was game on.   I took a rapid fire approach….by that I mean, rapidly pulverizing her in the face with water….I was feeling awesome.  Next thing I know she bum rushes me like something out of the Matrix and even though I’m soaking her everywhere possible she is up on my table blowing off all of my bottles.  I’m thinking, “ this girl is insane, I know that water is hurting….OH CRAP MY BOTTLES !!!!”  I quickly gave up pelting her in the face and ran to her side and tried my best to get the bottles off but before I knew it, it was too late…….in slow motion, everything went silent as I could hear the wings of a bird beating and the sound of the last bottle hitting the ground with a thump like brick hitting pavement.  She had won round one…., “I let you win round 1 babe, I just wanted to soak you.”  She said nothing, just filled up her super soaker and starting setting up the 4 bottles I had barely knocked down.

I wasn’t too nervous. I knew her game plan now.  Well, we started round 2 and just as we turned around she bum rushes me again and this time I’m blocking her shots with my body and point blank shooting her anywhere I can.  She wasn’t backing off and I just kept running back and forth trying to prevent her water from hitting the bottles, just hoping she would run out of water.  I didn’t know how I was going to get her to back off.  She darted to the right and I swung around to shoot her in the face and accidentally nailed her in the mouth with the tip of my soaker…….To be honest I felt absolutely terrible.  She said it was ok, but her lip was bleeding, but she didn’t care she wanted to continue playing.  She is a pretty tough girl so I knew she wouldn’t give up (it’s not in her perfect DNA to give up).  We filled back up and got into the same position with me pinned against my bottles and her, now with blood in her mouth….literally, about to devour me.  I shouted go and within milliseconds she was darting back and forth doing everything she could to avoid my shots and get my bottles off.  I knew I needed to do something so I shot her in the eyes good and made a run for it.  I didn’t even have a prayer.  Within seconds my bottles fell and she was victorious.  She didn’t say anything as we walked towards the porch….but as we got there she started singing…..”de nah naaaaahhh…..de nah naaaahhhh……….de naaaahhh  naaaaaaahhhh….de nah naaaaaahhh….getting strong now……trying hard now……”   Yeah….that really happened.  She just looks back at me after she dries her face and says, “You are the Russian, I am the perfect specimen.”   Needless to say, I did not break her.

I hope you liked reading this and have enjoyed our At Home Date Night Blog.  I have been super slacking on writing the blog and I’m going to try to catch up this week.  I know I’ve said that before so take it for what it is.  We are still doing our At Home Date nights every week.  I hope you will continue to follow the blog and put it into practice in your own marriage.

If you like what we are doing I hope you would participate and share with others, you never know if a marriage is hurting and a weekly date night is all they need to get it kick started and back on track.  Remember to post pictures of your at home date nights using #Homedatenightduo. You can also join our Facebook group Homedatenightduo.  Following below will be a walkthrough, as always, of the recipes with costs and explanations.  If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

Texas Sushi:

ITEM	QTY	Cost	Notes
Cream Cheese	8oz block	$1.99
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce	1 Tbs	$2.24
Bacon, Cooked Crispy	3 slices	$3.48	Make more for the kids
Green Onions, chopped	3 stems	$1.39
Black Olives	1 Tbs	$0.00	I hate these…so I didn’t use them…and I didn’t want to spend $3.50 of a can when I was only going to use a tablespoon.
Black Pepper	To taste	$0.00	We had, I used about ¼ teaspoon
Flour Tortillas	4	$2.24

 

Total Cost: $ 11.34  (makes enough for probably six torillas)

Enjoyment Ratings:

Husband: 9

Wife: 9

Directions:

Get the bacon started early.  Make sure to get it nice and crispy.  I bought really thick bacon.  Don’t buy Turkey bacon either….it’s Texas for Pete’s sake.

While the bacon is cooking get out a large mixing bowl and put in the cream cheese and start to mash it up until it gets soft.  Add in the Tabasco Sauce and stir it up again.   Once the bacon is finished, crumble it up and put it in the mixing bowl.  Then add in the chopped green onions and olives (if you bought them) into the mix as well.  Mix everything up really well and then add in the black pepper and mix again.

Break out a tortilla and spread 3 tablespoons of the mix onto the tortilla.  Roll it up really tight and then take a serrated knife, that’s the long sharp one you probably never use or have been using it for the wrong things your whole life, and cut about every inch or so. (I had this girl I knew who worked at Panera breads show me this…she is a genius, even though she isn’t Rican.)

Next, ingest them before giving any to your spouse…..because they are too good to share.

Slow Cooker Texas BBQ Pulled Pork

ITEM	QTY	Cost	Notes
Crock Pot	1	$0.00	You got 3 of them when you got married
Pork Roast	2 lbs	$6.98
Chicken Broth	¼ cup	$1.99
Apple Cider Vinegar	¼ cup	$1.49
Worcestershire sauce	½ Tbs	$0.00	I hate typing that word
Dark Brown Sugar	2 Tbs	$0.00	You probably have
Vegi oil	1 Tbs	$0.00
Chili Powder	½ Tbs	$0.00
Favorite BBQ Sauce	1 bottle	$2.49	I think I had a 16 oz bottle…and We picked some Texas style brand with a little kick. It was awesome

Total Cost: $ 12.95

Enjoyment Ratings:

Husband: 10

Wife:9.5

Leftovers: 10

Directions:

This meal should immediately attract you because of how simple it is.  Crock Pot meals are so awesome before they are so little work.  Sometimes the meat can get dried out, but most of the time the meals turn out great. If you don’t have one of these I highly recommend getting one.  They are great to use for At Home Date Nights if you can’t get your kids into bed to early.  Anyways, here is how to make it.

Pour all ingredients into crock pot….rub all over the pork…set on high….cook for 5 hours….shred pork…eat.

It is really that simple.  But if you want something a little more detailed here you go.

Pour in the vegi oil and then put in the pork roast.  Then pour the broth, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and BBQ sauce over the top of the pork.  Take your “Clean” hands and rub in the chili powder and brown sugar all over the roast.   Set the crock pot and “High” and cook for 5-6 hours.

When you are ready to eat you should be able to take some forks and shred the pork and mix everything together.  You can eat it with bread or you can just eat it straight up.  We chose straight up.

Super Soaker Battle Royal:

ITEM	QTY	Cost	Notes
Super Soaker Guns	2	$18.00	They were cheap at Wal-Mart. Not the real brand name, but they worked fine.  Make sure to get the ones that have a big reservoir and a pump and trigger.
Recycled Bottles	20	$0.00	Just save them.

Total Cost: $ 18.00

Directions:

I pretty much explained the game in the blog.  But the point is to just have fun.  You can run around and spray each other, but I think a friendly competition is better.  Just begin saving up your soda bottles, juice bottles, or anything plastic.  At the end of the game before we went inside she thought since I busted her lip and still lost she should be able to shoot me point blank in the face.  I was pretty defeated and didn’t want to be humiliated anymore so of course I let her do it.  It hurt like hell and I’m not quite sure how she was able to take so much of that while we were playing.  Then I remembered, she is Rican…she feels no pain, it’s part of her perfect DNA.

Total At Home Date Night Cost: $42.29

Thanks again for joining us.  We hope you enjoy the blog and continue to follow us.  Have a great day!!!

Christmas Savings 2015 Shadow Box deposits

Option 1: $36.00 Total saved: $748.00

Option 2: $10.00   Total saved: $306.00

Option 3: $10.00   Total saved: $170.00

UNTIL NEXT WEEK…….Because your marriage is worth it !!!