Hamburgers - Secret 3 Meat Recipe

Hamburgers - The American Meal.  Come on Dad you need to have a special hamburger recipe or least one that only you take the time to mix up and grill outside.  This one is not for cooking inside, this is an outside on the grill only recipe.

I stole this idea from an article about meatloaf. The experts say that the best meatloaf combines three different meats.  I don't recall all the  reasons and I don't want to search for the article.  You can do that if you want.  Maybe sometime later I will search and update this article with the link.

Anyway, after making these burgers many times here is my recipe:

4 lbs ground meat

1/2 lb of ground lamb*

1/2 lb of ground pork

• Mix the meat together in a large bowl and use your hands.  Your kids will want to do the mixing for your.  I suggest you let them.  It is fun for them and cleaner for you
• Weigh out 1/3 lbs (5.3 ounces) of meat and roll into a ball. Weigh meat on a scale.
• Gently mash round blob of meat into a patty. I place the blob on a small plate and mash with my palm
• Place patties on a tray.  I separate the layers of patties with plastic wrap.
• Store in refrigerator until ready for use.
• Grill over medium heat until they are at your preferred doneness (my word)
• Add cheese for a minute or less at the end of grilling

Hanni helping to weigh the meat, while I mash into patties

Giving Instructions to the Cameraman

Making hamburgers is serious business

First layer down and stretch wrap applied

*Note - Lamb is expensive so I sometimes cut the amount to 1/4 lb and increase the pork to 3/4 lb.

Unsolicited Parenting Advice #1 - Get Off the Couch

It is always best to wait for someone to ask for advice before giving it. When I humble myself to ask for advice, it means I will listen.  

I'm gong to break that rule and tell you something that helped me be a better dad.  I don't remember who encouraged me in this but here it is...

Get off the couch.

• Get off the couch and go to your kids the next time you hear them arguing.  Don't call them over to you just get up and calmly walk over.
• Get off the couch and walk over to your wife and give her a hug.  Don't make her stop what she is working on and walk over to you.
• Get off the couch and get on the floor with your young children instead of sitting them next to you on the couch.
• Get off the couch and kick the ball around with your kids.

I was amazed at the difference it made in family relationships and it was good for my health at the same time.

Ok, I feel better now. That's off my chest.  I just get this way sometimes.

Tool of the Year 2012

All our kids share the same bathroom. When all 9 were living here it was a little crowded. Just imagine for a moment 9 people figuring out the shower schedule.  There was never a dull moment in the main hall and the negotiations could get heated.

One result of so many showers (besides a high electric bill for heating the water) - clogged drain.

This tool has saved me $100's . You need one of these!  It cost about $15.

Earlier this week I had a drain problem and got to rent this bad boy! ($50 for 4 hours)

It was fun and easy to use but it didn't solve the problem. So I bought a nicer version of my trusty hand powered unit.  I upgraded to the $30 model.

Trust me you need one of these.  You can thank me later.

Plumbing as a Family Project

Saturday night I decided it was time to tackle a long neglected project (there is more than one of those on my list).  The slow flowing kitchen cold water faucet needed to be repaired.  Actually, it needed to be fixed 5+ years ago. This was THAT project, you know the one you keep putting off because you just know it will take far longer and far more patience than you have at any given moment.  This was guaranteed to take at least 2 trips to the hardware store.

For some unknown reason, Saturday night was the night I started working. After spending over an hour wrestling with it I gave up discouraged. I mean beaten!  Two visits to the store and nowhere close to getting it done.  The only things accomplished was an inoperable faucet in the kitchen. Gina was relegated to getting water from the laundry room sink.

The next day I spent three or more hours getting it fixed.  I decided to have a good attitude and take a few pictures along the way.  

The first couple pictures tell you this is not good. Anytime a sawzall is required fro a plumbing project you are in big trouble.  I spoke with an experienced plumber and he told me sometimes that is the only way to get the old plumbing off.

Hanni and the Sawzall

Peter helping to saw off the old plumbing

Peter climbing under the sink to check things out

The new faucet is in place and running so much better.  Everyone is thankful it is finally working right.
What I learned:

• My wife is very patient to wait so long to get this project done
• I should have started this a few years ago. It wasn't that bad.
• I get less discouraged and frustrated if I make the project fun and include the kids.

I need to take a picture of the new faucet and add to the end of this post!

Being a Dad has Changed from the '60's

My experience growing up in the 60's and 70's definitely backs up this infographic.  I have very few memories of my Dad being around. Dad's spending more time with their children is a good thing.  Dad's spending time with their children and teaching them Jesus loves them by their words and actions is the best.

Dad Duty Changing with the Times (via Visual.ly)