I'm a smoker

I believe I'm becoming an addict of smoking. Yes, I know, I know...but I can't help it. It's too much fun and it is so satisfying.

I have researched for quite some time which smoker I wanted to get. I have had a 'bullet' electric smoker for some time but I was ready to upgrade. I still wanted an electric smoker because with 5 kids, I don't have the time to baby a wood smoker. I know that there are purist out there that say I'm cheating, but I don't care. I care about the outcome and ease at this point of my life. I ended up buying a Masterbuilt smoker. I picked up this smoker a couple of weeks ago and pre-burned/seasoned it the first day. For Father's Day, I smoked some baby back ribs and beans and it turned out very nice. Last night, we had our Financial Peace University instructors over for a cook-out and I smoked a pork shoulder and some more beans. I also tried my luck at some barbecue sauce made from scratch. The meat, beans and sauce turned out great. I smoked the meat for 12 hours at 225 degrees with hickory chips. I smoked the beans for about 7 hours. Here are some pics...

boys will be boys

Here you can see my two sons and their complete cuteness.

just a little patience

I am finding that life takes patience...especially with 5 kids. Wife and I (her more obviously) are really tired from our new baby not sleeping through the night. This tiredness and stress is magnified by our other kids who are acting like kids. Unfortunately, there is no mute switch for them or the ability to change the channel to get them to act differently. Hopefully, this trial won't last long...