The Day all Cylinders Fired

Is it the actual aging process,
exhaustion or craziness from raising kids
that makes you lose your mind?
My mind is like an old PC most days
that is churning and churning until it can
pull up the information needed.
Once in a while though, just once in a while,
it clicks.  Ideas come.  I can recall a word
I'm trying to say or actually remember
my children's names.
When these days come, you take heed my friend.
Take heed.

Our family recently celebrated Memorial Day,

as most all of America did by cooking out.

The hubby and I, along with the girls,

were off of work and out of school.

We were so excited that we planned a full menu.

The grill was getting fired up and

a few new recipes were about to be devoured.

As with most other times when we crank up the grill,

my mountain man makes a plea for

any and everything grill-able

to be brought forth so that

the heavenly perfume of charcoal grilling

can overtake every morsel of food we have.

The man loves grilled food.

Or is it just cow flesh.

No, maybe it's just meat in general.

And sometimes maybe, just maybe,
all the cylinders in my brain fire
and with a little thought and planning,
we are able to pre-cook several meals

worth of meat in one grilling!  It's a win, win!

On that fine Memorial Day,
we cooked steak to consume for that meal
and then threw on some hot dogs
and burgers for another meal.
Unbeknownst to me, the next day would be
National Hamburger Day! So perfectly fitting.
And voila, we pull out the hamburgers
and mom is a hero.

I know you've heard it a million times
and HALF a million times from me,
but these REALLY ARE
the best homemade burgers
we've ever had!

But first, a little sauce.

I came across a whiskey sauce recipe
and with it the hamburger patty instructions.
The sauce is what originally
caught my attention, but it also said
to put one shot of the whiskey into
the meat before making the patties.
Ok. Why not.
Maybe that's part of the secret?!
I'm not sure.  Prepare the patties however you like,
but this sauce, oh. my. goodness. Yum!

Whiskey Sauce.  Eee-gasp...yes, it's a whiskey sauce.
And you'll want to slather it on everything. 
If you're a fan of the Jack Daniels line at Chili's - here's your ticket.
This sauce would be great on steaks and chicken
not just burgers.


WHAT YOU NEED:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup good whiskey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup catsup (or less)
1 tablespoon steak sauce (we used A-1)
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
(IF you're brave, we used 2 teaspoons)
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons bacon grease
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
(Makes about 2 cups)

WHAT TO DO:

Combine all ingredients in a medium size saucepan. 

Simmer until slightly thickened 

over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. 

Stirring frequently with a wire whisk.
Store in a jar or sealed container
and refrigerate until ready to drink use.

Who knew a sauce could throw something
over the top. Who knew.

Cook you a burger, add some bacon, grilled onions
and drizzle this sauce over it - and, BAM!
Awesomeness.

ENJOY!