Same ole, same ole here... with some minor changes, mostly to the meat plate. These changes may or may not have happened anyways, or they could have happened due to the 48-hour power outage last weekend and my needing to restock my freezer.
July 28th - LAZY CHEAP NACHOS
These nachos are about an ages old question that may never truly be answered: Are lazy, cheap nachos the best nachos?
No changes here from years past, just the same lazy cheap nachos. These do, however, have the tortilla chips that I will swear by... and this may be the first time included for these. They're still store bought chips, and probably cheaper than some better known brands so the name is still applicable.
Tortilla Chips
Lazy Nacho Cheese Sauce
Jalapenos (jar)
July 29th - PIZZA
Last years pizza was underwhelming, and the one I got a couple weeks later to make up for it came with rude service. So, I really wanted to nail the pizza this year and I went with the place I last remember having a good pizza and good service from - Marco's PIzza.
Deluxe Pizza - Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, and Onion with Butter Crust
I first learned of Marco's from my brother about ten years ago. I've only tried them 3-4 times since, including this time, and have never had any complaints. There is nothing to complain about with this pizza. They're still growing, but if they continue with this quality then I think they have the edge over more seasoned chains such as Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, Papa John's, and Domino's. Not my definitive go-to place for pizza because other places I trust are closer, but always in the conversation when debating options.
July 30th - CAKE
The actual day of my birthday fell on a Sunday this year which is why I swapped the cake day with the meat day, more on that tomorrow. I went a bit untraditional with the cake this year, and opted for a Lemon Glazed Streusel Creme Cake. This selection may also be because of the recent power outage and subsequent ice cream problems it caused me, but I wasn't really craving a heavily frosted or filled cake this year and was thinking along these lines beforehand anyways so... maybe this is my choice no matter what.
Lemon Glazed Streusel Creme Cake
July 31st - PLATE OF MEAT
I switched the 'plate of meat' to the day after my birthday because my birthday fell on a Sunday and usually birthdays with the cake were celebrated on the weekend so I did that instead. However, it's even more fitting on this day since my dad once forgot my birthday and thought it was on the 31st. Also, doing it on this day keeps me from having to do anything on my birthday.
I needed to restock my freezer in the process and was buying more meat than usual so, I got exactly what I wanted on this plate onto this plate. Mostly the same as years past, one extra sausage link is what the power outage and subsequent restocking contributed to this plate, also some beef sticks. I did buy the meatballs premade this time, though not frozen. It's probably cheaper than buying the beef and pork separate, plus, my head just wasn't into following a recipe and making meatballs by hand even if it is my own recipe. So, I just cooked them in some garlic butter and crossed my fingers that it would be enough to keep them from drying out without any gravy or sauce while on a full plate of meat. I also switched the Texas Toast to Three Cheese Breadsticks, breadsticks filled with cheese. A last minute impulse buy and addition I made, because I already had all the meats in my cart and figured 'why not?' before I added these Jalapeno Cheddar Pork & Beef Sticks and then decided to add a couple to the plate. For the chips this year I went with a local brand and opted for two varieties of flavored potato chips - Crinkle Kettle Avocado Cilantro Lime and Crinkle Kettle Sweet Maui Onion.
Delmonico Steak
Polska Kielbasa
Mesquite Pork Tenderloin
Garlic Butter Meatballs
Polish Sausage
Beer Bratwurst
Hot Italian Sausage
Jalapeno Cheddar Pork & Beef Sticks
Three Cheese Breadsticks
Nacho Cheese Dipping Sauce
Sweet n' Spicy Pickle Chips
all on a bed of Potato Chips with... Everything Bagel Seasoning Chip Dip
The dip was a last minute addition, never seen it before so when I did I grabbed it up. Don't know if I will include chip dip in future incarnations.
The only thing really missing is a beverage. With this much meat and the carbs from the potato chips and the breadsticks, alcohol is probably not the best option. Even if one manages to keep it down, you're not going to feel good if drinking alcohol with this, same can be said about sugary soft drinks. So, given all the carbon on the plate, a carbonated beverage makes most sense... I opted for just a plain club soda. Don't know if it will stick or not.
Who cares if this is good or not, right or wrong; it's the only way my birthday does not completely underwhelm.
