We recently went camping, and one of my favorite things to do when camping is cooking over a campfire. We did hobo packs the first night and mountain pies the second night. Both nights were a hit with the whole family.
Pretty much anything you throw in foil packet and toss over a campfire will work here. You can go right on the coals, but this was a recent fire, so I put them on a grate on top. There’s 2 layers of heavy duty foil here, but you don’t want it over a direct flame. These would work great on the grill too. I went for 30 minutes, flipped it, & let it go another 30 minutes.
I was looking for stew meat or cubed beef in the grocery store, but the Aldi on the way to the campground had beef that was marked as “Good for Carne Asada” and it looked perfect.
Ingredients:
Beef
Onion
White Mushrooms
Russet Potatoes
Red Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Carrots
Zucchini
Butter
Spices!
Black pepper
Season salt
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend
What would you put on yours?
Mountain Pies
I have made mountain pies many different ways, but this time we went with the classic pizza ones, and some Italian sub ones for dinner. Everyone went rogue for dessert.
Mine were done up proper…
Pizza Mountain Pie
White bread
Pizza Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella
Pepperoni
Roasted Red Peppers
Black Olives
Mushrooms
Italian Sub Mountain Pie
White bread
Ham Lunch Meat
Salami Lunch Meat
Pepperoni
Turkey Lunch Meat
Sliced Provolone
Roasted Red Peppers
Black Olives
Italian Dressing
Banana Split Mountain Pie(This is the one I had!)
White bread
Jif Choclolate/Peanut Butter Spread
Sliced Banana
Mini Marshmallows
Strawberry Chocolate Mountain Pie
White bread
Sliced Strawberries
Hershey’s Choclolate
Powdered Sugar (on top)
In the past I’ve made Mountain Pie Reubens (on rye), baked bean pies, leftover vegetable soup (thickened up) pies, apple pies, peach pies, peanut butter cup pies, breakfast (eggs & ham) pies, and probably more. The possibilities are endless. Sloppy Joe? Chipped ham BBQ? Grilled cheese? Ham n’ cheese? Turkey melt? Cheesesteak? Hot PB&J? Hot dog & baked beans? Biscuit dough around something? How do you do yours?
Of course, this doesn’t cover all the possibilities of campfire cooking. There’s hot dogs, s’mores, campfire banana splits, campfire corn, baked potatoes, & more. What do you do over your campfires?
I was hungry for meatloaf. I typically just wing it. Sometimes it’s the classic ketchup/mustard/BBQ (or A1) glaze. Sometimes there’s cheese. Sometimes it’s breadcrumbs. Sometimes it’s chunks of bread soaked in milk. Sometimes there’s shredded veggies like carrots or zucchini. Sometimes there’s hardboiled eggs inside & it’s wrapped in bacon. One time I made it in a crock pot just because someone said you shouldn’t, and meatloaf on the smoker is absolutely a win.
This was a win with the wife & kids, so I;’ll definitely be making it again!
I guess I like leftover meatloaf sandwiches enough to post about it on Threads not just once, but twice.
Tonight I had the idea to throw a bunch of stuff together, then tie it in to gravy & mashed potatoes. I could have sauteed onions & mushrooms, but this was quick easy weeknight dinner chaos. After the fact, I asked AI language models to help me write the recipe from the ingredients & prompts that I fed it, and this is what I got:
That’s fantastic! Thanks for the extra details—this sounds like a truly unique and delicious meatloaf. I’m especially impressed by the use of bread on the bottom to absorb grease and the beef bouillon in the mashed potatoes. Those are great pro tips!
Based on your ingredients and methods, here is a formatted recipe. Since you eyeballed a lot of the measurements, I’ve provided my best guess for the quantities. Feel free to adjust as you like for your blog post, since you’re the true master of this creation!
My “Crazy Good” Mushroom & Swiss Meatloaf Dinner
This recipe takes classic meatloaf and elevates it with a secret ingredient—a creamy mushroom sauce that’s mixed into the meat and used as a savory glaze. Served with cheesy mashed potatoes and a mushroom-loaded gravy, this is the ultimate comfort food meal.
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. lean ground beef
½ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup regular bread crumbs
1 cup crushed French fried onions
1⁄3 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
½ can (4 oz.)) mushrooms, stems & pieces, finely diced
¼ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese blend
3 to 4 glugs of A1 steak sauce
1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Table Blend seasoning
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
3 slices of white bread (for placing under the loaf)
For the Mushroom Glaze:
The remainder of the can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 to 4 glugs of A1 steak sauce
½ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese blend
The remainder of the can of mushrooms, stems & pieces
½ cup whole French fried onions
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
On a sheet pan, arrange the three slices of white bread in a row. These will absorb the grease from the meatloaf.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, lean ground beef, panko and regular bread crumbs, crushed French fried onions, cream of mushroom soup, diced mushrooms, shredded cheese, and A1 steak sauce.
Add the Mrs. Dash, ground mustard, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Using your hands, mix all ingredients thoroughly until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place it on top of the three slices of white bread on the sheet pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C) with a meat thermometer.
While the meatloaf is baking, prepare the glaze by mixing the remaining cream of mushroom soup, A1 steak sauce, cheese, and mushrooms in a small bowl.
After 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Spread the prepared glaze evenly over the top, then sprinkle the whole French fried onions on top.
Return the meatloaf to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the glaze is bubbly and the onions are golden brown. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Suggested Sides
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Prepare a box of instant mashed potatoes according to the package directions. For a savory twist, use a beef bouillon cube in place of salt. Add buttermilk along with the milk, and season with black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir in shredded cheese until it melts.
Mushroom Gravy
Prepare a packet of brown gravy mix. Once finished, stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of mushrooms, and a handful of crushed French fried onions.
Sweet Paprika Carrots
Cook canned carrots with a bit of butter, a pinch of brown sugar, and a dash of paprika until heated through.
Your dinner sounds incredible! Would you like me to draft a more detailed blog post introduction or a full recipe card for you, or do you have enough to get started?
That sounds like a seriously comfort-food feast — meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, mushroom-onion gravy, and sweet carrots. Perfect blog material. I can help you format this into a clean recipe write-up, with estimated amounts for the “eyeballed” parts so it’s easy to follow but still keeps your personal style.
Here’s a draft you could paste into WordPress and tweak to taste:
Crazy Good Meatloaf Dinner 🍽️
This is one of those meals where everything came together just right — a loaded, flavorful meatloaf with a cheesy mushroom glaze, creamy mashed potatoes, savory gravy, and sweet carrots on the side.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb lean ground beef
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup regular bread crumbs
½ cup crushed French fried onions (plus more for topping)
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup (divided)
1 small can mushrooms, stems & pieces or sliced (divided, finely dice half)
1 cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese (divided)
2–3 Tbsp A1 steak sauce (plus more for glaze)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Table Blend
½ tsp ground mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp season salt
3 slices white bread (to go under the loaf, absorbs grease)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with foil and place the 3 slices of white bread in the center.
In a large bowl, combine:
Ground beefs
⅓ of the mushroom soup
½ the can of mushrooms (finely diced)
A couple glugs of A1
About ½ cup shredded cheese
Bread crumbs, crushed fried onions, and all seasonings Mix gently until just combined.
Form mixture into a loaf on top of the bread slices.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: Mix remaining mushroom soup, the rest of the mushrooms, a splash more A1, and ½ cup shredded cheese.
Spread glaze over meatloaf, top with more French fried onions, and return to oven for 15 minutes.
Check with a thermometer — internal temp should be 160°F.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
1 box instant mashed potatoes
1 beef bouillon cube (use in the water instead of salt)
½ cup shredded cheese
2–3 Tbsp buttermilk (in addition to milk called for)
Black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder (to taste)
Instructions
Prepare potatoes according to box, replacing salt with beef bouillon.
Stir in cheese, buttermilk, and seasonings.
Mushroom-Onion Gravy
Ingredients
1 packet brown gravy mix (prepared according to directions)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
¼ cup crushed French fried onions
Instructions
Prepare gravy mix.
Stir in mushroom soup, mushrooms, and fried onions. Simmer until thick and rich.
Brown Sugar Carrots
Ingredients
1 can sliced carrots (drained)
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp paprika
Instructions
Warm carrots in a pan with butter.
Add brown sugar and paprika, stir until glazed.
🔥 Plate it up: thick slices of meatloaf with mushroom glaze, a scoop of cheesy mashed potatoes covered in gravy, and sweet carrots on the side.
Do you want me to make the recipe section blog-ready with your voice (like you did with your pretzel blob post — casual, funny, irreverent), or do you prefer the cleaner, “recipe card” format for this one?
Perfect — what a feast! Let’s capture your meatloaf dinner in a polished, blog-ready recipe format. I’ll give you a structured version of your meatloaf (with estimated measurements based on typical ratios), plus your mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots as sides. You can edit the amounts if you think they’re too light or heavy compared to what you actually eyeballed.
🍽️ Mushroom-Swiss Meatloaf Dinner
This hearty meatloaf dinner is rich with beef, mushrooms, Swiss and Gruyère, and topped with a savory mushroom glaze and crispy onions. A full comfort food plate with cheesy mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and buttery carrots.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef (80/20 works well)
1 lb lean ground beef
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup regular breadcrumbs
½ cup crushed French fried onions
⅓ can (about 10 oz can) cream of mushroom soup (approx. ⅓ cup)
½ can mushroom stems & pieces (approx. ½ cup, chopped finely)
½ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese blend
2–3 tablespoons A1 steak sauce (a few glugs)
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Table Blend (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
3 slices white bread (to set loaf on while baking; absorbs grease)
Mushroom Glaze
Remaining cream of mushroom soup (~⅔ cup)
Remaining ½ can mushrooms (~½ cup, sliced)
¼–½ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese
1–2 tablespoons A1 sauce
Handful of French fried onions (for topping)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the 3 slices of bread in the center (to act as a base for the meatloaf).
Mix the meatloaf: In a large bowl, combine ground beefs, breadcrumbs, crushed onions, mushroom soup (⅓ can), mushrooms (½ can, diced), shredded cheese (½ cup), A1, and seasonings. Mix until just combined — don’t overwork.
Form the loaf on top of the bread slices.
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until nearly cooked through. Internal temp should be around 150°F.
Make the glaze: Stir together mushroom soup (remaining ⅔ can), mushrooms (remaining ½ can), cheese, and A1. Spread evenly over meatloaf, then top with French fried onions.
Return to oven for 15 minutes more, until internal temp reaches 160°F and glaze is bubbling.
Rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Cheesy Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
1 box instant mashed potatoes (prepared according to package)
1 beef bouillon cube (used in place of salt in boiling water)
½ cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Swiss, or blend)
½ cup milk + splash of buttermilk
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Prepare boxed mashed potatoes, dissolving beef bouillon in water before adding potato flakes.
Stir in cheese, milk, and buttermilk.
Season with pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste.
Mushroom-Onion Brown Gravy
Ingredients
1 packet brown gravy mix (prepared according to package)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
½ cup French fried onions, crumbled
Instructions
Cook gravy mix as directed.
Stir in mushroom soup, mushrooms, and fried onions. Simmer until hot and thickened.
Candied Butter Carrots
Ingredients
1 can carrots, drained
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Heat carrots in a skillet with butter.
Stir in brown sugar and paprika.
Cook until glazed and heated through.
✅ Serving suggestion: Plate a hearty slice of meatloaf with a scoop of mashed potatoes topped with mushroom gravy, and a helping of sweet carrots on the side. Don’t forget extra crispy onions on top for crunch!
Would you like me to keep the recipe in a conversational, cozy “blogger” style (like a story around the dinner), or a sleek cookbook style (straight to the recipe)?
Absolutely, Eric—this meatloaf sounds like a punk rock symphony in casserole form. Let’s immortalize it with a blog-ready recipe that captures the chaos, comfort, and culinary swagger. I’ll format it with clear sections, estimated measurements, and your signature storytelling flair.
🧠 Eric’s “Dad Shit Deluxe” Meatloaf Dinner
A meatloaf so good it deserves its own zine spread.
🍖 Meatloaf Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb lean ground beef
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup regular breadcrumbs
½ cup crushed french fried onions
⅓ can (about 4–5 tbsp) cream of mushroom soup
½ can mushroom stems & pieces, finely diced
1–2 glugs A1 steak sauce (about 2 tbsp)
½ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère cheese
3 slices white bread (for under the loaf)
🧂 Seasonings (eyeballed, but here’s a guess)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Table Blend
½ tsp ground mustard
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp seasoned salt
🧪 Glaze Ingredients
Remaining cream of mushroom soup (~⅔ can)
Remaining mushrooms (~½ can), roughly chopped
1–2 more glugs A1 steak sauce
¼ cup shredded Swiss & Gruyère
Handful of whole french fried onions (for topping)
🔥 Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Form the loaf: Mix all meatloaf ingredients (except the white bread) in a large bowl. Shape into a loaf and place it directly on top of the 3 slices of white bread on a sheet pan. The bread will soak up grease and prevent burning.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Make the glaze: Combine remaining mushroom soup, mushrooms, A1, and cheese.
Top and finish: Spread glaze over the meatloaf, sprinkle with whole french fried onions, and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
Check internal temp: Use a meat thermometer to ensure it hits 160°F.
🥔 Sides That Slap
🧀 Beefed-Up Instant Mashed Potatoes
1 box instant mashed potatoes
1 beef bouillon cube (in water instead of salt)
½ cup shredded cheese
¼ cup buttermilk
½ tsp each: black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
Mix per box instructions, swapping salt for bouillon cube. Add cheese, buttermilk, and seasonings. Stir until creamy and punk-approved.
🍄 Mushroom Gravy Hack
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
¼ cup crumbled french fried onions
Prepare gravy mix as directed. Stir in soup, mushrooms, and onions. Simmer until thick and glorious.
🥕 Sweet & Smoky Carrots
1 can sliced carrots
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp paprika
Heat carrots with butter, sugar, and paprika until glossy and tender. Serve with attitude.
Want to add a zine-style intro or a playlist pairing for the blog post? I’m ready to riff.
🐄🧀🍄🥔🥕
Somewhere in there, there’s a tight recipe. Again, I didn’t measure anything, I just dumped. I tried to use common ingredients. Maybe I’ll make it different next time. This was really good though, so I may stick to it.
Do you use any AI language models for anything? Do you ever ask them for assistance combining recipes or for cooking? I wonder if one of them would be better at combining all these than the others? I can’t decide which model did the best job.
On to the meatloaf… What tips & tricks do you have? I always to the bread one. Hit me up in the comments or on social media.
Like everyone who has a vegetable garden, or even just one potted plant, we have an abundance of zucchini. I was asking AI language models for casserole cooking times & temperatures based on what I had around & could easily grab from the store, and I sort of picked a hybrid of all of them. I used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, & CoPilot. Originally I had been asking about zucchini bread recipes, then asked about the casserole. It is interesting to bounce ideas off of them.
“Zucchini!” (But, say it like a Jawa yelling “Utini!” in Star Wars.)
I had the idea for the lil’ zucchini things last time I made breaded zucchini & ran out of breadcrumbs before zucchini.
Zucchini Ditalini Chickpea Chikini
I hesitate to call this a casserole, because the kids are on a brainrot social media kick where they have been informed somehow that Crock⬩Pot meals & casseroles are bad. The best part is they both ate & loved it… one even went back for more. It was a hit with the wife too, and I’d eat it again.
Zucchini Ditalini Chickpea Chikini
I felt like making a casserole, but not making a mess by pre-cooking/par-cooking or measuring anything. So… I ended up making two 9″x13″ casseroles. Here it is to the best of my memory.
2 (8 oz.) blocks of cream cheese, softened (Leave it out for a bit, nuke it, or cradle it in your armpits.)
1 (2 cup)bag of shredded white cheddar cheese
1 (2 cup) bag of Havarti cheese
1 (1½ cup) bag of Gouda cheese (Same damn size bag – thanks, shrinkflation!)
1 (32 oz./4 cups) box of chicken stock
1 stick (4 oz./½ cup) butter.
Breadcrumbs – Maybe 3 cups?
2 Tbsp. minced garlic from a jar because elicits unwarranted hate.
Seasonings to taste – I used Rotisserie Chicken seasoning, Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, & dried parsley. Ain’t nobody measuring all that.
I was going to include some “bacon pieces,” but I must have left them in the store, or they fell out in the car, or I put them in a weird place or threw them out, because they absolutely are in what may as well be a pocket dimension.
The Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 375°
Grease apparently two 9″x13″ glass baking dishes with a stick of butter.
Get two mixing bowls. In one, whisk the egg, then fold in the cream cheese, the chicken stock, the garlic, the (drained) chickpeas, about half of each of the shredded cheeses, the dry Ditalini, and spices in one mixing bowl.
Slice up the bell pepper, onion, zucchini, & chicken in consistently sized cubes. (If you left the zucchini in the garden too long like I did, cut out the spongy center.) Put all that in the other mixing bowl, toss it with some more of all the spices.
Mix the contents of the two bowls together as you string together new swear words and wish you have an even more ridiculously larger mixing bowl.
Put those into the baking dishes. Or one big one, or a casserole dish, or whatever you’ve got. Cover with foil, place in oven, & bake for 45 min.
Melt the remainder of the stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Or a microwave unsafe bowl if you’re an agent of chaos. Dump in some breadcrumbs and toss them in the butter, so the breadcrumbs are coated but not all gross. I used a mix of panko & regular. I did not measure.
Pull from the oven, but leave it on, remove foil.
Spread the remaining shredded cheese on the top of the casseroles, then the buttery breadcrumbs… and put it back in the oven. I swapped it to 350° on a convection setting at this point for 15 minutes… but you do you.
Notes:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO PRE-COOK THE CHICKEN, PASTA, OR VEGETABLES. You certainly can, and it may deepen the flavors and reduce baking time, but I wanted to do this all in one go. I checked the chicken in a few sports with an instant-read and it was a bit over the USDA recommended 165°.
I was going to mix the cheeses together at the end, but why dirty another bowl? I dumped them on almost somewhat evenly.
Obviously, cut out what you don’t like, add what you do, skip stuff, or add stuff.
I may try this again with bacon or ham… but there was a good bit of salt in all the cheeses already, and probably the chickpeas.
I may try this with shredded zucchini and maybe leaving the chicken breast cutlets whole on top. Maybe.
Ricotta instead of cream cheese may be good too.
Use chicken broth, bone broth, vegetable broth, milk, water, or whatever… just give the pasta enough liquid to absorb.
Pizzucchini Teeny Mini
Again, this was a quick idea I had last tame I made air-fried breaded zucchini and ran out of bread crumbs because the zucchini multiplies as I sliced it. I did it in the oven quick after I yanked out the “let’s not call this casserole a casserole.”
Pizzuchini Teeny Mini
Ingredients:
1 normal-sized zucchini.
1 (2 cup) bag of “pizza cheese”
1 (15 oz.) squeeze bottle of pizza sauce
a bit of EVOO
Maybe ½ cup of breadcrumbs
The Method:
Do you really need instructions here? I put the oven on 400° on the air-fryer setting. I didn’t pre-heat it because it was already running.
I sliced the zucchini about ¼-inch thick, and put it on the baking sheet over a bit of EVOO.
I dropped on some sauce, some cheese, and a tiny bit of breadcrumbs.
I put it the oven for 15 minutes.
Notes:
What the hell is “pizza cheese?” It said that on the bag. I guess mozzarella & provolone? Please tell me in the comments that it is all plastic & slowly killing me. Maybe I should have read the bag.
I will probably skip the EVOO or get a cooking rack for the air fryer setting.
~🧀~
OK, so that’s it. Hit me up with suggestions, questions, love, or hate in the comments! Share your zucchini recipes, too!
I know dried chip beef is the norm, but it’s so damn salty. If I use that I rinse it off. The jarred stuff is wildly expensive & the lil’ Buddig packs have like 2 slices of meat. (This “½ lb.” was only 7 oz., thanks Hillshire Farms & shrinkflation!)
I added black pepper, onion powder, Mrs. Dash table blend, paprika, & ground mustard. Of course. You do you & add what you like.
Melt your butter on high in a pan on the stove top.
Chop & add the beef as it’s melting.
Crank it down to medium-high.
Toss in the flour, brown it in the butter to cook off the flour taste.
Add a cup of milk, stir until thick.
Add the 2 leftover cups of milk, cook until it thickens… it will thicken more upon standing.
I put the recipe before the story for all you “I DoN’T WaNt tO ReAd yOuR LiFe sToRy, JuSt gIvE Me tHe rEcIpE!” people. Fancy people call this Chipped Beef on Toast and polite people call it S.O.S., I call it “Shit on a Shingle.”
I think traditionally, shit on a shingle is served with dried chipped beef. I have used the jarred Armor or Hormel and the packet of Buddig stuff in the past. I like the pastrami, but corned beef, roast beef, or whatever you want would work. Go crazy with ham, turkey, chicken, venison, bison, elk, rabbit, squirrel, or whatever tickles your tastebuds.
I use the term traditionally loosely, as I have heard others claim it should be made with ground beef. It seems to be a military thing. It may change depending on your branch of service, the time when you served, and the region?
Some unhinged people may even add cheese… and someone on threads said they add peas. I like creamed peas, so why not? We used to have creamed canned asparagus over toast. Sometimes the asparagus was fresh and we used cream-of asparagus condensed soup to make the sauce.
This really isn’t much different from sausage and gravy over biscuits. I prefer bacon to sausage… so I have made bacon in the oven, collected the drippings, & used that instead of butter or sausage drippings to make the gravy for serving over some biscuits.
Perhaps the term shit on a shingle may be like “pigs in a blanket” and mean vastly different things to different people.
I would guess you could make the sauce from corn starch instead of flour if you wanted to have a gluten-free or wheat-free option or alternative? This seems easily adaptable to vegetarian or vegan needs subbing in peas or asparagus.
• AC🗲DC • PWR🗲UP • Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh PA • Thursday May 8th, 2025 •
So, I have been a casual AC/DC fan for as long as I can remember getting into music. They were always there, always a mainstay, always the butt of “same sounding songs” jokes alongside fellow icons the Ramones. I believe I bought Razor’s Edge& Back in Black about the same time in Jr. High. I really dug “Big Gun” from the Last Action Hero soundtrack, and of course, loved the older stuff with Bon Scott as I got into them.
My kids heard me playing “Big Balls” when they were younger, and of course glommed onto it as the most hilarious song ever. I think I created a rock fan with my son, as he has really dug into the AC/DC catalog.
He wanted AC/DC tickets for his birthday, so we got some… then later traded up when a good friend said he wanted to come to town to catch the show with another buddy, as the speculation spread that it may be their last tour and they weren’t playing out his way.
I prepped by making a playlist of suspected tunes on Amazon Music & Spotifythanks to Setlist.fm. I also have one called 100% Certified Angus on Amazon & Spotify that we rock sometimes too! And my son has been spinning Back in Black on vinyl of all things. (I refuse to get into vinyl or guitar pedals, because I already have a guitar problem.)
Off we went for my son’s first stadium show, first time seeing Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, & first time seeing AC/DC live! We did catch The Aquabats! at the Roxian last year and that was super badass. That was his 1st concert (if we don’t count the incredible & talented Laurie Berkner for a Christmas concert when the kids were super small) and 1st punk rock show!
🤘 For those about to rock, we salute you! 🤘
Just a mashup of clips I got that evening of my dude enjoying his night:
If you follow me on the socials, you probably saw a few signs that we were there. It’s super exciting to me to bond over music as it has been such an important thing to me over the years, as a creative outlet, a place of joy, and comfort.
I can say he said it was “the best night of his life,” so I think he had fun! Ha ha. I am glad I got to see Angus & Brian perform. Man, the band are tight, but with a nice loose groove. I knew they were powerhouse rock icons, but to see it? Absolutely amazing. The show production was crazy with the infamous bell, canons, fireworks, huge LED screens, pyrotechnics, confetti, on-the-fly graphics enhancing live video… but at the same time it all seemed very simple. I’m not sure how to convey it. The frills were not the focus. Obviously Angus and his SG’s are the focus. Even Brian knows this, and he looks like he is having the time of his life up there, knowing he has the coolest job in the world.
I think Angus may be slightly slower now that he was in the 80s or 90s, but at 70 years old… he is undeniably crushing it skipping, shimmying, and duck-walking around the stage while playing rambling angry blues licks, goading the crowd into cheering, stripping off parts of the schoolboy uniform, & taking 17 minute extended guitar solos. At one point, he even defiled the fretboard with his necktie as a slide. That is how you put on a show. Some sources online seemed to think Brian’s vocals were low in the mix. I think that was the case where we were at on the floor… but videos from elsewhere have it perfect. His voice is amazing, and again, at 77… he is running around belting out these immortal songs like it’s nothing for 2 damn hours.
The crowd was sedate, lots of people fist-bumping or throwing horns or thumbs up to my dude as we went through the crowd & got to our seats. There were obviously visible drunks, but nothing I saw got too out of hand, even the tailgating outside seemed to be chill.
It has all kinds of videos from promo stuff, to stage setup, to pyrotechnic stuff, vloggers, and nearly every song individually, from a bunch of different vantage points, and someone grabbed the whole show!
We have had a lot of craziness going on lately, so this was a fun respite and I think we needed it. Hopefully this will be a day long remembered by both of us as a highlight to this year.
So, were you there? Share your stories, pictures, & videos in the comments! I’d love more YouTube stuff to add to the playlist too. I think the only individual song I’m missing is “Rock N’ Roll Train.”
If you weren’t there, or saw them some other time, or in your city, or just want to drop some AC/DC memories or lore, do that too!
The algorithm wanted me to try the canned biscuit dough pretzel bites. It kept coming up. I kept clicking. I posted about it on social media asking questions. I looked at recipes online. They all had different methods! Are these people even trying their own recipes? They’re wildly different.
I decided to try some different methods, & bounce it off of AI to get a cooking time/temp. I put the following into Gemini, ChatGPT, & Perplexity:
Hello. I have seen many recipes for pretzel bites made from pre-made canned biscuit dough online. There are so many variations, I was wondering if you could recommend one singular method as to time and temperature. I would like to bake them in the oven. My oven has traditional, convection, and air fry settings. Can you suggest a time, temperature, and setting?
Also, I am having trouble deciding if boiling in baking soda water, or just coating in baking soda water is the way to go. Also, what is the best ratio of water to baking soda?
And, I hear egg wash and just a melted butter wash are good ways to coat them before baking. Would you use the whole egg, or just the whites or yolks? Can you do both?
I am tempted to bake pretzels in 4 quadrants, one quarter each of them in the following combos;
Boiled in baking soda water / Egg wash.
Boiled in baking soda water / Melted butter.
Coated in baking soda water / Egg wash
Coated in baking soda water / Melted butter
Do you think that would solve most of my questions? Can you put together the baking time & temp, and baking soda solution measurements and boiling or coating times?
Here’s what they said:
Gemini’s Answer
GhatGPT’s Answer
Perplexity’s Answer
I’ll try to link to the full answers here too, as I did keep all 3 conversations going for a bit with different queries.
They looked OK for the most part. I had two cans of pre-made biscuit dough, both were Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle. One was Butter Tastin’, one was Buttermilk. Butter Tastin’ was tray 1, Buttermilk was tray 2. I tried all the things. Baked at 425° for 8 minutes. The boiled ones puffed up a bit, I only let them go for 15 seconds using Alexa as my timer, as I read that boiling too long in the baking soda can give you a metallic taste. The baking soda bath was in warm water… I only left them in for as long as it took me to boil the other ones. I did forget to put salt on until halfway through cooking. I used the coarse salt grinder.
Pre-Made Biscuit Dough Pretzel Blobs by AiXeLsyD13
I broke each quadrant down & gave it a letter, & a really short summary…
Absolute 🥨 Shenanigans
A | Butter Tastin’ / Boiled in Baking Soda / Egg Wash – Most pretzel-like texture. Needed baked a bit more.
B | Butter Tastin’ / Boiled in Baking Soda / Butter Wash – Seemed like crunchy biscuits.
C | Butter Tastin’ / Baking Soda Bath / Egg Wash – Tasted burnt-ish.
D | Butter Tastin’ / Baking Soda Bath / Butter Wash – Straight up biscuit.
E | Buttermilk / Boiled in Baking Soda / Egg Wash – The outside was very pretzely.
F | Buttermilk / Boiled in Baking Soda / Butter Wash – Close to a pretzel. -ish.
G | Buttermilk / Baking Soda Bath / Egg Wash – Good… but crunchy. Maybe baked less time?
H | Buttermilk / Baking Soda Bath / Butter Wash – Very biscuit-like.
So, that was a thing. Definitely going boiled, & egg wash next time. May seek out some coarse salt or pretzel salt. I may try it at 400° on the convection setting for 8 minutes, or a little longer on the regular setting at 425°. Also, may try cooking on a baking rack & cooling on a cooling rack. I may go got more traditional biscuit dough too, instead of what I had. At the end of the day, these all tasted great dipped in some Herlocher’s. I just wish I had some beer left, but I used my last can of Straub Amber making BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (and rocking out) today. Also, gotta try some with cheese in the middle, right?
Also, I know they’re not perfect yet, but these AI chat bots can REALLY help consolidate / create recipes pulled from so many online sources. It seems like you can search for 5 recipes, & get 7 different cooking times & temperatures at the very least. Then, like my stuff, if there’s no “Jump to Recipe” button, you gotta use Cooked.Wiki, JustTheRecipe.com, or Just The Recipe. As of now, the AI bots are not riddled with advertising and paid ad placement/rankings. They all have their strengths & weaknesses.
Here’s where you hit me up in the comments and/or on social media with your tried-and-true pretzel & pretzel bite methods. I’m not really all that super interested in making dough, so that’s why the canned dough piqued my interest. And, have you used AI prompts for cooking or anything else interesting lately?
So, while I lean into punk & metal on a regular basis, I enjoy a wide variety of Christmas music. A lot of it I can find on Amazon Music (I refuse to pay for Spotify when we have all kinds of other Amazon stuff). Some I can’t. I’ll have to make a YouTube or free crappy free commercial-filled Spotify playlist.
What are some of your favorites? Here are a few of mine.
I also really dig the Bad Religion, Vandals, & Twisted Sister Christmas albums, and so many punk rock comps, and the Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash ones… and the Billy Idol one.
So, it’s been a long time since I have been to a punk rock show… or really any kind of show or concert. It’s been even longer since I was a regular attendee or participant in such shenanigans.
I posted about it on FB a bit, but wanted to share it here too and see if it sparked any discussion on obtaining bootlegs (or official recordings) on shows you have attended.
Went to Setlist.fm, & made a playlist of all 3 bands’ songs last night on Amazon. We live in the FUTURE.
Although, this is slightly less cool than when I found an “Import” at CD Warehouse in Monroeville of the Bloodhound Gang at a show I saw at Metropol. I wish I had the Nerf Herder set from that night!
Somewhere, I probably still have cassette tapes of the Guns N’ Roses set from Three Rivers Stadium in the early 90s. Anyone remember those rock conventions where you could buy mad bootlegs that sounded like someone had a Radio Shack tape recorder jammed squarely up their keister?
I have legally purchased digital versions Metallica and Willie Nelson shows that I have attended. This shit ought to be standard practice for even smaller shows. I’d slap $ on top of the ticket price for a live recording of a show I attended, no problem.
Would you like to more easily be able to buy downloadable audio/video of shows or concerts that you attend? I know I would.
Looks like someone posted the sets from Monday on YouTube:
It was a late night for my dude, but he pepped up with these songs! We were up front (at Ian’s insistence) for #LeftAlone , the middle for #TheAggrolites , then hung back for #TheAquabats ! All the bands put one hell if a great show, and it will be a killer tour. I’ll have to wade through video & post some tomorrow night too. Maybe on YouTube. #PizzaDay#RoxianTheater#Pittsburgh#🍕📆
I have been feeding the birds forever, and enjoy watching all the critters on our suburban landscape… even down to the bees pollinating in my zucchini flowers. I have enjoyed the Merlin Bird ID app for identifying birds that I have observed at my feeder since we moved here over 10 years ago. There’s a nice flowering tree out back that you can see perfectly from the kitchen window.
I started out with it out back by the old feeder, and a picnic table squirrel feeder from Amazon. The deer got crazy close and I was afraid of them destroying it… so I got a pole and moved it to the side of the house, right outside the window… and now the cats enjoy it there, too. I had to get the Pro Perch add-on, too.
So, of course, I got another pole and another Birdfy camera without the feeder attached and a solar panel from Walmart(they’re weirdly cheaper there in person & sometimes on Amazon than they are online at Birdfy). I couldn’t now miss the action at my old traditional feeder & the new squirrel feeder.
I have since caught deer feeding on the corn and bird seed, squirrels, a chipmunk or two, and so many trash pandas in addition to all the birds.
I thought I’d share photos of my setup and some videos that I have taken since I have had people inquire about it. I can see myself getting a hummingbird feeder or the nest camera down the line. Ha ha.
I have dubbed the backyard area the Naughty Gnome Noshery, and I’ll eventually work out some signage. (My wife calls it “Bird Kennywood.”) I planted some pollinator mix around the base of the tree to hopefully obfuscate the seed casings & spent peanut shells… and provide some help to bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, & other pollinators. I hung one of my 3 insect hotels out there, too.
The Naughty Gnome Noshery
I ought to get a ground level camera for the rabbits, and I have seen the occasional red fox in the neighborhood, too.
I have gone through a few feed mixes, different suet block flavors, even suet pellets that no one liked, but I have arrived on mixing my own from a hot pepper or spicy sunflower mix, safflower seeds, and mealworms all mixed together (for now), with peanuts for the squirrels… but the blue jays and grackles like those, too. I have put out oranges and grape jelly to try & attract orioles to no success.
I do suggest getting both the Netvueand the Birdfy apps. I use the Netvue one for camera setup, and the Birdfy one to watch the videos. Sadly, the AI bird identification subscription service is per camera, not app… so I only have it on the first one, and I still use Merlin Bird ID a lot. I know my friend Jason has the Bird Buddy brand and he’s very happy with it. I’m sure there are lots of cool ones out there.
World (and Lunar) Domination 