Round Up: BBQ

It's all about FOOD and FRIENDS!

This year's round up included a BBQ that made many mouths water!

We started lunch with marinaded Carne Asada beef and chicken for the BBQ, homemade beans, rice and salsa made with love from our cowboy's wives, Gabby and Araceli. We also had some really unbelievable side dishes and delicious desserts from friends and family.

 Our dining tables were cowboy'd out with red bandanna tablecloths with center pieces made from many things found around the ranch. 

Peanuts anyone?

 Tent and tables ready to go.

Many thanks to Bob and Nicole for helping set-up, it was great to have the extra hands and muscles.

Vic made an awesome rustic 15' food table that helped us get the food out to the guests.

This year Vic was thinking of a way to avoid my complaining about how to keep the food cold all day long and keep it out on the table.  We bought these great 10 gallon pails with lids that were filled with ice and the food was nestled into the ice.  He cut holes into the top of the table to sink-in the pails making it easy for people to reach into the pail and get the food. 

Way to go Vic, thanks for making things easier!

No shortage of cute cowboys with nice arms!

Cowboy Mike tended to the coals all day so that we could keep the grills going, for about 10 hours! 

A big thanks goes to Michael, our nephew!

Two grills did the job for the Carne Asada tacos.

This custom-made grill did a great job cooking 125lbs of marinaded beef carne asada.

This work-of-art smoker and grill did a great job cooking 50lbs of marinaded chicken through out the day and night. 

Here we go folks, we have our beef cooks, cowboys Mike and Craig, with a California surfer, Tyler, supervising. 

 Cowboy Craig proved to have been born with Teflon coated finger tips as he manned the beef without the use of kitchen tools.  He flipped, poked and pulled that beef around with his bare hands! He rocks! 

Tortilla cooker...Cowboy Lance set up the propane stove and put out hot tortillas all day long.

Cowboy Kevin, with the upside down cowboy hat, pumped out the chicken like nobody else can!

Our thanks goes out to them for helping out....all day!

Looking for love in all the wrong places, oh wait isn't that a song?

 And then there were the ladies!....working their fingers to the bone cutting all of that meat into finely sliced works-of-art for the guests to load into the hot tortillas!

Matching jeans not intended.

The girls were having fun chatin and cuttin.

Couldn't have done it without them!

I love you girls!

Cowboy Craig made sure we were stocked with fresh off the grill beef. 

A big thank you to my girlfriends Cari, Nicole, Rhonda, Lisa and Cindy who helped cut meat, get beers, and eat when no one was looking! 

Did I mention we were the part of the test kitchen?

Together, we all cooked and cut enough meat to feed 300+ people!!!

Whoo Hooo

My feet did hurt at the end of the day.

I don't like lines or people having to wait...I had a slight panic attack and then pulled myself together and started cutting faster! I think it was grilling guy's fault...they didn't grill fast enough!

Joking aside, we had so many people ready to eat that we couldn't cook the meat fast enough!

HUNGRY PEOPLE!

 Look at all of that chicken!

Cowboy Kevin is trying to keep the line going.

 Cowboy Bob, aka Bobby, is pumping out the beef like a true chef!

A big thanks to Bob for all of his help!!!!

Cowboy Mike is workin the coals!

Great Job Mike!!!!

Everything is flowing well with all of the help we got from family and friends.

Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!

Cowgirls, Lisa and Nicole, did get to take a break and join the guys for lunch.

My nephew Jacob was our right-hand-man for this event! Without him I would have been in a world of hurt trying to get everything out on the tables, food replenished and cooked.

We can't thank him enough!

Missy and her beautiful kids!

Missy is the wife of Pat who builds really-cool-things out of recycled parts like our two barbecues, the big table by the barbecues, and both fire pits.

 Enjoying the views and the food.


Looking good Bob!

Cowgirl Heather helping clean up!
Thank you!

Cowgirl Holleigh finding her spot to sit and eat with her family.

The water and soda were served out of feed troughs, nice way to use what's on the ranch!

Good idea Bobby!

 Now for the sweets!

I made this lollipop basket for the little cow-pokes.

 Gummy worms and bears were a hit with the kids.

The WESTERN COOKIES were made by my sister, Heather, and were a hit! They also made me cry because she made them for me and they are so darn cute I couldn't eat them...

So I stared at them for a whole day before I ate one!

Heather is so talented!

My favorite design is the hot-pink boot, made to resemble Sophia's very own boots!

A great big hug and a huge thank you to Heather! Check out her blog for some really great cookies!