I love BBQ season but time is not always on my side. My father use to visit us several times a year and in the summer he would always bring fresh pork chops from his butcher. As we create our family recipe book we are naming each of our recipes because they all hold a special spot in our hearts. So this one is “Grampa’s Chops” - easy, pretty quick and sooooo tasty!

This meal is a quick and easy dinner and one that the kids can help with. Here’s what you will need:

• Porkchops (or any meat or meat alternative)
• Carrots (Make lots because they taste extra good cooked this way) cut into pieces
• Potatoes cut into chunks

While your grill is heating up cut your carrots and potatoes into pieces, I make the potatoes large chunks and the carrots smaller chunks. Make foil packets for the carrots and potatoes adding a little olive oil or butter (spray if you are using a standard foil and not the nonstick) and salt and pepper. You will be turning the packages over so be sure they are sealed well to hold up to moving around.

When the grill is hot place the potatoes on the grill with the carrots ontop of the potatoes. This lets the potatoes get a head start of the carrots but the carrots start cooking a little too. Potatoes take about 20 minutes to cook so about 10 minutes into cooking I put the carrots down on the grill and turn the potatoes over.

Now is the time to put your meat on the grill, depending on how long it will take to cook. Our “grampa chops” take about 8 minutes per side so I put them on now. Another 5 minutes and turn both packages over. When the meat is done the veggies should be too.

We serve this meal family style with everything on one large platter.

Enjoy!

The past three weeks has been crazy busy. Work, life, but most of all - a sick family!

When my kids are sick they hang out in our bedroom watching TV and resting. I like that I can sit with them to keep them company on and off during the day. That blue bowl is Sam’s sick bucket. He passes on the toilet - and has used this kind of “bucket” since he was little. I wrote a column sometime ago about our sick day plan which includes this bucket or if you are creative you can get a summer bucket and let the kids decorate with sharpie markers (with you around to insure only the bucket gets decorated) and it makes a comfort zone for a sick kid. A sick bucket also makes cleanups easy as they can be washed out and tossed in the dishwasher - even brought in the car for kids who have trouble on long rides.

The sick bucket has been put up and we are all feeling much better. Now, I can get back to taking pictures!

Helen