Easy Dad Recipe: Po-Taco Pie

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Yes, you read that right. I said Po-Taco Pie. No it’s not a poor version of a taco, it is a pie made with mashed potato as the crust and then filled with all the ingredients of a taco.. Someone referred to it as a Mexican Sheppard’s pie. Whatever works for you.

The name really doesn’t matter because in the end, it just tastes damn good.

We made it for Super Bowl Sunday as it fit with the style of food normally eaten. But really, it is an ideal dish for any day that you feel the need for comfort food.

Oh, we also had a side of guacamole with it. Yeah, that happened.

Video: Deep Fried Turkey For Thanksgiving

This video is from four years ago when I deep fried my first turkey. I have done it many times since and each time the bird turns out perfect.

The meat is juicy and you would never even guess it was fried. The best part? It takes only 45 minutes to cook and there is not a lot of prep work to do.

So that means more time to sit around and watch TV or play with your kids.

Here is the video. The deep frying came from Butterball.

 

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Blackened Burgers On The Big Green Egg

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Updated January 26, 2026

With the long weekend starting in several hours, I wanted to share one more Big Green Egg recipe with you that my family loved.

Last weekend, I tried out Bobby Flay‘s recipe for blackened burgers with pepper jack and remoulade.

Burgers are always a hit in our house, and this recipe added in one of my favourite flavours – heat.

The blackened aspect of the burger is explained in Bobby Flay’s cook book, Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction, as doing it Louisiana style in a cast iron grill on high heat.

Good thing I have a cast-iron grill because it worked like a charm.

Basically, you make up a dry rub and put it on the side of the burger. Put it in the pan on very high heat and sear the meat so it has that black and charred crust that adds so much flavour.

Former Iron Chef Winner Likes My Cooking

The timing could not have been better. It was just the other day that we watched the finale of season 9 of Food Network Star, which ended up being won by Damaris Phillips.

One of the other contestants, who was an early favourite to win, was Viet Pham.

His claim to fame besides his restaurant in Utah (Forage), is that he beat Bobby Fley on Iron Chef America. That is a huge accomplishment to put on the resume.

So, the guy knows food.

Recipe: Smoked Ham On The Big Green Egg

Updated January 26, 2026

During my time using my Big Green Egg, I have done mostly chicken and beef. They are a lot quicker than pulled pork or even ribs. So, unless you are having guests over, you don’t try something that takes all day. Well, we had some friends over for dinner, and as we were planning the menu weeks ago, I wanted to try something new, but still something that had little chance of failure.

The worst thing you can do when expecting guests for dinner is to do something new that may not turn out. Then you are stuck serving food that you are not proud of, or you just give up and order pizza. I know the classics, such as beer can chicken or chicken thighs, would have been a hit, but it would have been pretty boring for me.

The answer turned out to be smoking a 10 lb. ham. Based on how much we all enjoyed it, I was glad I decided to ham it up.

Tequila Ham or as I was calling it, The Drunken Pig

Big Green Egg Weekly: What You Need To Start Smoking

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The last time that plate setter will be white ever again. It looks so pretty. 

Even though the theme of this blog is supposed to be about parenting and being a dad, Google is telling me that what is bringing eyes to the yard is the Big Green Egg. The amount of searches and clicks on Big Green Egg related recipes and photos is starting to take off.

So of course, that is why every Tuesday I will be posting the Big Green Egg Weekly. This will include tips, stories, recipes and any other news I have seen from the BGE world.

This week, I want to list all of the must-haves to get going with your Egg. The gadgets, accessories and extras for an Egg are endless and pricey. Once you buy one, odds are high you won’t have a lot of extra cash lying around.

So what do you REALLY need to start smoking?

Video: A Comparison Of First Food Moments

Last night, we gave Charlie his first food that did not come from a boob. Rice cereal of course and he seemed to enjoy it.

I took some video because it is one of those “first” moments you want to have.

Of course, it got me thinking back to Harrison’s first food moment and thanks to the wonder of YouTube, I have it to compare.

Harrison’s first food video had a lot more production value. You see, it was after we had just watched the Canada-USA Gold medal game in 2010. If you watch the video you will see fireworks in the background because, well we won.

Harrison’s moment also came about a month later in his life, so he was way more into it.

Harry was Feb. 28th, 2010 (being born in Sept.)

Charlie’s was Feb. 10th, 2013 (being born in Oct.)

The reason? He is a much bigger kid and is eating a lot more. My wife can’t keep up so we are seeing if some cereal will help fill that belly.

Anyways, here are the two videos.

Cooking Like A Dad – Pulled Pork On The Big Green Egg

On New Year’s Day, I decided to kick off 2013 with a tasty pulled pork dinner. That meant one thing – The Big Green Egg was waking up from a winter’s sleep.

Since Jan. 1 is usually a pretty lazy day, it seemed perfect to be smoking some meat low and slow. The final result was tasty pulled pork and lots of leftovers.

Here is the recipe.

Pulled Pork on the Big Green Egg