Father’s Day Grilling With Sears And Ribfest–Giveaway

Summer is officially here in our house.  No, it isn’t June 21 yet, but everyone is out of school.  And more importantly, the sun is shining and it is finally warm enough to wear shorts.  For me, that means the oven goes off for the majority of the summer, and instead we spend the majority of our time grilling.  It never ceases to amaze me what we can – and do! – grill, but we love it.  The theme #GrillingIsHappiness sums up our summer perfectly.

And really, that’s one of my husband’s favorite mantras.  “Anything can be grilled.”  And amazingly, almost anything tastes good on the grill, too.  I saw a recipe the other day for grilled watermelon that I now have to try.  Our grill truly becomes out outdoor kitchen, and I know I will find my husband out there with a smile almost every night.

Proof that we spend a ton of time grilling?  Well, let’s just say that this scraper is a really good representation of what our grilling tools look like.

Fortunately, Collective Bias sent me on a shopping mission to Sears to pick up a few Father’s Day gifts.  While that meant my husband got his gifts a little early, he definitely wasn’t complaining.  I had a blast looking online at both the Sears catalog and my local ad before I headed to the store trying to figure out what to get my husband.  I thought about sneaking in something for me, an outdoor décor item maybe – like new chair cushions for our patio set that we’ve discovered desperately need to be replaced – but I didn’t.  I did come up with some great ideas for what to buy him, though.  I absolutely love the flexible skewers, and we’re trying them out this weekend with some of our awesome kebabs!

And you know me, I love to go shopping, especially when I have a goal in mind.  There were a ton of options of things to buy for my husband, and I spent a good amount of time debating what to buy or not buy to ensure that I found the perfect gifts for him.  I definitely stuck with the flexible firewire skewers, as three of those came home with me!  My other favorite find was the fajita griller.   My husband adores fajitas and orders them whenever a restaurant has them on the menu, but we’ve never made them at home.  In fact, I’d never seen a tool to make them before, so this was perfect.  And yes, I used my Sears Shop You Way Rewards, which earned me points towards future purchases.  You can check out my full shop on the g+ album I put together for it.

Sears is really focused on grilling right now.  Their Outdoor Catalog is almost completely focused on grilling and getting ready for spending summer outside, just what I needed right now!  And this week?  All patio furniture, decor, and grills are on sale, plus there is free in-store assembly on all gas grills.  You can also get a $20 Sears gift card with the purchase of a Hamilton Beach 3 burner gas grill now through June 10.  You have no idea how tempting it is to go get a new grill right now.  Well, maybe you do.

And yes, my husband was thrilled.  In fact, he was so thrilled that he immediately – and without telling me – threw away our old tools.  That’s always a good sign, right?  Between the new tools and my husband’s instant efforts to clean the grill (did you know that your grill grates were this color?  Me neither!) with the cleaning stone I bought, we were so ready to grill.

So we did.  I just happened to pick up some steaks, and my husband was more than happy to grill them.  When you have great quality meat like this, my husband insists you need to only put a little salt and pepper on them before grilling.  Given the taste,  I think he’s right.  He also highly recommends letting the meat come to temperature before grilling it by letting it sit out for a half hour before you grill it.  It helps it cook more evenly, especially when it’s a thick cut.  The salt goes on just before grilling so that you don’t draw out any juices unintentionally.  Sear it to seal in the juices on both sides, then cook on a lower temperature, and you’ll end up with the perfect steak every time.  And please please please, my husband begs you to wait before eating.  Give your steaks a few minutes to rest after that hard work on the grill.  It will help the juices redistribute and keep them from pouring out all over when you cut into your steak to eat it.

We’ve also made Mister Man’s bacon cheddar stuffed burgers.  These are always a hit, and I’m constantly amazed by the compliments we get on them.  Our secret with hamburger meat is to always flavor it.  My personal favorite is a buttermilk or ranch dressing base as in the powder, which we mix with the meat before forming patties.  For a pound of meat, I use maybe 2 tablespoons, but it depends on your preference.  It adds so much taste to your burger, and it also keeps it nice and juicy.  We’ll also use fajita seasoning for a different flavor, and both are excellent.

When we do the bacon cheddar burgers, we make two patties, one slightly larger than the other, and both fairly thin.  Yes, they’ve already been seasoned with the mix.  Place just a little cooked chopped bacon and a little shredded cheddar on the smaller patty, then place the larger patty atop it and seal around the edges using your fingers to pinch the two patties together.  Grill as usual, and oh will your guests have a wonderful surprise when they bite into it.  We’ve also tried this adding a little homemade barbecue sauce inside with the other fixings and mmmm yum!

So speaking of barbecue, did you know that Ribfest in Naperville is coming up?  Shhh, I’ve never been before, but it’s been on my list of things to do for a long time.  And this year?  I’m going!  Any guesses who else will be there?  Ty Pennington!  On June 30, he will be with Sears from noon to 6pm in the Sears #GrillingIsHappiness tent where you can have your picture taken with him, have a chance to get your grill on with him, watch grilling demonstrations by Sears grilling experts, and enter to win a grill and other great prizes.  Besides Ty (because I’m on a first name basis with him in my head), television host and author George Hirsch, “Grill Grrrl” Robyn Lindars, and “Burnin’ Love BBQ” chef Perry Perkins will be demonstrating their favorite dishes, including healthy meals, quick fixes, desserts, and BBQ classics.  And yes, I’ll be there, too – because I know that’s a draw!  There will also be live tweeting from @Sears and #GrillingIsHappiness during the event, so join in.

You can buy tickets to Ribfest online or at the gate (if they haven’t sold out).  Best part?  Children 11 and under are free with a paying adult.  Proceeds from Ribfest go to help agencies supported by the Exchange Club of Naperville – which puts on Ribfest – to help fight child abuse, domestic violence, and to strengthen families in the local communities.  Organizations include everything from Project H.E.L.P. to CASA of DuPage County and has raised over $9 million from its service activities at Ribfest.

Keep up with what’s happening with Ribfest by liking its page on Facebook.  And hey, go ahead and like Sears, too, while you’re at it.  And yep, Ribfest is even on Twitter.  Follow them for updates on what’s happening.

Are you a little jealous of all the grilling fun going on here?  You don't have to be.  I'm giving away an awesome grill tool set courtesy Sears.  In fact, it's the Grillfinity 120100 Gourmet 3-Piece Grilling Tool Set.  I love the name alone.  The set includes a spatula, tongs, and a fork in stainless steel with a satin finish.  So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Saturday June 30 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: What would you first cook with your new grill tools?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Are you ready for summer grilling? Win a tool set from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/KiERpQ #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!


In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™.  As always, all opinions expressed remain my own. #CBias #SocialFabric