Introducing the Life of Dad App!

lod-logo-tmMy buddies over at Life of Dad have announced that their app has finally been released in the iOS and Android stores! The app is great and includes just about everything from the main Life of Dad website as well as an awesome ability to take photos and add some really cool filters to the amazing photos you take. I used the Beauty and The Beast filters for our screening a few weekends ago and I was very impressed with how easy the app is to use.

As mentioned the app is available for free for iOS and Android, so be sure to search it out and download. It’s free, what else could you be waiting for?

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Take the Cheerio Stack Challenge!

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Life of Dad challenges you to see how high you can stack cheerios on your sleeping baby’s face! Stack em as high as you can before you wake the little rascal up. I didn’t have any cheerios but we had some fruit loops. So I gave it a shot and got some nice results.

Follow Life of Dad on Facebook to see more dads rise to the challenge.

Can you top 5? Prove it when you do! #CheerioChallenge

A photo posted by Life of Dad (@lifeofdad) on

March Madness Half Court BBQ Pulled Turkey Sliders

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SomeShadyBrookFarms_Logomark_Spot_v2times in those final seconds of the game you have to try for the half court shot. When it goes in the basket the crowd erupts and legends are made. This is exactly what happened with my Half Court BBQ Turkey Sliders when I passed them around the team. This entry into the Life of Dad #TurkeyMadness competition is inspired by my desire to take chances and wow the crowds which definitely makes this recipe a game changer. As you read through the game plan you will see that things don’t always go the way you might imagine. Just remember that this is #TurkeyMadness and anything can happen!

I picked up an eight pound Honeysuckle White Turkey Breast and a few other ingredients to get this party started. Go ahead and read on to get the details on how I made these tasty BBQ pulled turkey sliders. Honeysuckle White Turkey breast is so delicious for this recipe and it’s great knowing that these are premium turkeys raised without growth-promoting antibiotics and are very affordable. The party will definitely have their fill once they knock down these delicious (and nutritious) sliders.

Ingredients for Turkey:

Honeysuckle White Turkey Breast
Celery
Baby Tomatoes
Baby Carrots
Broccoli

Ingredients for Rub:
Spanish Paprika
Pepper
Salt
Chili Powder

Ingredients for BBQ Sauce:
Pepper
Salt
Chili Powder
Water
Tomato Puree
Brown Sugar
Ground Cumin
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Wood Smoked Bacon

Additional Items:
Sweet Hawaiian Rolls
Cole Slaw

Directions:

I will begin by saying that you could smoke your turkey or grill it. My original plan was to grill the turkey outside. The cards weren’t in my favor and the wind was too strong for me to do any cooking safely outside. So instead I went with the classic oven technique. Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Prep your defrosted turkey by removing anything inside of it and washing the turkey with water. Dry with some paper towels and then put in your roasting pan. I added some cut up celery, carrots, baby tomatoes, and broccoli inside the turkey. I just grabbed what was left over on a veggie tray from Alex’s birthday party. Once it was filled up I started on a rub for the turkey.

IMG_3479Mix a good amount of Spanish paprika with pepper, salt, and chili powder. I did not use any exact measurements for the rub so I would recommend just mixing it all together and save whatever you don’t use for later. Spread the rub all over the turkey. Get it in all of the little spots and creases of the turkey so that it is just covered with this rub.

By this time you can probably put the turkey in the oven. Based on the weight of the bird will depend on your cooking time. I was looking at about four hours in our oven. So I added about two cups of water to the bottom of my roasting pan and put my bird in the oven.

IMG_3480Check on the turkey every so often and baste the bird with the juices from the bottom of the pan. This is going to help keep that bird nice and moist. Once there was a nice golden brown around the bird and it reached the right temperature it was time to get the turkey out and let it cool enough to be cut up and pulled apart.

Start pulling that turkey apart and placing the good stuff into a container and tossing the stuff you don’t need (or save the bones to make some turkey stock). Once you have everything pulled apart I would recommend sprinkling in some more of that rub you made earlier.

Set the turkey aside and keep it warm by placing it back in the oven or covering it while we make the BBQ sauce.

IMG_3485For this sauce we will first take a couple slices of apple wood smoked bacon and chop it up into small pieces and saute it in the bottom of a sauce pan until it is nice and crispy. Once that is finished add 1 cup of tomato puree, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of packed brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder. Bring it too a boil for a few minutes and then take the heat down to a simmer.  Salt and pepper to taste.

I love Hawaiian rolls. I think they are very sweet and add a lot to a slider. I like to prepare them on my cast iron grill. Spray the grill with a cooking spray and then set the rolls down for just a little bit. You can spread a little butter on the rolls to give them a little more flavor. Once you get a nice grill mark on the rolls they’re ready.

The Honeysuckle White turkey I used for this recipe is raised by 700 independent family farmers and is a delicious (and nutritious) protein you can feel good about eating. Shady Brook Farms and Honeysuckle White are regional turkey brands that offer a variety of turkey products to satisfy every guest. Not a fan of my sliders? I may even have a turkey burger recipe coming soon! Just remember to always cook turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

IMG_3487bNow my Half Court BBQ Pulled Turkey Slider is just about ready. Grab you rolls, add some turkey and some sauce. If cole slaw is your thing feel free to add some, but it’s not necessarily. Get ready for some fantastic #TurkBQ madness. This sandwich is definitely ready for the big dance.

Enter the dance yourself and win a $250 Visa Giftcard!

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad   and Shady Brook Farms / Honeysuckle White for this promotion.

Follow Honeysuckle White on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

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