Sometime last year I started to approach Sundays a little different. It began when my wife bought me Sammy Hagar’s “Are We Having Fun Yet? The Cooking & Partying Handbook” for my birthday. The book really appealed to my inner “practitioner” so I jumped in trying his recipes, and Sundays seemed like the easiest day to do it. Probably the best outcome besides the food was how it brought our family together. For that day we have the same goal, to make something new and experience things together. So when my business partners asked me to check out the House-Autry brand I quickly went recipe mode in my head.
-Not just a typical recipe mode… Let’s hack it!!
Up until this point I knew very little about House-Autry products, so after doing some research I decided to purchase an air fryer for some chicken and cheese sticks. Also, PFF posted a cherry smoked mac & cheese recipe late last year. I revisited that and thought that would be a great food hack opportunity to experiment with some local products and use House-Autry’s seasoning products.
After checking air fryer pricing and availability the easiest path to purchase was Amazon. Next on my to-do list was to locate House-Autry products. I started at their website for a store locator, then clicked over to Amazon as well. I discovered their product at my local Walmart, also Kroger which isn’t too far from me. One thing Sunday Dinners have taught me is shopping for ingredients is all part of the fun. Usually you’re looking for things you don’t normally shop for and I end up with many teachable moments along the way, hahaa.
Full disclosure I have been dying to check out Grandpa’s Cheesebarn in Ashland, Ohio and needed some CHEESE for our dinner! What a cool place, pretty much all of their cheese is Ohio made. A lot of Amish influence down that way.
After Grandpa’s Cheesebarn we made it down to the Kroger grocery store located in Mansfield, Ohio. Overall the store is an upgrade to the Walmart by us in Wadsworth, BUT I was surprised to find they didn’t carry any House-Autry products. No worries though, we can just go back to our Walmart and pick-up a few more boxes, or simply use Amazon to purchase while standing in Kroger… Doh!! We ended up heading back home to hit Walmart one last time. If we weren’t cooking that day, the easiest path to purchase would be Amazon. They carry more products than the stores by us.
Now, it wouldn’t be a PInts, Forks & Friends Roadtrip without a brewery stop. Fortunately, JAFB Brewing Co. sync’d perfectly with our route. JAFB Brewing Co. is “a brewery where people can gather, meet their neighbors and be comfortable is a real cool thing. Wooster is perfect for that type of vibe and brewery.” -Paul Fryman, Brewmaster
Sunday Night Dinner
After the roadtrip, it was time to cook! What made this unique was using our new Louise Sturhling Air Fryer. Fortunately, it had great directions and Amazon delivered it flawlessly. While prepping the mac & cheese, I lit our smoker using Cowboy Lump Charcoal and Cherry Wood. I kept the temperature around 250-300 degrees. I’m going to post the full smoked Mac & Cheese recipe in another blog… It deserves it’s own post for sure, turned out really well. The House-Autry’s Extra Crispy Chicken seasoning in the roux really gave it some extra spice & flavor. We also sprinkled the seasoning on top to give it a delicious crusty top.
We had 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that were used in the air fryer. After coating the chicken with ample seasoning, that air fryer cooked it in only 15-20 minutes! It had so much flavor, along with being moist & juicy. We will be making this again.
Below are some more images & video of our Sunday Night Dinner.
Our kitchen photos…
