Fire Crackers

I came across this recipe on Christmas at my aunt's house.  I was drawn too the "hurts so good" flavour of this spicy snack that lives up to its name. With new years right around the corner, Fire Crackers will make a great snack for any of your guests who enjoy the pain of enfuego foods.  Just be sure to keep some ice cold libations in a brute box near by for anyone who can't take the heat.

Fire Crackers

Ingredients:

2 pkg -   Oyster Soup Crackers

1 box - Triscuit Mini Crackers

1 box - Club Mini Crackers

2 pkg -   Gold Fish Crackers 6.6 oz

1 box - Hot & Spicy Cheez-Its

9 oz -     Sesame Sticks

1 lb -      Mixed Nuts or Dry Roasted Peanuts

1.5 cups -   Vegetable Oil (heat in microwave 2 min. to warm)

1 pkg -         (dry) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix          

1 tbls -         Cheyenne Pepper

2 tbls -         Paprika

6 tbls -         Red Pepper Flakes

1 tbls -         Chili Powder

1 tbls -         Garlic Salt

Feel Free to add Onion Powder or other seasoning that tastes good to you.  Some folks even add a little Louisiana Hot Sauce to the oil to make it as hot as you like.

Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees

Mix all spices together and set aside.

Place all crackers and nuts in a roasting pan with high enough sides for stirring.  Pour all warmed oil over crackers and mix till crackers are well covered with oil.  Sprinkle the spice mixture over the crackers while stirring for an even coating.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 1.5 hours.  Remove and stir every 15 minutes for even baking.

Let them cool and store them in an air tight container until ready to serve.

Put a Growler in your Brute?!?!

"Growler...what the hell's a growler?" Those were the words I replied this morning when my buddy invited me to Craft and Growler in Dallas.   I learned that a growler is essentially a jug for beer and it didn't take more than that for me to decide it was a trip worth making.  Several microbreweries have popped up here in DFW over the last couple years, Peticolas, Deep Ellum, Lakewood, to name a few.  They all make terrific beer but not many of these operations have bottling capabilities.  That's where Craft and Growler comes in.  They sell and fill growlers with up to 30 different regional beers that you can't hardly find on store shelves.  Their growlers come in 16, 32, and 64 oz variety and range in shape and material.  One of the things that sets Craft and Growler apart from other brew pubs is their patent pending filling system.  Air is the enemy and will cause even the greatest of beers to go stale. Their system first fills the bottle with CO2 in order to evacuate the air, then they inject the beer from under the CO2 layer.  Once capped with an air tight seal and you have a growler that lasts much longer.  One thing is certain, growlers are going to become regular in my Brute Box.

New 50 Quart Brute Outdoors Cooler - Made in USA

We have been working really hard on our next generation of Brute Boxes and we could be more pleased with the end result.  Check out our new video to see some of the features that make it the best and ice chest you'll ever buy.

Let Us Celebrate!!!

On this day in history - December 11th

1816 - Indiana became the 19th state.

1936 - Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.

1941 - Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, which responded in kind.

1946 - UNICEF was established.

1972 - Man landed on the moon for the last time during the Apollo 17 mission.

1994 - Russian troops rolled into breakaway republic of Chechnya in a failed bid to restore Moscow's control over the region.

1998 - The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.

2000 - Shortstop Alex Rodriguez agreed to a $252 million 10-year deal with the Texas Rangers, the most lucrative sports contract in history at the time.

2008 - Bernard Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. 

Most importantly on December 11th every year we celebrate the birthday of the founder and president of Brute Outdoors, Jeremy Denson.  A man of great vision and fortitude who's passion for the outdoors led him to create the worlds greatest ice chest.  Please join me in celebrating a man who truly embodies the american entrepreneurial spirit!

Happy Birthday Mr. Denson!!!

Bet you didn't know.

It's no secret that at Brute Outdoors we specialize in making the world's greatest coolers.  I bet you didn't know that the portable ice chest has only been around for about sixty years.  It was invented in 1951 by Richard C. Laramy of Joliet, Illinois.  The idea didn't become popularized until a few years later when the Colman Company took Laramy's patent and improved upon it with a galvanized skin and later mass production of plastic units.  Coleman was also responsible for popularizing the term "cooler" through their marketing campaigns here in the states.  In Australia they are referred to as "esky" or "chilly bin" and in the United Kingdom the common name is "cool-box".   No matter what you call it,  If you're looking for the toughest ice chest on the market then a Brute Box is the answer.  

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes, Yes Please!

My last post I talked about my latest obsession of cooking with cast iron so I'll continue down that road with a great recipe I found. At our house the responsibility of making breakfast on the weekends usually falls on my shoulders and pancakes are one of my favorites to make. Yesterday I though I would change it up a bit and try a slightly more seasonal twist on the old standby. I stumbled across this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Pancakes and they turned out great so I though I'd share. A cast iron griddle makes the perfect cooking surface for golden fluffy pancakes so I highly suggest it.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar (if using pure puree, use 3 tablespoons sugar)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 1% milk (plus another 4 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie mix (or pure pumpkin puree – if using puree, be sure to add the following spices to the flour: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon cloves)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 egg, room temperature