Mike Marcotte

08/05/2025

Minnesota Vikings Training Camp Night Practice ended with a bang last night! Their annual Monday Night training camp practice is well worth checking out, with plenty to do beyond practice. The kids spun plenty of prize wheels and Maya won tickets to an upcoming preseason game by playing a free claw machine! And it’s much cheaper than going to a game! Cheeseburgers were $6 and beers were $7-9.

08/01/2025

If you know, you know

07/28/2025

Our week of meals made by 11 year-old Noah wrapped up with a combo of grilled brats, popcorn shrimp, and homemade French fries on Saturday and a New York Times recipe for Ritz cracker crusted cod with grilled corn on Sunday. I’m really proud of what Noah did this week. In exchange for a box of baseball cards worth $40, he made our family 7 nights of darn good meals. He strengthened his skills around the grill, the oven, and using big knives. Our neighbors came for dinner on Saturday and got to watch Noah cook with Cody and were amused by the spectacle the two of them put on. Noah said his favorite meal to make and eat was the Taco Bell crunchwrap dupes we made last weekend and he said he would love to make dinner more often!

07/27/2025

I updated my list of birthday freebies, including perks at Anthropologie, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Pollo Campero USA, Cantina Laredo, Green Mill and Crooked Pint!

From free steak dinners to four hours of free drinks with friends, get a list of the best birthday freebies.

07/26/2025

It's prime time to fire up the grill! I ran a poll for the best butcher shops in Minnesota and created this list of 17 meat markets that are top notch! Which one is your favorite?

From beef sticks to summer sausage, butcher shops are known for high quality products full of flavor, all while providing top level customer service.

07/25/2025

11 year-old Noah’s week of cooking meals for us continues with burgers on the grill, homemade guacamole and pita chips, and cheese curds! He’s doing a fantastic job in the kitchen and on the grill!

07/24/2025

Here are my picks for What’s Happening This Weekend shared on KS95 - St. Paul / Minneapolis, Twin Cities Live and Minnesota Live!
🗓️ The Great Midwest Rib Fest at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, through Saturday
🗓️ NUR-D at The Fillmore, Friday
🗓️ Maple Grove Psychic and Holistic Expo, Saturday
🗓️ Twin Cities River Rats, through Sunday
🗓️ Minneapolis Aquatennial fireworks, Saturday
🗓️ Minnesota Water Garden Society Tour, Saturday and Sunday
🗓️ Leprechaun Days, through Saturday in Rosemount
🗓️ Chaska River City Days, through Sunday
🗓️ Slice of Shoreview Days, through Sunday
🗓️ Wabasha Riverboat Days, through Saturday

07/23/2025

Have you had Broasted chicken before? It's definitely different (and better!) than fried chicken.

Made in a pressure cooker, Broasted chicken is different than fried chicken.

07/23/2025

11 year-old Noah is making dinners in our house for the week in exchange for a $40 box of baseball cards. He wanted me to note he would like to be called “The Angry Chef Jr” moving forward. We call Cody “The Angry Chef” usually because we sit at the kitchen island and pretend like Cody is hosting a cooking show and the rest of us make playful comments and air commercials during his show.

Tonight’s homemade meal: pasta in turkey meat sauce (with plenty of fresh onion!), peas and garlic bread. Another great meal!

07/21/2025

Night 2 of meals made by 11 year old Noah: tuna pasta salad with sliced cucumber and potato chips.

07/21/2025

The 11 year old in our house, Noah, decided to make dinners for a week in exchange for a $40 box of baseball cards.

Tonight’s meal: homemade crunchwrap supremes with cheese sauce and homemade guacamole. Cody and I took a Taco Bell cooking class last week at cooksofcrocushill and learned how to make these at home, so Noah wanted to make them, too!

He did a great job and they’ll be served again. Seems like I am going to be eating great this week!

07/19/2025

We had another episode of The Angry Baker today with a special surprise! .w1010 hosts The Angry Baker TV show in our kitchen. Cody is known as The Angry Baker because when I sit at the kitchen island and make comments while I cooks, he gets angry. Today’s episode starred Cody’s 8 year old daughter, Maya, and they surprised me with a themed birthday cake from Maya’s new cookbook!