Near Father’s Day, we hold our annual family burger contest. Our rivalry has become quite the battle royal over the last eight years. Competitive defines our family but fun wins out in this competition (most of the time). Our primary focus on this day is having the family together.
Our burger battle started eight years ago. My hubby decided that instead of gifts he wanted everyone home for the holiday. Knowing our competitive streak, he created the competition to bring everyone home. Our contest now highlights our year and burger planning starts in January until this year. Friends and family volunteer to judge our contest.
Burger Contest 2020
Thanks to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, only our immediate family could gather this year. So, we appointed the patriarch as the judge and I teamed up with our son that is single. Rod added a “Chopped” variation to this year’s contest by declaring that everyone had to start with the same meat, cheese, bun, and a twist. He messaged all of us on Thursday before the contest to let us know our components and a twist.
Ground beef, cheddar cheese, and sesame seed buns were the basic starter ingredients. The twist came in the form of two cobs of corn. Hmm, so what could we create? The corn side was to be the tiebreaker if the burgers were too close to call a winner. We made it tough to judge the burgers and the sides. Fried corn fritters and cowboy caviar tasted great but were outclassed by the corn milkshake with huckleberry caramel drizzle. Yes, I did say corn milkshake—milk fused with the sweetness of the corn and mixed with homemade vanilla ice cream. The rest of us didn’t stand a chance against it!
The burgers virtually tied so the milkshake broke the tie (and some of our hearts). The winning burger was the “U-mommy’s not home” burger with a beef patty, candied bacon, sliced tomato, and cheddar cheese created by Jordan and Angela. Apparently, only dads would put candy on a burger.
Each year, the competition gets stiffer. Thus, the “Chopped” variation to force greater creativity. There are only two of us that have never won—myself and my partner, our middle son. I thought, for sure, I had a great chance of winning this year since my hubby got an amazing set of ratchet wrenches from me for Father’s Day. Alas, bribery did not work (even though I threatened to return the wrenches. LOL!)
Create Your Own Family Contest
What food or activity does your family love? We chose a cooking contest because it gives us all a fair chance. Apparently, that is true since the best cook (me, LOL!) hasn’t won the competition yet. Kids enjoy creating their own versions of their favorite foods so they can easily compete in their own division. Create your own family competition as a way to bring you all together. Have simple rules, require cooking on-site (so no one is tempted to cheat), and have a silly prize. We complete for a plastic spatula spray painted silver.
Having a heart for home means having a heart for family, spending time together, and standing with each other in prayer when life hits the bumpy patches. I pray you have that kind of family. If you don’t, create one with your friends. The Bible tells us to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together” (Hebrews 10:24b-25a NASB). I believe this applies to Christian families just as much as to the church. I also believe that when you don’t have family nearby that the church family should step in to fill that void.
So, whether you gather for a burger contest or creating ice cream sundaes, bring together those people that love, support, and pray for you. Make that part of your time together, praying for the needs of one another. Let it be known that you love the Lord by how you love those around you.
Sharing my heart for home and family,
