Throwing it back to when I was about 6 or 7, a standing Saturday tradition with my Dad was going to The Home Depot. Whether it was a kids craft class for me and my sister or a much needed piece of PVC for Dad, he would gather whatever he needed and afterwards I would go outside and wait in line at my beloved hot dog cart. They would pull out a dog and load it up with ketchup only, because that’s the way my lil tastebuds demanded it. Until now I didn’t think Saturday’s at The Home Depot could get much better!

Now some 20 years later and my Saturdays at THD are a slightly different (especially during football season)…. 

Everyone knows that while I love to cheer on my Florida State Seminoles, they have been a little sucko this season and the only REAL reason I show up to tailgates is THE SNACKS. So when The Home Depot suggested that I try out one of the new Traeger Pro 575, I was more than a little intimidated. To be honest, I have always been intimidated by grilling. It’s a guy thing right?  Marinade, lighting the grill, charcoal or gas, watching it cook, the dreaded cleanup, I could go on and on. However, a new day has dawned and this Traeger Grill has exceeded my expectations and turned me into a GRILL MISTRESS.

Not only does this baby grill, the Traeger can also Smoke, Bake, Roat, Braise and BBQ. Talk about a jack of all trades. This beauty does it all. AND IT IS SO EASY!   Simply plug it into an electric outlet, add some Traeger wood pellets, then click ignite. Shazam! And… for all you folks out there that like to multitask – there is a Traeger Mobile App with WiFire technology for your phone that allows you to monitor/adjust the grill’s temperature while you are working on “things” (insert nap here, haha) inside the house! 

On my trial grill run, I decided to try something that I wouldn’t necessarily try out on a standard grill to see how the Traeger Pro 575 lived up to its reputation. BOOM pizza and kabobs. What goes better with grilling, fun and outdoors.. that’s right our other hometown hero Coca-Cola.  I washed down the pizza and kabobs with, of course, the classic Coca-Cola. The Home Depot & Coca-Cola?! It’s almost like living in the land of OZ!

So I mentioned that I can’t stand cleanup right?  Well, cleanup was actually pretty darn easy and I didn’t have to recruit any help. Simply pull out the built in drip liner and wipe it down with everyone’s favorite Bounty paper towels. This was honestly the best part for me – easy peasy.  I could kiss the person’s toes who invented this Traeger Grill because they turned this timid grill gal into one confident grill mistress!

*Thank you to The Home Depot for sponsoring this blog post. All opinions are my own and I wish they still had hotdog carts outside. RIP.