Many people took to the stage for several of the more energetic pop princess songs like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” where we were asked to display the flashing gummy rings they provided us while waiting in line. They also threw out glow sticks in hoards during “Toxic” and again during Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” and confetti rained down during Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”

There were many favorites from the ’80s and ’10s ranging from The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” and “Love is a Battlefield” (in which, yes, Pat Benatar and company shimmy at a man to frighten him) to “Womanizer” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.”

There were also, of course, Lady Gaga videos, which I admit I’ve only heard about in legend until last night (though I already loved her music), and they’re amazing. Just those videos alone make this experience worth checking out.

Never been to a sing-along? Basically, you’re surrounded by a sold-out theater of people who want to sing and dance along with their favorite videos, loudly, so any possible shyness evaporates during the first line of the first song played. People also tend to dress up (I might’ve sported a hot pink wig) and dance dance dance. And just in case you don’t know the words to a song, they run them on screen, so you’ll be able to sing your heart out to every lyric.

Word to the wise: Buy tickets while they last. Sing-alongs tend to sell out very quickly.

Seth’s Meatloaf

           3 pounds of ground beef
           2 eggs
           1 can of diced tomatoes
           1 can of tomato sauce
           3 slices of bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix ground beef, two eggs, and diced tomatoes. Tear the bread into 1-inch chunks, add to the mix, and hand mush all ingredients together. (Good to wash your hands first). Put mound into a deep cooking pan and cook in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove, pour out half of the grease, pour tomato sauce over it, and return it to the oven to cook for an additional 30 minutes. It’s simple and the only meatloaf I’ve ever liked….

Well she’d make the cut, but I won’t be running away to the circus any time soon. (They wouldn’t take me.) I couldn’t even lift my legs and wrap them around the stick and hang after 4 tries, which is step 1….

Trapeze is harder than it looks, but it’s still hella fun, even if you sadly discover, like me, that you’ve lost your ab muscles somewhere along the 40-hour-a-week-office-job trail. Though I was disappointed in my own non-ability, I was not disappointed in this class offered by Trapeze Austin. Even at full price it would be a bargain. You get 2 hours of training, and you’re up on the platform performing your first leg tuck and hang (unless you’re me) within the first 20 minutes. You do this while being strung from safety lines and over a very sturdy net, of course. The most dangerous part is the climb up the narrow ladder and holding on with white knuckles as you try to chalk your hands. The rest isn’t so bad after that first “hep” and drop. Here is a video of my prodigy friend performing a catch on her very first try.

Seth’s Stir-fry

         1 and 1/2 pound of beef stew meat, super trim
         Worcestershire sauce
         1 red bell pepper
         1 green pepper
         1 yellow bell pepper
         1 yellow squash
         2 red potatoes
         Tony’s seasoning
         garlic salt
         garlic powder

Cut squash into thin “half dollars.” Slice all peppers into strips. Cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks.

Put meat in a bowl and generously sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and Tony’s and stir. Coat frying pan with butter-spray or a cap filled with vegetable oil. Put meat in pan and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Strain the meat with a strainer.

Re-coat pan and put chopped vegetables into the pan adding a little Tony’s, garlic powder, and a tiny bit of garlic salt. Add the meat back to the pan and return to the burner cooking on high (but not boiling) heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously.

Rock-A-Billy’s was founded around October of last year and should stay nestled into its cozy nook (east of the Dell Diamond on Hwy. 79) until this October since—let’s face it—snow cone weather lasts longer in Texas than other states.

Rock-A-Billy’s has over 30 flavors of delicious snow cones, including the usual as well as more unusual picks such as wedding cake, cheesecake, sangria and tiger’s blood. Tiger’s blood is a mix of cherry, strawberry and coconut that will turn your tongue a blood red, hence the name. The prices for the snow cones are reasonable ranging from $1.25 for a small to $2.75 for an extra large.

Aside from the chance to indulge in something that usually only comes in some sort of cart or stand during hot times of the year, this shows that Round Rock too can provide a nice addition to the food trailer phenomenon.

For more on Rock-A-Billy’s, see the website.

Rock-A-Billy’s Shaved Ice
5430 Hwy. 79
Round Rock, TX 78664
512.845.2315
www.ifyoushaveittheywillcome.com 
Hours:
Tue-Sat 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

Beef Stroganoff

        1 to 2 lbs. sirloin
        1 can of beef broth or beef consomme
        1 small can tomato paste
        1/2 pint of sour cream
        12 or 16 oz of noodles
 
Meat: Cut up the meat into 1-inch chunks. Put a tbsp. of olive oil in a frying pan. Brown meat on all sides on high, reduce heat to low, add beef consomme (or beef broth), cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in tomato paste and about 1/2 pint of sour cream.

Noodles: Boil lots of water, add noodles, bring back to boil and cook for 7 minutes and then drain.
 
Copper Pennies

        4 large carrots
        1 green bell pepper
        1 can of tomato soup

Peel carrots and chop into “pennies.” Cut 1 bell pepper into 1-inch chunks (discard seedy center). Bring a small pot of water to a boil, throw in the chopped bell peppers and carrots and cook for 5 minutes on high. Pour vegetables into a strainer and then mix them with a can of tomato soup. It’s a great side.

Seth’s Spaghetti

          1 pound thin spaghetti
          2 jars of Prego Three Cheese Italian Sauce
          2 pounds of ground beef
          oregano
          garlic powder
          vegetable oil
          *put a strainer in each side of the sink

Noodles: Fill a large pot with water and add a cap full of vegetable oil. Break thin spaghetti in half and add to pot. With the burner on high bring the spaghetti to a boil which should take about 20 minutes. Once the noodles come to a boil and the meat is browned, the noodles are done. Strain the noodles in one side of the sink.

Sauce: Put the 2 jars of sauce into pot and add oregano and garlic powder to taste. Cover sauce and set on medium-low heat. Cook sauce until the meat is ready.

Meat: Cook ground beef in a large skillet on medium-high, browning it on all sides. This should take about 17 minutes. Stir often and break-up meat. Strain the meat (removing all grease) in a different strainer from the noodles. Wipe grease from the skillet and return the meat to the skillet. Add sauce to the skillet as well and return to the burner, cooking on medium-high heat for an additional 8 minutes.

*If you start cooking everything simultaneously, the noodles should be done the moment you combine the sauce and the meat and return it to the burner.

Chicken Alfredo

        2 to 4 chicken breasts (or tenderloins)
        1 lb. flour
        1 lb. butter
        1 bag skinner angel hair noodles (12oz.)
        1 bag of shredded mozzarella

Chicken: Dredge salted chicken breasts in flour. Heat up 2 tsp. of butter in a frying pan, add chicken to frying pan and brown on both sides on medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove lid, raise heat to high and toughen crust on both sides for about a minute on each. Remove chicken from pan and lower heat to medium-high.

Noodles: Boil lots of water. Add noodles, bring back to a boil and cook for seven minutes covered and then drain.

Cheese sauce: Add 2 or 3 tbsp. of flour to what’s left in the pan and also add 2 tbsp. of butter, 2 cups of cheese and 2 cups of milk. Stir and cook it into something that resembles the thickness of gravy. If it becomes too thick, add milk. If it becomes too thin, add cheese. Serve over chicken and noodles.

Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy

     2 pork chops
     olive oil
     flour
     4 large potatoes
 
Peal and cut up 4 large potatoes. Put in a pot, and cover with water. Add 2 tbsp of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and let boil for 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes but DON’T discard the potato water. Mash up the potatoes with a potato masher. Add 8 oz.  of sour cream. Add potato water until you reach the consistency that you want. (Remember, you can’t take water back out.)

Salt and pepper (pepper optional) pork chops. Dredge in flour (roll on a mound of flower until covered). Heat 5 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add pork chops and brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. (Be sure to flip the chops after 10 minutes.) Uncover and fry them on high with lid off for another 5 minutes (2 -1/2 minutes on each side). Remove pork chops.

Don’t pour out what’s left over in the frying pan after cooking the pork chops. Instead add 2 tbsp of flour and stir. All the flour should be absorbed by the leftover oil. If not, add a little more olive oil. Once you make a loose paste with the flour and oil, add 2 cups of the potato water and stir. Boil this mixture on high heat until it thickens into gravy. (If what you’re stirring doesn’t start to look like gravy, add either more olive oil or more flour until it looks right.) Cook until it’s thick. If it gets too thick, add more potato water to thin it out. If it’s too thin, cook it until it thickens. It will thicken a little as it cools but not much.

*If you choose not to attempt gravy add 8 oz. of cream cheese and 4 oz. of butter to the potatoes.