Flavor-full Burger

While having our lunch on a Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, Greg turned on the TV to Food Network. Giada was making some chicken burgers, which I thought sounded delicious, but she mentioned that this recipe could be made using any kind of meat. Well, Greg's blood is red, so when I decided to make these for supper that night, there was no question that we'd be using ground beef. (I will make these again for lunch when Jessi's here, and I'll use turkey.)

Since it's gardening season here, there is fresh rosemary growing in my backyard (you KNOW I love having an herb garden in the backyard!), so I was able to just step outside and clip a couple of stalks for this recipe. I was out of fresh garlic, but had a jar of roasted garlic in the frig that I subbed in. Oh, and only use real mayonnaise, please. No fat-free or salad dressing - it has too much sugar and tastes very different. Real mayo is made with soy oil which is good for you.

Chicken Burgers with Garlic-Rosemary Mayonnaise

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:

Mayonnaise - 1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 clove garlic, minced
Burgers:

1 pound ground chicken
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 sandwich rolls or burger buns

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup arugula, divided (I used fresh spinach)
Directions:

For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, garlic, and rosemary; set aside.

For the burgers:

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture.

Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 4 patties.

Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.

Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly golden.

To assemble the burgers:

Spread a dollop of the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Place the chicken burgers on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each with 1/4 cup of arugula and finish with the top half of the bun.

Okay, these were SO GOOD they left me craving more. I'm anxious to try them again, using the turkey.

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche or a variation thereof...

This week I'm deciding our menu on a day-to-day schedule, depending on the weather. Here's what's happened so far:
Monday - Ground beef sliders, fresh veggies, chips
Tuesday - Parmesan crusted chicken, creamed peas and potatoes (including mushrooms)
Wednesday - Quiche, green salad, rolls

I have this wonderful recipe for a low-carb quiche that can be tweaked to include any ingredients you wish. The original title is "Moonchild's Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche" and I found the recipe years ago here. You can make any variation of this that you like, using a different meat, different cheese, adding veggies, tweaking to your family's taste. It's a great way to use up little bits of this and that in your frig.
Tonight ours will be made with browned ground beef from the freezer, fresh steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and grated mozzarella cheese. I might have a piece of cooked bacon to chop up and sprinkle on top.
This is one of those dishes that is still wonderful the next day for lunch, and it freezes well, too.

MOONCHILD'S BACON CHEESEBURGER QUICHE
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped, 2 1/2 ounces
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cheddar or Swiss cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Brown the hamburger with the onion and bacon; drain the fat. Season to taste. Spread in a greased pie plate.
Whisk all of the remaining ingredients except the cheese.
Mix about 1/3 of the cheese into the hamburger mixture and arrange the rest over the meat.
Pour the egg mixture over the cheese. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.
Makes 6-8 servings
Can be frozen
Per 1/6 Recipe: 394 Calories; 35g Fat; 17g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 296 Calories; 26g Fat; 13g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Soup Day (part 2)

The other two soups I made ysterday are tomato/beef-based, but very different in flavors from each other.
The first one I put together was Meatball Minestrone. I got this recipe from Taste of Home or Country Woman (I don't remember which) many years ago. I finally made it for the first time last April. If you click on the name of the soup, you'll go to the post with the recipe. It is really good! This time I more than doubled the spices and that seemed right for us.

The other recipe is Fagioli Soup. This one came from a forum on a website, but I printed it 3 years ago, so I don't know if it's even available online anymore. I'm sorry I can't credit the person who posted it...
This soup is the one that Greg took to work for his lunch, and the other guys asked him to get the recipe from me for their wives. It smells awesome! At first I was reluctant to mix the Mexican spices with the Italian spices, but it really works.
Fagioli Soup
2 lb lean ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey)
2 lg onions
3 bell peppers (any color works fine - this time I used all green)
3 stalks celery
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1 banana pepper (optional)
3 small cans tomato sauce
2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes (I used mild)
2 Tbs. olive oil
8 beef bouillion cubes (I use a Tbs. or so of Beef Base)
4 C water
salt, pepper to taste
1 Tbs. cumin
1 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 Tbs. Italian seasoning (I was out of this, so instead used some dried thyme, basil from the freezer, and a little extra oregano)
1/2 Tbs. dried oregano
3 cans undrained red kidney beans or 2 cans red beans and 1 can white (I used 3 cans of black beans)
Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in olive oil. Add ground meat and brown (I brown the meat separately,drain, rinse, then add to the veggies.)
Add Ro-tel, tomato sauce, spices, water, and bouillion cubes. Heat to simmer. Add beans and cook 30 minutes. Serve.

There are a couple more recipes I didn't get to, but plan to make this weekend. Tune in next week for "part 3". :o)

Comfort Cooking

Goulash
*(Goulash is a dish, originally from Hungary, usually made of beef, red onions, vegetables and paprika powder.[1] The name comes from the Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash), the word for a cattle stockman or herdsman.) Wikipedia

My mom was a very basic cook - a good cook, but she pretty much made only simple, mostly fast, easy, and economical dishes. She was feeding a family of seven on a limited budget, so we had lots of inexpensive hamburger, macaroni, potatoes, and chicken.

This dish, goulash, was a staple in our home. It's one of the first things I learned to cook, and when it was my turn to plan and prepare meals for the week, it was always on the menu.

There are tons of recipes for goulash, but this is how my mom taught me:

*Put water on to boil for macaroni. Cook pasta as soon as it boils, while the meat is browning. I used ziti here, but we always used macaroni when I was a kid.

*Dice onion and brown with the hamburger. I used about a pound of 90/10 ground sirloin here. I also added a big clove of garlic. (Mom never used cloves of garlic, though she did eventually discover garlic salt, and I always added a little of that.) While the meat cooks, stir and chop it into small pieces. When it is thoroughly cooked, pour into a strainer and drain the fat. Is there anything that smells like my childhood more than hamburger and onion browning on the stove? I think not.

*Drain the pasta and add to the cooked hamburger in the skillet. Oh yeah, we always made goulash in the skillet.

*Now add one can of tomato soup. Yes, I have sometimes made it with tomato sauce instead, but it's not the same. Use the soup.

*Next, I put in a dollop of yellow mustard and a squirt of ketchup. Yep, a dollop and a squirt. This is a recipe you make to taste, so start small and add more if you think it needs it.

I put in a little bit of salt, not much, since I'm using canned soup. Lots of fresh ground black pepper. Stir up, cook on low until heated through, and then enjoy.

When I was high school, I started putting my own personal twists on the traditional dishes Mom had taught me to make. Sometimes really good, other times not so much. One of the favorite changes I made to goulash was to add cheese. Just before serving, I'd put a few slices of Kraft American cheese in the pan and mix it up. Dad and the boys loved it. Tonight I simply shredded a little sharp cheddar over the top. Oh, and I added some chopped chives (from my garden, Tonita).

I don't know what made me decide this afternoon to make goulash for supper. I haven't made it in probably 10 or 12 years, but I'm glad I did. There was a hearty, hot meal on the stove when Greg got home from work.

It was served with fresh cucumber in Ranch on the side. (Mom would have sliced the cucumber and put it in white vinegar with sliced white onion. Yum. But Greg doesn't like the tang of vinegar, so he gets Ranch.)

I know many of my Adams cousins who read this blog have their own personal memories of Mom and goulash. There are tales of her telling stories about gypsies and such in relation to this meal. I don't know about that, but to all of us, goulash reminds us of our childhood.