Thursday, May 22, 2008

Bacon and cheese stuffed burgers with Avocado Tomato salad

With a new grill comes lots of grilling time! I wanted to try to make some yummy burgers so this is what I came up with...I also wanted a nice cold salad and really wanted avocado, so I made this salad YUM!


Burgers
Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lb chop meat
  • 1/4 chopped onion
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic- chopped
  • about 1T worchetershire sauce
  • any blend of reduced fat shredded cheese
  • 4-5 strips turkey bacon- cut into pieces
  • salt
  • pepper
Directions:

  • Mix together everything but the cheese and bacon.
  • form about 4 pattiesmix the cheese and bacon together
  • place about 1T cheese/bacon mixture into each patty and close the patty up around the mixture.
  • Grill to taste

Avocado Tomato Salad:

Ingredients:

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1/2 red onion
  • balsamic vinegar
  • EVOO
Directions:
  • Cut the avocados and tomatoes to bite sized pieces
  • chop onion
  • mix together in a bowl and pour balsamic vinegar and EVOO over this to taste.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Our first steak on the new grill!

Jake and I have never had a grill...so we've never made any steaks! For his birthday, his parents got him a grill. We went and picked it up yesterday...and then I put it together all by myself (yes, I know...I'm awesome). I marinated the steaks for about 24 hours. They came out pretty darn good. I also made 2 other new side items; garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli with garlic butter and cashews. The potatoes were beyond good. I couldnt get enough of them! The broccoli was also pretty tasty...and Jake surprisingly liked it!















Steak marinade (I used rib eyes for the beef):

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used a lot more than 2)
Directions:
  • In a medium bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, mustard, onion, and garlic. Mix together well, and use to marinate your favorite meat.
  • I first stab the meat on both sides a few times with a fork so the marinade can get in. Then I put the steaks in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade in. I left them in the bag in the fridge for about 24 hours...I'm sure anything more then 2 hours is fine..I just like to leave it a long time.
















Garlic mashed potatoes (SOOOO good!)

Ingredients (this is scaled down from a 100 serving recipe)
  • 2 pounds unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
  • 5 ounces butter, room temperature
  • 2 ounces Romano cheese, grated
  • 1 tablespoon and 2-3/4 teaspoons chopped garlic (I used roasted garlic- 1 whole head)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions:
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 45 minutes; drain.
  • Stir in butter, cheese, garlic, salt and oregano. Mash with a potato masher or with an electric mixer. (I used my kitchenaid mixer....just put a few potatoes in at a time, mush them up...repeat until all potatoes are mushed...then add everything else)














Broccoli with garlic butter and cashews:

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup chopped salted cashews
Directions:
  • Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
  • While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.