Extreme Burgers!

Cheeseburgers for grown-ups!

Double Cheese-Stuffed Burgers

2# Ground beef (85% lean)
1 (5.2 oz) package garlic and herb spreadable cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbspns chopped fresh parsley
½ tspn salt
1 large sweet onion, sliced ¼” thick
2Tbspns olive oil
6 Kaiser rolls, split
½ cup mayonnaise
6 green leaf lettuce leaves

1. Heat grill. Form beef into 12 (4”) patties, ¼” thick. Combine spreadable cheese, cheddar cheese, parsley and salt in medium bowl. Divide mixture into 6 potions; spoon on top of 6 of the patties, spreading to within ¾” of edge. Top with remaining patties; pinch edges to seal well.
2. Brush onion slices with oil. Grill burgers and onions, covered, over medium heat or coals 10-12 minutes or until burgers are thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center and onions are tender and beginning to char, turning once.
3. Grill rolls, covered, 1-2 minutes or until toasted; spread with mayonnaise. Top burgers with onions; serve in rolls over lettuce.

Faux Phillys

I was craving Philly Cheesesteaks but too lazy and too broke to run out to the grocery. We did have plenty of onions and mozzarella cheese, but we did not have steak rolls or the thinly sliced steak. I put my thinking cap on, looked around the kitchen and decided to be creative for a quick and easy supper.

I had tons of red potatoes -ya gotta love a potato that needs no peeling. ;D I had some flour tortillas and a 2 lb package of ground beef. I decided we were having Faux Phillys. Not the healthiest dinner and nothing fancy, but a good cheap and easy meal. The kids loved it and even my hubby who's not fond of ground beef enjoyed it. :D

Faux Phillys

Ingredients:

Ground beef or ground chuck

Onions sliced thinly in rings (small amount of olive oil for sauteeing)

Diced Green Peppers (if you're a green pepper eater -I'm definitely not)

Mozzarella Cheese -shredded

Flour Tortillas

I like to Sautee my onions separately so I don't lose onions when I drain the beef AND so my onions don't absorb too much of that saturated fat. While the onions (and peppers if you like) are cooking, crumble your beef into a pan and brown -you can go ahead and salt and pepper if you like, I'm not big on salting foods. When onions and beef are cooked to your liking, turn off heat and begin assembling your Faux Phillys.

Preheat over to 350. First mix together your onions and beef (and peppers if so inclined). Next sprinkle a very small amount of mozz. on your tortilla, just slightly left of center -leaving at least a half to an inch of space from all edges. Over the cheese place a couple of tablespoons of beef/onion mixture. Sprinkle a little more cheese. Now you will fold it. Beginning by folding up a lip from the bottom. This lip will prevent your ooey-gooey good stuff from slipping out into your lap or down the front of your new shirt (yeah, it always seems to happen to me when I'm wearing something new). Next fold the left flap over the meaty-oniony-cheesy goodness and roll up. Lay seam side down on a foil covered cookie sheet. Make as many as you like and then cover sheet with foil. Place in preheated oven for ten to fifteen minutes -just long enough to melt the cheese nicely and put a crisp edge on the tortilla.

Oven-Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

Diced Red Potatoes (depending on the size I use around 8 to 10 -but we love 'em leftover too)

Diced Onion (one large)

Chili Powder (to your taste and I use about a Tbsp (we REALLY like chili powder -one that contains salt)

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

A few Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat over to 425

Pour potatoes into a large ziplock bag or a large stainless steel bowl (depending on how much you feel like cleaning up afterward). Add onions and seasonings. Drizzle Olive Oil over the top. Either zip the bag and shake or stir thoroughly. Dump into either a disposable baking pan or a a baking dish. Cook 45 minutes to one hour. At one hour mine are slightly crispy, which is what I prefer, but some like them softer.

Okay, now after all those onions, just don't breathe too heavily on anyone. LOL Enjoy. Cheap and easy movie night dinner with minimal clean up.

Shepherd's Pie

This is one of my husband's favorites and was the perfect easy solution for using up leftover mashed potatoes, tired baby carrots, and excellent deals on ground turkey at Ingles this week.

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 onion diced
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs minced garlic
1 bag frozen peas
2 cups steamed chopped carrots
4 c mashed potatoes
2-4 cups gravy (alternately, use a packet mix or a can of cream of something soup)
2 c grated cheddar cheese
black pepper


Saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add meat and cook until brown. Put meat and onions in 9x13 baking dish. Add peas and carrots and blend. Prepare gravy according to package directions and pour over meat mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cheese over the meat. Top with mashed potatoes and spread evenly over meat mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Bake in 375F 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is lightly browned.

For Extra Deliciousness

In my ongoing efforts to identify tasty cheap meals, specifically ones that use ground chuck, we had a modified version of Hamburger Pot Roast, from 1963's Good Housekeeping Cookbook (recipe below).

It's essentially a braised meatloaf; the addition of caraway seeds to the meat mixture does give it a convincing "pot roast" flavor.  It was pretty easy to prepare, & very tasty.

Recipes in this cookbook are not as standardized as we expect from modern-day cookbooks, & the narratives are often charmingly informal.  This particular recipe includes the following gem:

. . . for extra deliciousness, stir in 2 tspn sugar, 1/2 cup light cream, 1/3 cup Burgundy wine, 1/4 tspn salt; heat gently; pass separately.

Unfortunately, although i followed these directions exactly, the resulting sauce was dreadful - it curdled & turned a particularly lurid shade of pink that i simply couldn't imagine serving on anything manly enough to deserve being called Pot Roast.

Thankfully, the meat & onions were just fine without any extra sauce, & we'll probably have the leftovers tomorrow night for supper, unless Russ wants to take some for lunch tomorrow.

We had it with some mixed vegetables & salad.

I'm transcribing the original recipe, as printed in the cookbook; my changes are indicated inline in red.

Hamburger Pot Roast (from Good Housekeeping Cookbook)

1 1/2# chuck, ground once (used 1# regular ground chuck)
2 Tbsp parsley, snipped
Salt
1/2 tspn onion salt (used 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes)
1 tspn caraway seeds
3 Tbsp evaporated milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tspn paprika
3 Tbsp butter or margarine (used 2 Tbsp butter)
1/4 cup Burgundy wine
1 large onion, sliced
2 bay leaves

1. Lightly combine chuck, parsley, 1 tspn salt, onion salt, caraway seeds, milk.  Shape into loaf, 2-1/2" thick.
2. Combine flour, 1/2 tspn salt, paprika; use to coat meat loaf.
3. In hot butter in large skillet, gently brown meat loaf, turning once.  (Drain the fat!)  Add wine, onion, bay leaves.  Simmer, covered, 30 min, or until done (took ~45 min for onions to seem soft enough).
4. Carefully lift loaf to heated platter; top with onion slices from pan juice.  Remove bay leaves; serve juice as is.  Or for extra deliciousness, stir in 2 tspn sugar, 1/2 cup light cream, 1/3 cup Burgundy wine, 1/4 tspn salt; heat gently; pass separately.  Makes 6 servings (mine made ~4). 

Superb Skillet Cheeseburger Loaf

A nice change from the usual grilled cheeseburgers; we usually have it with baked beans, fresh tomatoes, & Melba toast ... the leftovers reheat very well in the toaster oven.

Superb Skillet Cheeseburger Loaf

1 egg, beaten

1# ground chuck

3/4 tspn salt

1/4 cup minced onion

Non-stick cooking spray

4 oz shredded cheese (not Parmesan)

1/4 tspn pepper

1. Preheat broiler
2. Mix egg, meat, salt & onion.
3. Grease 8" oven-proof skillet with cooking spray.  Press 1/2 of meat mixture into skillet.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese & cover with remaining meat, patting smooth.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Cut into 4 quarters.
4. Cook on stove over fairly high heat until well-browned on bottom.  Drain grease.
5. Slide skillet under broiler until top of meat is nicely browned.