Stuffed Burgers

Cory and I love to watch the Food Network. While watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives, we saw a diner that stuffed their burgers. Yummy! So we tried it, and it was fabulous. You will need to be creative with this recipe so you can fit it to your taste.

Stuffed Burgers

2 lbs 80-20 ground beef

Your favorite steak seasoning...we used Famous Dave's Burger and Steak seasoning

8 slices of your favorite cheese (we did Pepperjack and American)

Hamburger Buns

Your favorite toppings...lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo, etc.

With using 2 lbs, we got out about 8 burgers. Season the meat in a bowl, then divide into 16 (or 1/8 lb) balls. Place the rounds between 2 pieces of wax paper and roll them flat with a rolling pin until you get them into the desired size..about 4 inches wide. Tear the cheese slices in to fourths. Take one patty, place the cheese on top, then top with another patty. Pinch the edges together to seal the cheese inside the meat. Preheat your BBQ grill to about med-medium high heat...about 350 and grill each patty for about 10 min each side or until done. Be sure to check your patties as they are cooking. There are different things that will effect the cooking time..how hot your grill cooks, how done you like the burgers, how big the burgers are, so our cooking time is a guess based on what we did.

(I am sure that you could subsitute turkey or pork for the beef if you want to.)

Another thing we do, is season the burgers with a little Tabasco before grilling them, but that depends on if you like things with a little bit of a kick. Grilling your buns for just a minute also makes it awesome!

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Summertime means BBQ! Having grown up in Texas, BBQ was a staple in the summer. We add Cole slaw for a twist to an old favorite.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

1 Pork Roast (whatever is on sale...bone in or boneless and big enough for your family)

garlic salt, salt and pepper

1 bottle of your favorite prepared BBQ sauce

1 can of Coke or Dr. Pepper

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp prepared mustard

Rolls

Cole Slaw (optional)

Season the roast with a little bit of garlic salt, salt and pepper. Put it in the crock pot. Add 1 can of Coke or Dr. Pepper with enough water to come about 1/2 way up the roast. Cover and simmer for 4-6 hrs on high or 6-8 hrs on low. When the meat is tender pull it out onto a cutting board. Pour out the juices into a large measuring cup. Into the crock pot, add the bottle of BBQ sauce, brown sugar and mustard. Skim off the drained juices and add to the BBQ sauce mixture until it is your desired consistancy (you may not need all of it depending on how much drippings you have). Stir to combine. Shred the pork and add to the BBQ sauce. Heat through. Serve on rolls. We like to top ours with Cole Slaw (I cheat and get 1 lg container of Cole slaw from KFC) it adds a nice cool crunch to go with the tender, flavorful pork. Yesterday at Costco we found a bottle of Famous Dave's (our favorite BBQ restaurant...try the bread pudding it is amazing!) sweet and spicy pickles and those are really good on it as well.

Opa's Potato Salad

I have so many memories of summertime traveling from Texas to Utah and visiting Omi and Opa. While we were there, Omi always took us to the park; sang to the monkeys and gave us "tea parties" in the backyard. Opa always made his Potato Salad for us. Since it is kind of a "by taste recipe", I have tried to get as close as I can to recapture those memories. (I will tell you that if you want it to taste like Opa's you have to use the brand names that are specified for the recipe.)

Opa's Potato Salad

6 heaping Tbsp Best Foods Mayo

1 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

1 tsp Rice Vinegar

1 tsp water

1/2 to 1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2-3 shakes of Maggi

8 small Yukon gold potoates or white potatoes

2 dill pickles, seeded and diced

1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped

3 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and chopped

In a large pot, boil potatoes with skins on. The cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes. When you insert a fork, you should have some resistance towards the middle. Basically you want them done, but not mushy. In a large mixing bowl combine Mayo, mustard, vinegar, water, salt and pepper and Maggi. (When I said heaping TBSP for the Mayo I am talking about the large spoons (grown up spoons is what we call them at our house), not the measuring spoons, same with the tsp for the mustard.) Stir to combine. (You should taste a hint of the dijon flavor but not too much) Add pickles, onion and hard boiled eggs. (I put the eggs in tap water, bring it to a boil on the stove, cover it and turn off the burner. Let it sit for 10 minutes and they will turn out perfect everytime.) After the potatoes are boiled, allow them to cool and then peel and chop into bite sized pieces. Lastly add the tomatoes. It is really important to take the seeds out first and also to add them last or it will turn the sauce pink. Enjoy!

Glazed Pork Roast

This is a tried and true recipe here at our house; we've tweaked it a little to our tastes, and it's a favorite now. The citrus seasoning really works with the pork roast, and the mandarin orange garnish is delish... perfect for spring and summer menus. This crock-pot recipe makes a great Sunday dinner entree. One slice is 4 points, which makes it light and healthy, too. Win-win! Enjoy.

Glazed Pork Roast
(4 points per slice)
.
1 boneless whole pork loin roast ( 4 pounds), trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Glaze
.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained (optional)
.
Cut the roast in half. In a large skillet, brown roast in oil and butter on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the orange juice concentrate, water, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until a meant thermometer reads 160 ° F, and the meat is tender.

For the glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, orange juice concentrate, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Brush over roast. Garnish with oranges if desired.

* Our tweaks:

1. Double the glaze recipe. You'll be glad you did. We like to serve rice with this dish to "soak up" any extra glaze.
2. I've used a normal pork roast and it works just as well. (Didn't cut it half...)
3. I don't brown the meat every time, but when I do, I only use the olive oil. It's enough to brown the meat by itself.
4. Try the mandarin orange garnish. I love it.

original recipe: Light and Tasty magazine, February/March 2008, p. 49

Ham Fried Rice

Cory went on his mission to Japan, and so he is really good at making up Oriental recipes. So this is his recipe, not mine. We tried to do measurements as we went along, but some things depend on how much rice you use.

Ham Fried Rice

2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms, button or cremini
pinch of salt
a couple of shakes of Sesame oil...a little goes a long way
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, minced
1 1/2 cup cubed ham
2-3 large eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup soy sauce or tempura sauce
4-5 green onions, sliced

Heat oil (Canola and sesame) in a large saucepan. Add mushroom and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5minutes, then add garlic and ginger. When you can smell the garlic, add the ham. Stir to combine. Beat eggs and then add to the mixture. Stir around until eggs are cooked and mixed throughout mixture. Add rice and soy sauce or tempura sauce. Stir well to combine. Just prior to serving add green onions, reserving some for garnish.