Category: Dinner

Stuffed Burgers On The Grill

Have you had a stuffed burger? If not, why not? They’re incredible.

To be honest, I always used to sandwich my toppings in between two patties of beef and try to seal it by pinching the edges together. It works, but it’s not the greatest way to go about it. So the other day I was at Lowes and they had a stuffed burger press for sale for a measly $6! Of course, I slipped it in with the other purchases and brought it home.

The way it works is that you press a patty of beef into a cup shape. Then you fill it with your “toppings” and then add a thin layer of meat to the top and press again to seal it. Mine turned out to be about 1/2 pound hockey pucks full of jalapenos, cheese and bacon. Yours could be filled with anything that will fit.

My dearly devoted wife took pictures of the process in making the patties so I could share them with you here. It’s a little time consuming, but it’s so well worth it.

Here we go:

1. Put meat in the press, about 1/3 pound, and press with the small side of the press to create the “cup”.

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2. The cup:

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3. The filling:

 

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4.  The patty topper

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5.  Pressing the patties together:

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6.  Removing the patty:

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And there you have it.  Grill as you normally would, but resist the urge to press your patties to speed cooking.  Everything will ooze out of them if you press on them with your spatula.

Well, not quite, you have to put them on your grill first:

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Grill to perfection:

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Why’s there only three?  Well these have homemade pickled jalapenos in them, the kids already dug in to their jalapeno-less burgers and that was a mess to take a picture of.

Here’s the sandwich and fries:

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And here it is cut open:

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If I could do one thing different, it would be to pack more cheese inside.  It tends to melt into the burger surrounding it and while you can taste it, you can’t see it.  That was a deal breaker for the kids, and we had to add a slice of American to the top of theirs so they’d finish them.  It wasn’t a taste issue, mind you, it was a visual issue.

Seriously though, get you a burger press and make these as soon as you can. They’re incredible.

Arroz con Pollo – A Healthy Chicken Dinner

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I found this recipe a while back at EatingWell.com and it looked like something my family would definitely enjoy eating. As a bonus, it’s pretty good for you too. Each serving is about 380 calories and that’s important here as we’re all trying to reduce our caloric intake.

So let’s get to it and learn how to make Arroz con Pollo, or Chicken with Rice! Read more

Really Easy and Delicious Cheeseburger Casserole

Last night we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner, as we do most nights around here. One thing you’ll soon learn about me is that I don’t plan too much in advance. It’s not that I can’t, it’s that I simply don’t think about it.

Looking in the fridge, we had some ground beef and not much else to work with. I dug through the pantry and found some mac and cheese and a jar of spaghetti sauce. Bam! Cheeseburger Casserole it is then.

It was really easy to make and the kids just about destroyed it. I also baked up a quick loaf of beer bread from a mix I bought at the store a while back. You, however, can serve whatever you like with your casserole.  Here’s how I did it. Read more