Fiesta Stuffed Burgers on toasted buns. Yes, there is still time to grill even if the first day of autumn fell from the calendar already! In fact, the grill may get even more use around here in the cooler weather of fall than the hot summer. No matter! Fiesta Stuffed Burgers are good anytime!! Mix the filling ahead of time and set aside to let flavors meld. It doesn’t have to be a long time – just ten minutes at room temperature allows them to ripen a bit. However, you can make the filling ahead a day (or several) and keep it in the refrigerator. Depends on your schedule. Use lean ground beef for the burger itself. Not too lean because you need a bit of fat to keep it moist and edible after the grill has done its thing. 85% lean is just about right. ( That means the ground ... [Read More]
Grilled
BLT Ranch Burger
First time I made Ranch Burgers, I used ranch dressing out of the bottle. They were moist – just like I thought they would be. That was a good thing. But they were so moist they came apart and slid down into the barbecue flames. Not a good thing. And they were so soft that it was impossible to slide a spatula under them to lift anything off the grill. Really not a good thing! Good idea -- bad execution!! This recipe using dry ranch dressing mix gives the taste and tenderness without the falling apart mess. Save the bottled ranch dressing to replace or supplement your ketchup allotment. Works much better! Adding the BLT takes a good sandwich up a notch. Or maybe it’s the other way around – adding a burger to your BLT takes a good sandwich up a notch! Either way marrying ... [Read More]
Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Mushroom Swiss Burgers evolved when I picked up some burgers from a supermarket deli after work one night. We all liked it so well, that I just had to come up with a copy cat version. The grocery store version may have it on speed – just heat the cooking surface and 10 minutes later you have burgers. But the home made version is less expensive and only takes a couple of minutes to mix --- plus the ability to plan ahead far enough to also buy mushrooms and swiss cheese when you find the meat on sale. You get that picture, I’m sure – no need to say more! I usually buy 90% lean or higher if I am going to use the ground beef in a dish, but 85% lean works well when the meat does a solo appearance. If you are going to grill or fry ground beef patties, a bit of fat is necessary to keep the ... [Read More]
Beef Shish Kebabs
Dinner on a stick! Fun and colorful, shish kebabs make a nice change of pace for summertime grilling. They look and sound so glamorous for such a little bit of effort! Even the name is fun to say. Shish refers to the skewer and kebab means grilled meat in Turkish. The original Turkish recipes used lamb. With typical American adaptability, just about anything that will stay on a stick is "shished" and then "kebabed". It is best not to mix the kind of meat used on one skewer. Chicken or pork need to be cooked well, but beef can be grilled to your desired doneness. Cut the meat into one inch squares and marinate for several hours, overnight is best. Cut the vegetables you choose into pieces larger than the meat, about one and a half inch square. Pineapple is often added to a kebab because ... [Read More]
