JUICY SURPRISE BURGERS

Summer is not complete until you've had burgers cooked on the grill. Whether you prefer charcoal or gas, you can't go wrong with this recipe.


There are 2 different surprises in my burgers. Each has a purpose and help to make this a spectacular hamburger.



I use 73/27 Ground Beef. Grilled hamburgers need that extra fat to make them good. Extra fat makes everything good. I'm just sayin'.


The first of my unique hamburger making steps involve bread. I use 1 slice per pound.


Break up the bread into your mixing bowl. To this add 2 tablespoons of milk per slice of bread. Let the bread absorb the milk. At this point I add my seasonings: Worcestershire sauce, my favorite hot sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Mix this big sloppy mixture into the burger. At this point it looks nasty but believe me, it's good. Get in there and use your hands. It's the only way.

For each patty, divide your meat in half and make 2 thin patties.


Put about 3 to 4 pieces of cheese onto the thin patty and put the other patty on top. Seal the edges and complete your patty.

I had a helper today. The Kid played the Cheese Man and placed the cheese pearls onto the patty for me since my hands were a mess from making the patties.



I used mozzarella for that fun, stringy effect. It doesn't hurt to have fun with your food.



Once all the patties are made, generously pepper the outside. I don't think you can ever have too much pepper on your meats.

Next, send the hubby out to the grill to do the hot work. I do this because Daddeee has amazing grilling skills. By amazing, I mean awesome, spectacular, and incredible.



See. I told you. Do those burgers look amazing or do they look amazing? Daddeee, you outdid yourself on the grill tonight.


And you can't have grilled burgers without some homemade French fries.


Am I making you hungry?


The burger is so big it wouldn't fit into my mouth so I had to do a little smooshing.

And surprise! There's the melted cheese in the middle. You can see the juices oozing from the meat too. Fat, bread, and milk worked together to make that possible.

I'm so full I must go take a nap...for a week.

BACON, BURGER, MAC N CHEESE

How could you ever go wrong with a recipe that includes some of the most wonderful foods in the world?

The Teenager and I visited Noodles & Company again last week and this is what I order. It was really good but I thought the bacon to burger ratio was a little off for my tastes.

I decided to make it at home and do a little adjustments.



Ingredients that I used (no exact measurements because you'll just have to adjust it to your own liking):

Ground Beef - I just used the basic stuff. I cooked it in the skillet and drained the grease from it. I seasoned the meat with some light Italian seasonings such as garlic and oregano but once again, go with your own tastes.

Bacon - I can bring it home and I can fry it up in a pan.

Pasta - I just boiled up a pasta. At Noodles, they serve it with rotini. I used mostaccioli because it's what I had.

Shredded Cheese - Again, use what you have. I used colby-jack.

A fresh diced tomato - Mine came from the corner stand. I wish I could say they came from my own garden but I just don't have one this year.

Pile it on. Grab your plate or bowl and put in the pasta, ground beef, bacon, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes (not necessarily in that order - use your imagination!)

Thank you, Noodles & Company for the idea. Don't worry. I will still come see you because when you cook it, I don't have to do dishes!

THOSE PESKY FELLOWS

GERMS!

Last Thursday the babysitter called as I was leaving work to let me know that The Kid took a nap and woke up with a 101.1 fever. She said he had complained earlier in the day of a sore throat.

I picked him up from her house and took him to Urgent Care.

Strep. Not fun but at least we diagnosed it fast and a few doses of amoxicillin later and he's as good as new.

Fast forward to this morning.

I awoke with a sore throat and an awful headache. I showered hoping it would make me feel better but no such luck.

I called in to work and went back to bed.

Now I'm up and I still have the sore throat and the headache.

Thanks, Kid. I know I taught you to share but this is going beyond.

So now I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call back to see if they'll just call something in or if I have to make an appointment.

In the meantime, I'm going back to my bed. My head feels better when it's comfortably resting on my pillow.