Ma What's For Dinner?

Ok seriously…what is up with all the gloomy weather here in the Northeast?  I feel like I haven’t seen the sun for more than a 5 minutes stint in almost 2 weeks.  Where the heck did we move?  Seattle?  So what do I do when I get depressed and need a little summer lovin’?  Crack open the coronas and fire up the grill.  You all know how I love to get my burger on so I whipped up some Cowboy Burgers, or Cowboy Up Burgers as we in Red Sox Nation like to refer to them…

There are opposite sides taken in the battle of the burger wars.  It’s sort of like Color War Week at camp.  There are those who believe you should only gussy up what goes on top of the burger, and those who believe you should work on the actual burger itself.  I’m sort of split.  So for this one, I did both.  I dress up the burger’s interior and toss some good stuff on top.  I like it when the burger is flavored through and through, but then I felt like it looked a little naked there on the bun so I felt bad for him and slapped on some grilled onions and mushrooms….the choice is yours, but what makes this a cowboy burger is what is on the inside.  Take a looksie…

2 lbs ground beef, 85/15

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/4 large red onion diced

2 T worcestshire sauce

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 big T montreal steak seasoning

1/4 cup beer

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine all your ingredients into a large bowl.  Toss to combine with your hands just enough to incorporate all the burgers.  Form patties, I usually get about 6 big burgers.  Sprinkle with some olive oil and grill to desired doneness.  We like ‘em medium-rare to medium.  The nice thing about these burgers is that the all the ingredients help to keep them nice and moist so even if you leave them on the grill a little longer they are still nice and juicy!  We just had friends over to BBQ, uh in the rain mind you, and they said these were the best grilled burgers they’d ever had.  Yes they are!  Giddy up, Cowboys!

Welcome to all the Tuesday Tag Alongs. I can’t wait to come back and visit your sites. I love making new bloggie pals.

Continue Reading

Summertime is here again and it’s time to fire up the grill. I’ve decided to feature a week of food all based on this one meal. The economy is tight and I’m cooking up 3 other meals out of this bad boy. That is making your penny stretch. Now rib eye is an expensive cut, but these were on sale at the store, buy one get one free. I bought 4 huge steaks and it fed us for about a week. Stay tuned to see what we turn this into next.

Serves: 4 (save extra for the rest of your week)  Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time: 20 minutes

4 large rib eye steaks

3 T olive oil

1 T butter

S&P

2 strips bacon

2 cloves garlic minced

2 shallots minced

1 T flour

1/2 cup jack daniels

1 can beef broth

2 large onions, sliced into strips

2 large red bell peppers, sliced into strips

Heat your outdoor grill to medium high heat.  Allow your steaks to come to room temperature.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with S&P.  Put them on the grill and allow them to cook for 5 minutes on the first side, then 3-4 minutes on the second for medium rare.  Remove from grill and allow to rest.

In a large skillet heat 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter over medium high heat.  Add onion and peppers and season with S&P.  Allow to cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium saucepan cook bacon over medium high heat until crispy.  Remove and set aside.  In the bacon drippings saute your shallots until soft.  Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Stir in flour and let it cook for a minute stirring often.  Deglaze with Jack Daniels and allow the alcohol to cook out and the sauce to reduce, about 2-3 minutes.  Add your beef broth and bring to a boil.  Once it’s boiled bring the head down to medium and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add your bacon back in and drizzle over your veggies and steak.

Continue Reading