Bacon Bleu Burgers topped with Herb and Carmelized Onion Mayo

Ok, fine, the cat is out of the bag.

We don't always eat healthy...

But, when we do indulge, we are sure to save it for ourselves, uh, protect our children from it. Yeah, right, that's what we do.

Truth be told, it was a rare occasion when all three kids were gone and when I asked Jerry what he wanted for dinner he said steaks or burgers.

No brainer for me...Burgers it is!

I enjoy a good steak, when someone else prepares it for me, but I'm no connoisseur of selecting or preparing a good steak, so I'd rather leave that to the professionals.

Besides, there are so many good fun things to do with burgers!

And a steak wouldn't leave me with much to share with y'all.

It didn't take long to scan my mental burger wish list and come up with these amazing babies...Bacon Bleu Burgers.

And, here Jerry just thought he was getting plain-Jane burgers…boy was he wrong! 

Starting with the most obvious AND delicious ingredient

fried up 4 slices of heaven, uh, I mean bacon. 

Crumbled the bacon into a bowl with the 1# ground beef and about a cup of crumbled bleu cheese. 

Also added 1 tsp of seasoning salt, which was completely unnecessary.  

Combine all of that deliciousness. 

Divide into 4 patties and throw on to grill (or grill pan, as the case may be). 

While the burgers were cooking, sliced up some leftover onion. 

Thought that some caramelized onions would be a nice topper. 

I was right!!! 

They cooked down and browned right up! 

Another fabulous topping could be some herbed mayo.  

Snipped some fresh basil and parsley from my deck,

Gave them a rough chop and mixed them into about a cup of mayo.  

Nice fresh condiment to compliment the burger. 

(The left over onions were mixed in for an even better sauce!)

Here is my burger, with the onions mixed right in the mayo…

(See how Jerry gets the fancy plate too!)

So fabulous!  

RECIPE:

Yield: 4 - .25 lb burgers

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

1# ground beef 

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

Half of an onion - sliced

1 cup mayo

handful of fresh herbs (basil and parsley)

Directions:

Cook and crumble bacon. 

Combine bacon, bleu cheese and ground beef. 

Divide into 4 burgers and grill until done. 

Brown the onion for a burger topper or mayo ingredient. 

Chop up fresh herbs and stir into mayo. 

Pickle (Juice Marinated) Chicken

And, here we are at the beginning of a new week!  I don't know about you, but I'm elated!

In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty excited about food.

Let me give you an example…

We were without children for 3 whole nights at the end of last week.  Friday night, it was just the two of us and after a fabulous dinner on the deck, we were testing the water to see what each other had in mind for the evening.

Hubby wanted to watch a movie…anyone who knows me, (at all!!) knows that movies bore.me.to.tears!  Only way I could possibly sit around and watch the television for a couple hours would be with my iPad close at hand, which is really annoying to Jerry.

Instead, I decided that I would bake…(see Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins).

Here is what it boils down to…given a situation with no kids, no work, no responsibility, what do I do?  Make delicious food!  That's a no brainer.

So, it shouldn't surprise you when I'm excited about the line up of meals that I have planned to share with you for the week.  Great ideas for your family, cook outs, utilizing summer harvests…

Starting with Pickle Chicken.

First time I heard about this concept, I was intrigued.

I mean, I'm all about using pickle juice for various sauces and dressing, but using it as a marinade was something I HAD to try.

The end result…nothing less than amazing and easier than ever! 

The flavor and texture of the pickle juice marinated chicken was just right!  

I had chicken tenders in the fridge that needed to be used as well as a jar of my FAVORITE pickles, with just two slices left…almost seemed too good to be true! 

Into a resealable container went two 14 oz packages of chicken tenders. 

I always choose tenders over breasts for ease of cooking.  

And, then poured the juice from a 20 oz jar of pickles. 

Let the marinating begin!  

After about 10 hours, the tenders started to change in appearance a bit, mostly due to the acidity of the pickle juice, almost acting as a tenderizer.  

Feeling a little guilty, so I will admit that I opted for my grill pan in my air conditioned house rather than slaving over the steamy grill with sweat dripping from my brow. 

Just grilled 'em up like any other chicken dish.  

Did take them a little longer to start browning, which is very important to me, so there were a few moments of concern.

Ultimately, they did brown up nicely. 

Also, I thought I'd grill up the pickles themselves.  

Food safety note: Since the pickles were in with the raw chicken, they would have to be grilled up or tossed.  

I'm not sure if other people think about cross-contamination as much as I do, so thought that maybe I should mention it from time to time.  

This chicken can be served up so many different ways.  

We went the healthy route by serving it on a bed of spinach, with fresh cukes and tomatoes from the garden along with some crumbled bleu cheese. 

Would also be amazing in a wrap! 

For leftovers, I dipped the naked tenders in some homemade onion and herb mayo…

Also fabulous!  

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2-14 oz packages of chicken tenders

Juice from 1-20 oz jar of pickles

Directions:

Marinate chicken in pickle juice for as long as desired.  I've heard from 1-24 hours, I went with about 10.  Worked like a charm. 

Cook chicken according to preferred method, grill, bake, roast, sautee.  

Serve on a salad, in a wrap or with a dipping sauce.  

I'm sure you have pickle juice in your house and you probably have chicken too!  

What are you waiting for? 

Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Well, it is the biggest rummage sale day of the year around these parts and I have a fabulous tradition with my girlfriends to get together the second Saturday morning in August to find great deals on things we may or may not need.

You know how that goes....

A few years ago, I brought my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and my friends have been asking for them ever since.

So, this year, in my abundance of zucchini, I thought I'd revise that recipe...put in more of the good and less of the bad...kill two birds with one stone...bring them the banana muffins they have been asking for and try something new around here.

Without further ado...

Start with two over ripe bananas, mashed up real good.  

Can anyone tell me, do bananas ripen faster this time of year or is that just me?

One and a half cups of shredded zucchini.

So many recipes call for one zucchini, shredded, that is too ambiguous, even for this queen of ambiguity.  

My zucchini vary in size so greatly...I just shredded half of one and measured the shreds accordingly.

Whisk up the zucchini and bananas with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

As far as the dry ingredients, one and a half cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Many recipes tell you to mix the dry ingredient separately…

I'm not big on that.  

The main reason is so that the minor ingredients (baking soda, powder and salt) are distributed evenly.

I just heap them all together and mix well.  

No complaints around here.

It helps to begin with the end in mind, if you know the reasoning behind any given instructions, 

you can revise the method according to the goal.

Only thing this is really missing from the original recipe is oatmeal...(and an egg).  I really like the texture that oatmeal imparts...perhaps I'll make another batch with another 1/2 cup of zucchini and a cup or so of oatmeal..really keep you guessing!

Finally, 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips were added and the batter was folded together. 

Muffin tins were sprayed with cooking spray, I prefer that for muffins, for some reason. 

Bake these bad boys at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown.

These were amazing, nothing short of delicious! 

Only problem is that this recipe only made 10, so you may want to double. 

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2 overripe Bananas - mashed

1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk together bananas, zucchini, sugar and vanilla. 
Add dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
Mix everything together and add chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into spray muffin tins. 
Baking at 350F for 20-25 minutes. 

**Share with your neighbors and anyone else you want to be your friend**

Fried Rice with Beef and Broccoli

My kids have been loving the fast Asian food restaurant lately and I can even admit that it hits the spot from time to time.

It really got me wondering why I don't cook more Asian food at home if I love it so much?

So, earlier this week I had an idea to make a teriyaki beef and broccoli.

But, then I decided I wanted to try making some fried rice.

The fried rice was so amazing, a perfect blend of soy sauce and sesame oil…that I skipped the teriyaki all together and just enjoyed the fabulous flavors of the rice with some lightly seasoned beef and broccoli.

Starting with the obvious ingredient, 4 cups of Minute rice and 3 cups of beef broth,

for a little extra flavor. 

While the rice was cooking, 1 tbsp of minced garlic was sautéed in 1 tbsp of sesame oil. 

This smelled fabulous throughout the house and the kids were running in asking what I was making that smelled so good! 

Then, 2 eggs were scrambled up in another tbsp of sesame oil. 

This isn't my traditional egg pan nor is it a wok, so it was a little interesting, but delicious, nonetheless. 

Two cups of frozen peas were added to the garlic and egg. 

This would also be where the shredded carrots would be added as well…

if I had any in the house at the time. 

The cooked rice was also added to the pan, along with 1/4 cup soy sauce. 

Stirred up and taste-tested…this is where the meal plan took a turn. 

This was just too good to add anything that would compete with all of the amazing flavors. 

Skip the teriyaki, just cook the beef and broccoli and toss them together. 

Into a pan went just under 1# of stir fry beef strips, seasoned with some salt. 

Then, a couple cups of broccoli were cooked up. 

Tossed all back together. 

Top the rice with the beef and broccoli, perhaps a dash of crushed red pepper and serve. 

I can honestly say that my family was impressed with this meal…

That is a tall order because their expectations have grown. 

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

4 cups of Minute rice

3 cups of beef broth

1 tbsp of minced garlic 

2 tbsp of sesame oil, divided

2 eggs

2 cups of frozen peas

1-2 cups of shredded carrots (would be a great addition)

1/4 cup soy sauce

vegetable oil

1# of stir fry beef strips

salt - to taste

2 cups of broccoli

crushed red pepper - optional

Directions:

Cook rice according to instructions on box. 

In wok, or large pan, sautee minced garlic in 1 tbsp sesame oil. Push aside.

Add another tbsp sesame oil and scramble 2 eggs. 

Add the peas to the pan with the garlic and eggs, to thaw. 

Add in the rice, top with soy sauce. 

*Taste a little bit of heaven!*

Cook up the beef in some hot oil. 

Set aside and trim as necessary. 

Cook the broccoli a bit to soften, leaving plenty of texture. 

Combine the beef and broccoli, add to the rice, top with crushed red pepper, if you are feeling adventurous. 

Zucchini and Sausage Marinara and Eagle River Highlights

Whoa…I'm back in action, relishing the most fun summer I've had in years, probably since my childhood.

Yesterday was my youngest's 9th birthday.  Landon and his buddies enjoyed and afternoon at the Fort Aktinson Pool.  Great facility and reasonably priced…hope to get back there at least one more time this summer.

Before that, we spent a week in the woods of northern Wisconsin…great family time and wonderful memories made.

Reviving an old tradition go-karting tradition at Elmer's. 

Our 2nd annual cruise at Pirates Hideaway

Fishing for bass, northern and blue gill on Carpenter Lake.

Eating our first fish fry. 

Hanging out on the raft, with the lake to ourselves!

Kids had a tread-off, for nearly an hour!  

 Those are just a few of the highlights, we also went Stand Up Paddleboarding, saw lots of wildlife, played in the sand, cooked over the fire and cherished every minute together!

While we were gone, the garden just kept right on a-growing!  Which means that the zucchini, aka the only vegetable thriving in our garden, are now the size of small children.  I've been experimenting a lot with zucchini, but will try to space out all of the zucchini recipes over the next month or so.

 Before we left, we had Zucchini and Sausage Marinara for dinner in an effort to utilize what was left in the refrigerator.  

Started by grilling up the Italian Sausage links in my beloved grill pan.  

Ultimately, I had to cut the links in half to ensure they were cooked all of the way through.  

While the snausages were cooking, just boiled up some gluten-free pasta.  It really isn't very different and is now the norm in our house. 

I would recommend undercooking the pasta a bit so that the penne tubes stay intact while being combined with the rest of the deliciousness. 

As far as the zucchini, some coconut oil was heated and the squash coins were layered in. 

Seasoned with freshly ground roasted garlic and sea salt, also decided that some onion would be a fabulous addition to these veggies. 

In order to keep the zucchini from getting to mashed, I gently flip the veggies after sufficient time to brown. 

 A wise man once said..."Let it Be" - great advice! 

As the zucchini were cooked, they were added to the pan o' pasta and topped with a jar of marinara sauce. 

Finally, the cooked sausage links were sliced and added. 

Gently combined and ready to be devoured by my hungry crew! 

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

Italian Sausage links

Ronzoni Gluten-free Pasta

Zucchini - as much as you like!

Coconut Oil

Freshly ground roasted garlic and sea salt

Sliced Onion

Jar of marinara sauce

Parmesan - optional

Directions:

Cook and slice sausage links. 

Boil pasta according to instructions. 

Sliced and sautee zucchini in oil of choice. 

Add sausage and zucchini to pasta, top with marinara.

Gently stir to combine, top with parmesan and serve.