If the name of these hamburgers don’t get you excited, I don’t know what else to tell you about them.  All else I can say is that I found this recipe online the other day, made them last week, and my husband and I both liked them so much that he asked me to make them the next night for dinner.  I don’t know if we’ve ever done that before!  Don’t get me wrong, we eat leftovers, but I don’t remember the last time I actually went through the process of making the exact same dinner two nights in a row.  So…here you have it:

Stuffed Hamburger with Avocado

• 1/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. Dijon mustard
• ketchup**
• 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp prepared steak seasoning
• 1 ripe Hass avocado, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• garlic salt**
• 4 slices cheese**
• 4 hamburger buns, sliced**
• spinach leaves
• 2 tomatoes, sliced

1. Prepare grill (or plug in George Foreman grill).
2. Combine mayo & mustard, set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine meat, Worcestershire sauce & steak seasoning.  Mix well.  Divide meat mixture into 4 equal portions and form each portion into two thin patties; set aside.
4. Gently combine avocado, lemon juice and garlic salt, making sure all the avocado is covered.
5. Top half of the patties with the avocado mixture, then top each with another patty, pinching to seal, forming a smooth edge.
6. Grill over medium-hot coals for 5-6 minutes per side or until no longer pink inside (I just cooked ours on the George Foreman grill!).  Just before removing from the grill, place a slice of cheese on each patty & allow to melt.
7. Place buns cut side down on the grill to toast.  Remove burgers & rolls form the grill.
8. Serve burgers with mayo, mustard, ketchup, spinach, & tomato slices.

Recommendations:

• Ketchup:  the original recipe didn’t call for ketchup (just the mayo & mustard), but the second night I made these we put ketchup on them and liked them better with it.
• Garlic:  The original recipe said to put roasted garlic on top of the avocado, and it told you how to make the roasted garlic, but I thought that just took too much time, so I just used garlic salt.  I’m sure the roasted garlic would make them taste even better, so if you have enough time to deal with that you can view the original recipe.
• Cheese:  The original recipe called for Jalsburg cheese, but I just used muenster and it tasted great.
• Buns:  The original recipe called for ciabatta rolls, but I just used normal wheat hamburger buns.

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My cousin invited us and a couple of our other cousins over to their house for dinner last Sunday.  She was making the artichoke chicken recipe that I gave her (I made it once when we had them over for dinner and she fell in love with it and makes it all the time now too!).  Everyone was bringing something for the meal, and she asked me to bring rice to spoon the sauce over.  But where’s the fun in that? So, I decided to also bring a yummy drink for us all to have with dinner.

As most of you know, my husband and I don’t drink alcohol.  But why should that stop us from being able to have a “special” drink every once in a while?  It shouldn’t!  I wanted to bring strawberry daiquiris, but I didn’t have a recipe for that, so I found this one on recipezaar.  We were so surprised at how great these were with such simple ingredients! They have a really good mix of sweet and tart, which I love.  The kids were fighting over the last few sips of these!

These will be a great go-to for summer bbq’s.  Everyone brings different salads and sides, but who thinks to bring a yummy frozen drink?  Well, now you do!!  And now you’re the most popular person there. 

Strawberry Daiquiris (Virgin)

• 4 c. frozen strawberries
• 6 oz. pink lemonade concentrate
• ice
• water**
• whipped cream**

1. Combine in blender, process until smooth.
2. Gradually add ice until desired consistency.
3. Pour into glasses.
4. If desired, top with whipped cream.

Recommendations:

• Water:  You might have to add a little water to these to get them to work with the blender.  Add a little bit if you need to loosen them up a bit, they’ll still taste absolutely great.
• Whipped Cream:  The recipe didn’t call for whipped cream, and I didn’t add it when I made them, but I just went back to the original recipe on recipezaar, and one of the pictures of it had whipped cream on top.  I think these would taste even better with the whipped cream…I wish I would have thought to add whipped cream to them the first time I made them…next time I make them I’m DEFINITELY going to add the whipped cream!
• Rum:  If you prefer the non-virgin variety, the original recipe called for 3/4 c. light rum…so go ahead and knock yourself out!

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My cousin Charity is a great cook, I’m always getting a lot of great recipes from her.  This is her Fettuccine Alfredo recipe.  I’m not sure if she made this up on her own of got it from someone, but I made it the other night and Chase and I both absolutely loved it!  It’s quick and easy enough that you can make it on a  weeknight, but it’s also good enough to cook for a more special weekend meal, or when you’re having company over.

Please don’t let the fact that it’s made with a packet make you think it’s not absolutely GREAT.  The ingredient list might seem a little bit interesting…but TRUST ME, the flavors blend SO well together!  If you don’t already have a good alfredo recipe, here’s a great one for you.  Of, if you do already have one that you like, still try this one because it really has a great new unexpected twist that you’ll like!  It’s almost like a southwest twist, with the tomatoes and the cilantro…like I said, just trust me on this one and try it!

Charity’s Yummy Fettuccine

• fettuccine
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 8 oz mushrooms, cut in quarters
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp white wine**
• 1 small can diced tomatoes
• 1 pkg Alfredo mix
• 1/2 pt (1 c. heavy cream)
• 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
• handful cilantro, chopped
• grilled chicken or shrimp (optional)

1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and garlic, cook until mushrooms are tender.
3. Add wine, boil for a couple minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, Alfredo mix, cream, & Parmesan cheese.  Cook another couple minutes.
5. Add cilantro just before serving over fettuccine (salt & pepper to taste).
6. The original recipe didn’t call for this, but I added grilled chicken when I made this…mmm!  I think it’d also be really good with shrimp.  Just a suggestion!

Recommendations:

• Wine: We’re not an alcohol drinking family, but sometimes I cook with wine, because all of the alcohol cooks out when you cook with it.  So I just buy white cooking wine (can be found in any grocery store on the shelves, usually by the vinegar) for recipes like this one.

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Like my last post, I really don’t know what more I can say about Spinach Artichoke Dip.  Everyone’s had it, everyone loves it.  Seriously, have you ever met someone that doesn’t love spinach artichoke dip??  Think about it!  This is my favorite recipe I’ve tried.  The cream cheese makes it really rich and creamy.  Mmm…

I made this for my family’s big Christmas Eve dinner, and everyone loved it!  All my family were making comments like, “excuse me miss fancy nice dish!” and “wow Jasmine when did you learn to cook like this?” (I haven’t seen them in a while…and they don’t need to know that everything I make is so simple!).

Spinach Artichoke Dip

• 1/2 pk frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 1 pk cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained & diced
• 1 squeeze fresh lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• sprinkle of paprika
• tortilla chips or bread

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (except paprika & chips).
3. Pour into a baking dish.
4. Sprinkle the top with paprika.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, till heated through & bubbly.
6. Serve with tortilla chips or toasted french bread slices (slice french bread, rub with olive oil, sprinkle w/salt & pepper & bake/broil till crispy).
7. I made a double batch of this and was VERY happy that I did!

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Not much to say about Orange Julius.  Everyone’s had it, everyone loves it.  If you haven’t had it try it.  Enough said.

If you don’t already have a recipe for Orange Julius (I didn’t before a few weeks ago!) then here’s one for you.  It’s awesome.  So yummy, so easy.  Like I said, everyone loves it.  My cousin made this for our Appetizer Fest over the holidays for a yummy drink to go with all the appetizers.  Then I made it for our Christmas morning breakfast.  They’re so easy that my husband’s 13 year old brother took over after the first batch.

Orange Julius

• 1 can oj
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4-1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 12 ice cubes

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender.
2. Make sure you get a glass of it before everyone else drinks it all, cause it definitely goes fast!

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I love honey mustard sauce.  I think it’s so versatile, you can eat it with anything!  It’s great to dip chicken into, add to sandwiches and wraps, make salad dressings out of it, dip french fries in it, etc etc.  I just think it adds so much flavor, and it’s different so it adds a little bit of variety to an otherwise bland and predictable weeknight dinner.

And now that I’ve discovered how unbelievably easy it is to make at home, with ingredients that I always always have in my fridge, I love it even more!

Honey Mustard (Dip or Dressing) (#13228 on recipezaar.com)

• 1/2 c. mayonnaise (don’t use Miracle Whip!)
• 1/4 c. mustard (Dijon)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (leave out if using for dip)
• 1 dash salt
• cayene pepper

1. Whisk together and chill.

I served this most recently with Italian Chicken Sticks and they were great together!

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I just got done telling you about my family’s recent Appetizer Fest.  Well, I was really excited when my cousin told me we were going to do this because I love appetizers, but I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to bring.  I knew that most of my family was bringing a dip of some kind, so we’d be covered in that area.  I wanted to bring something a little bit more hearty or substantial so it would feel a bit more like a meal.

Then, the morning before the Appetizer Fest, I was watching Paula’s Home Cooking and she was making an appetizer spread too!  She made these Italian Chicken Sticks and they looked really good.  I realized that I had everything on hand for this recipe (one of the great things about this recipe).  I made it for our Appetizer Fest, and it was a huge hit!  I made a double batch and both batches were literally eaten within minutes of being taken out of the oven! And like I said they really helped to round things and make it feel more like a meal, which I know all the men appreciated.

Italian Chicken Sticks

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First off let me explain why I’m posting my first grilling recipe in December.  I’ve been wanting a bbq grill for a while, so my husband got me one for our anniversary (which is in October).  Being the busy people that we are (I like that better than “procrastinators”), we just recently set it up a few weeks ago.  So, that, combined with the fact that our oven broke (and, being the busy people that we are, we haven’t made time to find our warranty information), our dinners have been made either on the grill (who cares if it’s snowing right?), or by using my friend Jess’ oven who lives two houses up from me (I’m probably the most annoying neighbor/friend that anyone’s ever had but what can I say?  That warranty information is hiding from me!).

Anyway, so that’s why you’re getting my grilling advice now.  :)  Here is one of my favorite ways to save time on dinner during the week:  cook something once and use it twice.  Here’s one way I cooked once and ate twice this week.  Now I know this isn’t an amazingly unique or impressive way, but hey it saved me time:

BBQ Chicken & Chicken Tacos (cooked once, eaten twice)

• Defrost some chicken (enough for two dinners); if desired, cut into strips (to make cooking time faster)
• Separate into two bowls:  in one bowl mix some bbq sauce with the chicken.  In the other bowl add olive oil, lime juice, salt & pepper, & worcestershire sauce.
• Marinade both at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat grill to medium heat.  Grill both the bbq and the lime marinated chicken at the same time.
• Eat the bbq chicken that night (we had it with mashed potatoes and salad).

• The next night, heat up the lime marinated chicken; cut into cubes.
• Heat up some flour tortillas; fill with chicken; top with black bean and corn salsa (I had some leftover that I had made for a party that weekend).

There you have it, two simple but delicious weeknight meals!  You could also serve the bbq chicken with rice, and serve the chicken tacos with the leftover rice, but make Emerald Rice with it…that way you’re cooking the whole meal once and using it twice!

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The only thing I’m going to say about this recipe is BEWARE…once you try this recipe you’re going to want it on a weekly basis.  I’ve made this salsa for many a party…this salsa is so popular in my family that anytime I’m thinking about making this for a family party I call everyone first to make sure that they’re not making it also, because twice I’ve shown up to a family party with this salsa and another family member also made it!  But guess what…they both got eaten up so I guess it wasn’t that big of a disaster!

This is probably my favorite snack ever.  I made it for my friends and we ran out of chips, so my friend’s husband started eating it with a spoon!  This is also great over chicken tacos.

Shanelle’s Salsa

• 1 can black-eyed peas, drained but not rinsed*
• 1 can white corn*
• 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 avocados, diced
• juice from 2 limes*
• cilantro to taste (I use a whole bunch!)
• 1 green onion, sliced small (the green and the white part)
• Italian dressing packet
• oil & vinegar for dressing packet
• salt, pepper, & garlic powder to taste
• Tostidos hint of lime chips

1. Mix up Italian dressing according to package directions.
2. Combine all other ingredients (except chips) in a bowl.
3. Pour dressing over salsa.
4. Add salt, pepper, & garlic powder to taste.
5. Serve over Tostidos hint of lime chips.  No other chips will do.  You must eat this with those lime chips, or you’re not doing the salsa justice.

Recommendations:

• Black-eye peas: Normally, I rinse canned beans before using this (I heard it helps you not get gas from them!).  I tried that once with this recipe and it made it taste different to me.  I think it’s because the starchy liquid leftover on the beans after you drain them kind of helps thicken this salsa and bind it together.  So I wouldn’t recommend rinsing the beans for this.
• White corn:  You should be able to find white corn in any grocery store.  Be careful though, because if you ask someone that works there they’ll most likely point you to hominy (that has happened to me twice when I’ve looked for it in a store, as well as to 3 of my friends!).  The white corn in this recipe is NOT hominy.  It is VERY different than hominy, so if you can’t find white corn don’t substitute hominy for it, just substitute plain canned corn for it, although it won’t come out as good.  White corn is similar to normal yellow corn, but it’s smaller, softer, and sweeter.  Like I said, most groceries carry it, but they usually only have one row of it so look hard.
• Limes: Roll them on the counter or put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to get the most juice out of them.
• Chips:  Seriously, you’re going to want to get those lime chips for this!

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This is another one of my go-to recipes.  It’s perfect for those times that you’re invited to someone’s house for dinner and don’t know when to bring, when you have unexpected visitors stop by, when you want to bake something easy for a little thank you gift for your friend, or when you’re just in the mood for something chocolate but you don’t have anything in your house because you told yourself you’re going to eat healthier (I know you know what I’m talking about!).

I’ve always gotten a lot of compliments on these.  If you’ve never made homemade brownies, you HAVE to make these, you won’t believe the huge difference between these and boxed brownies.  They’re just as easy as boxed brownies and you’ll probably already have all the ingredients on hand (you might have to buy cocoa powder if you don’t already have that but it’s not very expensive and definitely worth it!).

Brownies

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. margarine or butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 1/2 c. coconut, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips (optional but recommended!)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together sugar & margarine.  Add eggs & vanilla; mix well.
3. Add all other ingredients (except coconut, nuts, or choco chips).
4. Pour into baking dish.  Sprinkle coconut, nuts, or choco chips on top (my favorite is coconut!).
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
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