Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Well let me put put this lightly when I say that I love stuffed burgers. From the infamous Juicy Lucy, to the Big Bad Butter Burger, to the Salsa Stuffed, and easily one of the most insanely wonderful combos ever put together Bleu Cheese and Bacon. The concept is quite easy, stuff anything inside of a burger you might think tastes good, pop it on a hot grill and let it work. Here are the things you will need:
Makes 2- 1/2 lb burgers
1 lb 80/20 Ground Chuck (fat = flavor)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 packet Carolina Country marinade (used it to save time: dried lemon, coriander, celery, paprika, brown sugar, ginger)
1 package of Bleu Cheese Crumbles
1/2 pound of bacon
6-7 baby Portabella mushrooms
BbQ Sauce

For the Bleu Cheese stuffed Burger, I wanted to season the burger meat a little sweeter than normal to overcome some of the bitterness of the bleu cheese. So, I used a packet of Carolina Country Marinade and mixed it with 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce. Added in about a quarter cup of Panko bread crumbs as a binder. Mixed the meat together and let the flavors marry for an hour covered in the fridge. I prefer these burgers grilled rather than griddled so get out the grill and show your prowess. Split meat into 4 portion burgers that are rather flat in shape and make a well in two of them with your fist. Fill the well with bleu cheese and lay the other two burgers on top of the burgers that have the cheese on them. Now, here comes the tricky part, you have to get touchy felt or else you are going to have a giant mess on your hands and the burgers will split on the grill. Pinch the sides of the patties down and pay them back to a round shape. Make sure there aren't any split edges and the bleu cheese is completely encased inside the beef. What you should have are 2 patties that are about a 2 inch radius and almost an inch thick before cooking. Season both sides of the burger in salt, pepper, and granulated garlic powder. Place a well in the top of both with your fingers so that when the burgers swell they won't split on the sides and shrink to the size of hockey pucks. I cook my stuffed burgers to about medium well so that the cheese melts right, which on a 400º grill is about 5-6 minutes a side on a covered grill (open grill add 2 minutes a side). Fry up your bacon and then cook your mushrooms in the rendered bacon grease. Place bbq sauce on both sides of the bun and start building with the burger first, then bacon, then mushrooms. Trust me, taking a bite of one of these monsters is almost a religious experience. Just don't partake in its majesty too often our you will probably have some major health issues. This is one of my sinful, gluttonous creations and if it kills you, I'm sure it will be a happy departure.

Apple Cider BBQ Sauce

There are certain BBQ sauces that will only go right with either pork or poultry and this is one of them. When it comes to beef I'm a purist; there is no need to mess around with beef brisket and make it sweet. Spicy maybe tangy flavors can go with beef and that is about the only thing you should do other than some other savory selections for seasoning beef BBQ. This starts out with my normal base and a few deletions and additions but it is very tasty if you like sweet BBQ. Here are the items you'll need.

2 cups ketchup (I prefer to use the kind with no high fructose corn syrup)
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
1 dash of hot sauce
2 dashes of Soy Sauce (optional)

Add ingredients through the hot sauce and mix together in a small pot cover and simmer on medium low heat for about an hour. If mix is too sweet after that you can add some soy sauce for some salty to take out the sweet. Very easy to do and takes virtually no time at all. Hope you enjoy it because it is darn right tasty and a different spin on your normal BBQ sauce.

Handheld Tex Mex Burritos

Every now and then, Laura and I will do a quick meal and make some yummy Mexican food. We had the stuff to make these and it is very easy to do. Here are the items you'll need.

1 package of large Burrito size Flour Tortillas
1 can of Black Beans
1 can of yellow Corn
1 can of diced green chillies
1 roasted red bell pepper (diced)
1 jar of salsa
1 2 cup bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 lb Ground Beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of instant Mexican or Spanish rice

In a pot, begin browning beef off and strain the grease off before adding other ingredients. Add the red peppers first and let them settle and cook down in the beef on medium heat. Add the green chillies next and cook down again for 3-4
minutes. Add the beans, corn, and stir in the seasoning packet. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook rice per package instructions in the microwave. Remove rice and remove may mix from heat. Use 1 plate and steam each tortilla in microwave for 10-15 seconds to stream a little bit. Spoon meat mix, rice, Cheese, then salsa, hot sauce if you want to. Wrap over once, fold the sides, and roll until done. Place in microwave 20 seconds to melt cheese and you're ready to go. Very tasty and quick meal that isn't bad for you and is virtually dummy proof. Very good food, and cheap to make. Serves at least 8 burritos for under $10. Can't beat that with a stick. Darn good eatin'.

Dr. Pepper Steamed Pork Roast

I made a sauce for Easter Holiday that made me think of making a Pork Roast with the same flavor as the sauce so I came up with this. Great recipe for making sandwiches which is what I did with this particular roast. Here are the things you will need.

2 cans of Dr. Pepper (20 oz bottle will do if you do a half and half application)
Cajun Seasoning
Granulated garlic
Italian Seasoning
Paprika
Chilli Powder
Onion Salt
Salt
Pepper

Pour a can of Dr. Pepper on the roast and rub it down with cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, chilli powder, granulated garlic, paprika, onion salt, salt, & pepper. Place on a slotted broiler pan and pour another can of Dr.Pepper into the bottom of the pan and cover with foil. The soda will steam into the pork while it's cooking. Place into a 375º preheated oven for 3 and a half hours. Once timer is done, remove from oven and peel away the foil. Baste with sauce all over and cook meat side up and place in oven with the door open on broil setting for 3 minutes. Repeat basting phase 2-3 more times. Pork will form a bark. Remove and let stand for 20 minutes before ripping the meat off the bone. It will just fall off if you cooked it enough. Once torn off the bone, put the pork in a ziplock bag and pour in a cup of Dr.Pepper BBQ sauce listed in the previous post. Seal the bag and toss the pork around for a good coating. This pork roast is kick yo momma in the mouth good. Until the next time, keep on cooking and make yourself happy.

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

I often get into the kitchen and think of something strange to make BBQ sauce out of. I had some leftover Dr.Pepper in a bottle and told myself to try it, since my first soda BBQ sauce was the Cheerwine sauce, and it was very tasty. I used almost the same recipe but subbed Dr. Pepper. Here it goes everyone.

1 small bottle of no high fructose corn syrup ketchup
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
10 oz Dr. Pepper
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes hot sauce

Mix all the ingredients in order on medium to medium low heat in a sauce pot and start mixing it up with a wooden spoon. Once completely heated until simmer is established, cover and reduce temperature to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir mixture every 5 minutes and at the end you should have a slightly thick deep reddish brown sauce. Very good on chicken like the picture dictates.

The Irish Brew and BbQ Burger

Laura rocked a burger out today that would rival any restaurant burger. It was a burger that involved just a seasoning pack, a bottle of beer, and some inventiveness. Just mix onion and garlic soup mix into meat with 1/2 bottle of Guinness and some bread Crumbs. Heat up skillet to medium high. Form the burgers and put them into the searing hot skillet for 6 minutes a side at a 1" thickness to cook to medium/medium well. Top them with bacon, cheddar cheese, and fried onion bits. Cover with BBQ sauce (I put Sweet Baby Rays on mine, but I suggest using my Guinness Sauce that I have listed on my blog). Thing was off the edge of freakish good. One of the best burgers I've personally ever had. Absolutely delicious.

Hawaiian Style Tilapia with Pan Seared Pineapple and Balsamic Reduction

This is a very simple recipe to follow and it's quite quick. Takes about 20-25 minutes and 15 of that is marinade and prep time. Here's the things you will need.

6 Tilapia Fillets
1 can of pineapple tidbits in juice (not syrup)
Teriyaki Sauce
Hot sauce
Honey
Soy Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Worcestershire Sauce

Make the marinade first. In a mixing bowl, strain the can of pineapple and a quarter of the tidbits into the bowl with a cup and a half of Teriyaki. Mix together with a fork adding one ingredient at a time. 5 dashes of hot sauce (Louisiana Brand is my favorite because it is sweet and not too hot for this one), 2 tsp honey, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix together vigorously in the bowl or a food processor or blender. If in a blender, only pulse for about 3 seconds. I personally use a stick blender for my sauces and marinades. Personal preference is key here. Pull about 1/2 cup of liquid out of the marinade onto a cup or small container and set aside. Place the Tilapia in the bowl with the remaining marinade and are too soak for ten minutes. Put 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat and allow to get smoky hot.  Place tilapia in pan and cook both sides for about 5 mines and then remove. In same pan add remaining pineapple and sear until browned nicely. Once pineapple is seared. Add liquid you set aside and allow to reduce for 30 seconds. Wake the reduction with 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Spoon the pineapple and reduction over the Tilapia and serve. Taste is sweet and tangy. It goes well with the very mild flavor of tilapia and the fish is very spongy so it soaks a lot of flavor up from the marinade very quickly. This is a quick and easy fish to do and virtually takes less than 30 minutes from beginning to end. Promise you'll love it. Just remember that cooking isn't that hard to do. If you like certain flavors, try adding other things. Even trying other marinades. Yummy Yummy stuff. Taste scale I would put this on a 8/10.