Chimichurri Burger Heaven

I've been restless lately, food-wise.  Tired of my long list of go-to recipes and needing to try something new.  So, I've been guinea-pigging my family - a lot.  Some of my recent AWESOME finds include Southwest Stuffed Peppers (regular stuffed peppers have way too much meat, and, in my opinion, are BO-RING.  These are vegetarian, and my family devoured them - even my carnivore husband raved about them) and Baked Pasta and Broccoli with Ham and Cheesy-Creamy Cauliflower Sauce (whew that name is long, but the dish is ooooohh so good!).

I have a TON of venison that we are trying to go through, and I've been trying to find ways to use the ground stuff (the steaks are easy to use up) in different ways. 

I found a recipe for Chimichurri Burgers and decided to give it a go (I love a big juicy burger...)

What the heck is Chimichurri?  Chimichurri is a thick herb sauce found in Argentinian cooking.  Kinda looks like pesto, and I think it's pretty much Argentina's version of it.  I think it's really yummy.  Plus, it's fun to say - just try it - "Chimichurri".  See?  Don't you feel exotic? 

Here's a picture of some.

For those of you who love pesto, this picture is making your mouth water.  For those of you who don't - you are probably gagging right now.  Hopefully most of you fall into the former category...

Anyhow, so the burgers are seasoned to have a touch of spice (didn't bother my kids one bit - it was very subtle), and the chimichurri sauce is tucked inside the burger (you'll see how in the recipe - it's pretty cool) and brushed on the buns.

I definitely tweaked the recipe a bit to make it better (well, better in my opinion) and my family LOVED the result.  Even our picky picky Josephine gobbled it up (though she "ruined" hers, in my opinion, by putting ketchup and pickles on it, but hey, she was happy with it, so whatever.  And by the way, I LOVE ketchup and pickles on my burgers normally, just not on this type of burger, but I digress...)

Here's the recipe:

Chimichurri Burgers with Grilled Plantains

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seed, freshly ground, or 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

• 1 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or coarse salt (sea salt all the way, baby!)

• 1/4 cup canola oil (I did half canola, half olive - seemed like better flavor to me)

• 2 pounds lean ground beef (or venison, in my case)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I added a bit more)

• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I added a bit more, maybe 1/8 tsp more?)
• Worchestershire sauce (this is my addition, because after adding just the salt and the red pepper, the meat seemed too plain still, and venison needs a LOT of seasoning to cover the gamey flavor.  Maybe regular ground beef wouldn't need this, but it sure would take good!  Oh, and I didn’t measure this, just added till it smelled right)

• 6 Mexican bolitos or burger rolls, split and toasted (I added the toasted part.  Oh, and I have no idea what bolitos are - I just picked up a six pack of Kaiser rolls at Wegmans)

• Sliced tomatoes and onions (sautéed red onions are EXCELLENT!  I used about ¾ of an entire large red onion, sautéed on low for about 30 min to carmelize but not burn them)
• Sliced swiss cheese (I added the cheese to this recipe.  Lou liked a mix of swiss and American)

• Grilled Plantains (optional)

Directions

Cover the bottom of a small skillet with the cumin; cook and stir over low heat for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from heat. For chimichurri, combine the cumin, cilantro, parsley, vinegar, red pepper, and sea salt or coarse salt in a blender container (I used a food processor for this because I was afraid all the dry ingredients would jam up my blender). Cover and blend on lowest speed, slowly adding the oil.

Combine ground beef, the salt, and the ground red pepper and worchestershire sauce in a large mixing bowl. Shape into 12 patties 3-1/2 inches in diameter. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the chimichurri mixture in the center of each of 6 of the patties. Place remaining patties on top and seal edges.

Place burger patties on the lightly oiled rack of the grill directly over medium heat. Grill for 18 to 22 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in centers registers 160 degree F, turning once halfway through grilling. Toast rolls (optional), then brush them with some of the chimichurri sauce. Top with burgers, cheese, remaining sauce (I didn't do any extra sauce because I thought it might be too much), and tomatoes and onions. Serve with Grilled Plantains, if desired. Makes 6 burgers.

You can just cook these on the stove in a pan, too.  That's what I did, and they turned out just fine.  I cooked them over medium heat. 

Grilled Plantains: To make the Grilled Plantains, bias-slice peeled plantains into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Brush with peanut oil. Grill directly over medium heat for 8 minutes or until centers are just soft, turning once. Drain on clean paper towels. Serve warm.


 I forgot to take a picture of my burgers.  Here's the pic from the website:

Those funky yellow-looking things are the plantains.  I didn't make any because I forgot to buy them, though I think they are absolutely delicious (but heads up - DON'T try to eat them raw).

This isn't really what my burgers looked like, though.  I only put the chimichurri sauce on the buns, not the burger (that seemed like too much to me), and I skipped the tomatoes (I hate raw tomatoes).   Oh, and I added cheese (the swiss mentioned above), because it just seemed like the right thing to do. 

So my burger looked more like this:

Except mine didn't look like it had big piles of cilantro all over it, just the Chimichurri sauce brushed on the buns.  But I just liked the way the cheese looked in this picture.  Oh, and the onions are wrong, too.  I sauteed my onions until they were carmelized (I hate raw onions even more than raw tomatoes) - which means they were buttery and sweet and melt-in-your-mouth texture - perfect.

They looked kind like this:

So maybe this picture is close to my end result:

Okay, maybe not quite because I didn't use a whole-wheat bun, and is it just me, or does that burger look kind of pink?  Oh well, mine came out looking like a combo of these pics.  Juicy burger on a toasted bun brushed with chimichurri sauce, with melted swiss cheese and a plentiful serving of carmelized red onions on top.

If you want to make these (you know you do, by now), I would advise to NOT skip the onions or the cheese (or the toasted bun - burgers are always better on a toasted bun!).  The way they combined with the chimichurri sauce pretty much "made" this burger.  The combined flavor was rich, layered, and heavenly.   Mmmmmm...I want another one right now...

I took a shower...

I was upstairs, in the shower. I had left Edward in his room, and he was reading books quietly. He seemed to be very content, and I figured I could grab a quick shower. Big mistake. When I got out of the shower, I heard a couple of weird noises downstairs. I quickly threw some clothes on and headed downstairs to see what was happening.

When I got to the dining room, I saw this - orange juice everywhere (I could have SWORN that I put it away) - all over the table, dripping onto the floor into a large puddle.  It's hard to tell in this picture, but the uphostered chair in front has a bit wet sticky spot on it, too.  Do you see the whisk broom in the corner?  I found juice in the dust pan (you can't see it in this pic), and the bristles of the broom were sticky wet.  Now I knew that those two things (the broom and dust pan) weren’t out when we had gone upstairs earlier – Edward had gotten those out, obviously in an effort to clean up his mess  (he really enjoys trying to sweep things up lately).  I kind of laughed at the situation, thinking “well, it could have been worse.  Just cleaning up a bit of juice is not too bad, and how cute that he tried to clean it up”.  That’s when I saw the wet juice footprints leading to the kitchen...

I followed them into the kitchen, where the real disaster awaited. Edward had gotten out the plastic containers of powdered sugar AND brown sugar, and had scattered the entire contents of both all of the kitchen floor. There were piles of brown and powdered sugar everywhere, and it was starting to congeal and turn chunky where Edward’s juicy footprints had been.

The sugar tubs are kept in the same lazy susan cupboard with all the leftover containers, and he had taken all of the containers out and thrown them in the sink with the dirty dishes, and had sprinkled sugar all over the empty cupboard afterwards.

His jeans were soaked with juice, as were the bottom of his socks, which were now crusted with chunks of congealed powdered and brown sugar. He was standing in the corner, holding the powdered sugar container (the other sugar contained was on the floor on its side), dumping the last bits of it on the mess.  

I was no longer laughing.  This was NOT funny to me.  I had TWO rooms to clean up, and a sink-full of sticky containers, AND a cupboard, and the two sugar containers and other flotsam and jetsum on the floor, AND a two-year-old.  I was…not happy, to say the least.  I just kept yelling and yelling at him – I was so so angry and there was just soooo much mess.  He just stood there with this “why are you so angry?” look on his face, totally unaware that he had done anything wrong.  I set about cleaning up the mess, and made him sit on the stool while I did so.  I just kept saying “bad boy, Edward – you are naughty.  This was very, very naughty!!”  He said nothing, just kept nodding his head in agreement as if to say “yeah, I know”. 

I set about cleaning up the dining room, then moved into the kitchen, making him sit and wait the entire time (I certainly did not want him off making another mess while I cleaned up this one!).  After I cleaned up the chunks of sugar off the floor, I realized that I would need to wipe down the entire floor, because it was still sticky from the sugar and juice residue.  I took off Edward’s clothes, because they needed to be washed, too, and made him sit in the corner in his diaper while I wiped down the floor again, and again, and again.  It took 3 tries and one final rinse before the stickiness went away.  The entire cleanup of the two rooms, the cupboard, the dishes and Edward took 40 minutes, and I was no calmer when I finished then when I began.  Edward sat silently and watched me the entire time I cleaned up (I’m surprised that he sat still for that long, but he was probably afraid to move!). 

When I was done, he went to get up, and I was so mad, I shouted “NO! You sit back down! You are naughty, and you can just sit there!”  I knew I was being ridiculous – he had sat there long enough.  I was just mad.  He stood up and came over to me so cautiously, with his lower lip quivering and whimpered “mama…” as he went to hug me. I just about melted.  How in the world could I be mad after that?  Here was my little boy who barely talks, trying to apologize in the best way he knew how. I took him in my arms and hugged him and apologized for yelling so much, and we just sat there, hugging each other for awhile - him feeling sorry for making me angry, and me, feeling sorry for getting so angry.  Ahhh, parenthood…

P.S.  I no longer shower when he is awake. ;)

I'd like some nostalgia, please...

Ahhh, Barbie.  Source of so much nostalgia for women all over the world, and yet also a source of controversy amongst the feminist crowd.  I loved Barbies when I was a little girl - LOVED them.  My little sister Adria and I spent hours dressing them, styling their hair, making little Barbie "houses" all over our house and making up dramatic scenarios for our Barbies to act out.

My first Barbie ever was the Great Shape Barbie.  Looking back, I find it hilariously appropriate that this was my first Barbie doll.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to work out (always have).  I do still have the doll, but not much is left from her groovy workout clothes.  I have one leg warmer left.  Yes, I kept ONE leg warmer for nostlagia purpose.  Pack rat, I know.

Watch the original commercial for a great laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/buwwEYewQtU

My second Barbie was one of my very favorites - Peaches n' Cream Barbie.  Loved that doll - but the best part was her fabulous dress and matching stoll.  And you gotta love the color - how 80's is that?  I think I still have the doll (but I might be thinking of one of my other ones), but neither the dress nor the stoll survived.  I'm not exactly sure what happened to them... (fess up, Adria - you stole them!  Just kidding.)

Here is the 1985 commerical:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/4MUMk7PwjLs

Dream Glow Barbie was my third.  the Stars on her dress glowed in the dark, as you can see on the box (that is, if you held her under a lamp for a few minutes first).  I have the doll and dress left from this one, although the dress is a little worse for wear (I wonder if it still glows?)

Another fun commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZc9cl9fMg&feature=related

And what daughter of the 80's could be without the Barbie and the Rockers doll?  Rock stars were such a huge part of the 80's entertainment culture, they couldn't help but come out with a Barbie to reflect that.  I'm not sure which I loved better - the Barbie with her awesomely 80's duds or the super cool cassette tape that came with the doll, with it's totally awesome Barbie rock songs that my sisters and I jammed out to on a regular basis.  I still have the doll and all of her original clothing, but alas, the tape is long gone - how sad.

Okay, last commerical (hey, they are only like 30 seconds long):
http://www.youtube.com/embed/GbxPlKY_hmY

When Maria was a three year old, someone brought the subject up of giving her her first Barbie.  And me, the lover of all things Barbie as a child, found myself suddenly unsure of how I felt about that.  I mean, as a grown, well-educated adult, I knew all the controversy surrounding the dolls amongst the feminist crowd, all the arguments against it's play value.  The doll was too sexual, it objectified women, encouraged vanity and frivolity, and focused on all the wrong attributes when it came to beauty (um 42DDs, anyone?).  And as the mother of a brunette, I wondered, did I want to send the message via Barbie that blonde is beautiful? (I know there are brunette versions, but let's face it, most of them are blonde).  Would I be a bad mother if I let her play with Barbies?  Would I be scarring her for life?  Or would I be an overreactive equally bad mother if I refused to let her own any?  And what would I do if someone else gave her one, like a friend at a birthday party - take it away and tell her it was for her own good?  Did I feel damaged from playing with them?  Is that where some of my body issues came from?  Or was I just overthinking the whole thing?  Sigh.  I just couldn't figure it out, and at the end of the day thought - "aw, just let her play with the dang things".  And I have.  I decided it was not a battle that I wanted to engage in (there would be plenty of others that were more important to me - like overuse of video games, and really offensive dolls like the Bratz series).  And it's a good thing, because she was given about 3 of them over the next six months, and then 3-4 more over the next few years.  I felt like it was okay for her to play with them, and she doesn't seemed obsessed at all with being blonde as a result. :)

Fast forward a couple of years.  I was in Walmart with Maria at Christmastime this past December, when I saw this vintage doll sitting amongst all of the new Barbies on the shelves:

"Oh my gosh, Peaches and Cream Barbie!!!", I screamed out loud (okay, not really screamed, but more exclaimed in disbelief).  For a moment, I was six years old again - staring at a doll with a huge smile across my face.  I showed it to Maria, and told her about the one that I had when I was little.  "She's so pretty", said Maria.  "Yeah, I know", I said, and I felt for a moment like we were both two young girls, staring at the pretty Barbie.  I happened to glance down at the price tag, just cuz I was curious... "50 DOLLARS?!!!", I yelled out.  "Hmph - not that prettty."  And we moved on.

Maria told Lou about the doll as soon as we got home, and I later heard her begging him to buy it for "me" (I'm sure that she wasn't thinking of herself at all - haha).  When she told Lou the price he laughed out loud and said "yeah, right".  I came into the living room and assured Maria that I did not need a Barbie for Christmas.  I had received all the Barbies that I would ever need when I was a kid, had enjoyed them plenty, and that was enough.  I mean, what would I do with a doll at 31 years old?

Well Lou, having the sense of humor (and nostalgia) that he does, gave me the ultimate shocker when I opened this on Christmas morning:

My jaw dropped, and I just sat there staring at it for a minute.  For one second, I had that moment of childhood come back - "Peaches and Cream Barbie - she's mine, all mine!!  Look how pretty she is...", and then suddenly my adult self kicked in and thought "he paid 50 bucks for a doll for his wife?  Is this guy off his rocker?  What the heck was he thinking?!!!".  Lou knows me soooo well, and was quick to explain (before I could even say a word) that he had gotten this doll for a great bargain (about half the retail price) from a woman in California, and I suddenly breathed a little easier.

And then I just had to laugh and enjoy the fact that my husband wanted to bring a little bit of my childhood, one slice of a memory of when I was a little girl, back to me.  And that, to me, was priceless.  We both know I'm not going to take her out and do her hair and carry her around the house and fix her up for a date with Ken.  But...there was something really neat about getting that doll for Christmas.  It was Lou acknowledging the girly girl part of me (a VERY big part of me when I was little).  It was my husband doing something crazy and silly and frivolous just for nostalgia's sake - just to give me a shocker and a cheap thrill on Christmas morning.  And then him reassuring me that he got it for a steal?  Well, that was just the icing on the cake.  Wow, that man knows me...and loves me. :) 

And because of that, this was my favorite gift of all. 

And you have to admit, she really does look fabulous... ;)

Happy Thanksgiving! (make sure you read the subtitles on the slideshow - enjoy!)

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

I just can't help myself...

I am super excited about this.  I don't care if it makes me a dork.  I don't care if it makes me a cliche Mormon LDS chick (hey, lots of Non-LDS people like it too, right?).  I cannot WAIT to go see it! 

Wanna see how dorky I am?  My good friend Linda bought us matching Twilight shirts as a gag gift a year and a half ago (here we are modeling them).  She meant it as a gag...

...but I WORE mine to go see Eclipse.  Yeah, that's right.  I wore a Twlight shirt to one of the Twilight movies.  I am that girl.  No, I don't have any fan magazines about the movies, I don't own any Twlight dolls (I have to laugh at those things), and I don't have any of that ridiculous "Cullen family crest" paraphanalia that was floating around a couple of years ago.  I think all that stuff is ridiculous.  BUT I do love the series, just the same, and I believe in being silly from time to time to keep myself young.  This t-shirt was the perfect opportunity.  I wore it proudly. ;)

 Wanna see something even funnier?  Our husbands put them on as a joke and let us take pictures.  It was awesome.

 Hee hee...

I love that we both are married to guys who aren't afraid to be silly.  And yes, Lou is a fan of the series, too (even though he said he would NEVER watch those "dumb movies" - haha, Lou, never say never!).

Breaking Dawn comes out in nine days - woo hoo!!!


P.S.  I am an Edward fan - it's really the obvious choice. ;)

A day in the life of a little boy...

Edward is 2! 

His birthday was yesterday.  It was a beautiful fall day (sunny and in the mid-70's!), full of the rich colors of autumn and lots of sunshine.  We took advantage it and had a family BBQ at Clarks Reservation.

Do you see all the cars on the table? It seemed to be the unspoken theme of the day. Everyone in our family knows that Edward is into cars and trucks, big time.

His "cake" was actually a giant chocolate chip cookie. He's not a big cake eater, so I decided to make the giant cookie instead, since cookies are his favorite dessert. It turned out really good!

It was a great day - great party, great food, great company, great gifts. What more can you ask for?

So, in honor of my baby boy's birthday, I thought I would do a line of photos that show you what Edward is all about.  He makes me crazy on a daily basis, but oh, how I love that little boy anyway...

"I'm big - don't believe me? Watch me mow this lawn"

Splashing in puddles is one of his favorite pasttimes.

"It's important to wear at least HALF of your food."

Nothing beats making a big ole' mess for Mom to clean up. This is powdered sugar. When I came in, he was sticking his fingers in it and licking them over and over.

He spent a lot of time this summer playing with this car - not so much riding in it, but pushing it instead. He also loves to push his own stroller around, and our little toy strollers. If it's got wheels, he's pushin' it.

He's a brute - he likes to show how strong he is by picking up big stuff and knocking it over. Show off. :)

He gets himself into a lot of trouble. See the bandage on the arm? That's from a bad run-in with the grill. He burned about a third of the side of his arm.

"Here's a good rule - after you are done pouring orange juice in your cereal bowl and all over the table..."

"...make sure you put the cap back on - that's important."

"Oh, and when you have finished dumping black raspberries all over the kitchen floor (hard to see on the dark floor, but they are EVERYWHERE in front of him), use the container as a hat. It will make Mom laugh and forgive you."

He loves hanging out with Mama...

...and Daddy, too (maybe Daddy a bit more)

"I make these look good. Tom Cruise aint got nothin' on me."

He loves milk - especially chocolate almond milk. 

This face is what we lovingly call the "Eddie Scowl"  He makes this face a lot.

He's secure in his manhood - he has no problem sporting his sister's pink boots.

 

He loves to climb trees, and play with rocks and dirt - yep, he's a boy all right.

He LOVES to walk the dog. Here he is trying to untie her at his birthday party.

...aaaaaand they're off!

Trucks are his passion right now. He like all things with wheels - cars, planes and trains, too, but trucks are his favorite, and the bigger, the better.

 

He cleans up good!

Well, sort of - he's still a 2-year-old, after all. :)

So that's our Edward - rough and tumble, mess-making, outdoor playing, truck lovin' little boy.  He's added a whole new element to our family after two girls, and we love it.

Happy Birthday, Edward!

Cool as a cucumber...sandwich

I had book group earlier this week.  We read Austenland - adorable book, by the way - (thanks, CD for the recommendation!) - and since it takes place mostly in Regency England, I thought it only fitting that the food match the occasion.  So we had tea and cookies - I love themes like this, so I was all excited. A friend of mine suggested adding cucumber sandwiches to the menu (second shout-out, CD!), and I thought this was a terrrific idea.

Up until this occasion, I had only had cucumber sandwiches once in my life (this is shout-out #3 to CD:), and they were really yummy (made on white bread with creme fraiche), but I wondered what an actual authentic English cucumber sandwich was made of - so I googled it.

After some searching, I came upon a blog where a couple of fellows had already been down this road and done all my researching for me - sweet.  The basic recipe is pretty easy - white bread (crusts removed), cucumbers (skins removed), and butter.  But there are a couple of tips to make them a bit more tasty.  If you click here , you will find 2 fabulous recipes for authentic English cucumber sandwiches.  The first recipe was more mild tasting (that's the one my girls liked better), and the second has a bit of a saltier taste (the one that I like a bit better) - they are both very VERY yummy.  I actually kind of fell in love with them - it must be the English in me. :)

Here's the pics of my cute little sandwiches:

This is the more mild of the two.

C'mon, they're cute, right?  Little finger sandwiches - love it.

These are the saltier version, cut into triangles so I could tell which recipe was which.  I served both at the party.  One of my guest said that the triangles were better because all sandwiches cut into triangles are yummier.  I don't know about that, but they were quite delicious, and a big hit at book group.  Not one sandwich was left at the end of the night, and I made quite a few.  I love these sandwiches because they are so light and cool and refreshing.  The perfect little light something to go with tea.  I was so excited to be serving food like this - so many times I had pretend tea parties when I was a little girl - now I was actually doing it!

I do have some tips for making these sandwiches that I learned while making them, but I won't bore you all with the details here - if you ever have the inkling to make these, email or FB me and I'll share the tips I learned along the way.

Anyhow, back to the party.  Of course we had to have cookies, too.  I made three kinds - mini pecan-caramel tarts, pepper-lemon cookies (no, not made from the stuff you put on chicken...), and cinnamon strips.

The pepper lemon cookies have a marvelous crumbly texture, thanks to the cornmeal and pepper, and a big lemon taste, thanks to the 1/4 cup of lemon zest in them.

The cinnamon strips are topped with chopped walnuts, and have a terrific chewy texture to them, a nice contrast to the lemon cookies.

The pecan-caramel tarts are not pictured here because what little were left after the party, my husband and kids finished off the next morning.  They were a huge hit, but I will tell you, I don't see myself making them again - a HUGE pain in the butt, and all of them stuck to the pan and were a nightmare to get out.  They didn't look too pretty when they were out of their tins, but man, were they ever tasty.  Hence why there are none left.

Do you know what this is a picture of?  Tea and crumpets.  That's right - I can officially say that I served tea and crumpets, and I for some reason find that absolutely hilarious. 

The day before the party, Lou asked what I was serving, and I told him herbal tea and cookies and cucumber sandwiches.  He asked, teasingly, "Are you serving crumpets?".  I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and replied that no, we would not be having crumpets.  I didn't even know what the heck a crumpet was.  "No crumpets with your tea?!  This party's gonna suck."  He said this tongue in cheek, of course - we laughed and I blew it off.

Well, lo and behold, I was in the grocery store later that morning, and was perusing the British section of their international isle (gotta love Wegmans), and saw a package of crumpets.  I laughed out loud, and put them in my cart.  It was meant to be. 

As I mentioned earlier, before this occasion, I didn't even know what a crumpet was.  They are quite tasty.  Kind of a cross between an English muffin and a pancake.  Quite nice, really.  You are supposed to toast them, and serve them with honey or jam.  So that's what I did.

And here they are - crumpets.  The one on the left has honey on it, and raspberry jam on the right.  If you ever have a chance to buy them - do it!  They're kind of neat.  And if you have them with tea, then you, too, will be able to say that you've had tea and crumpets.  And then you will be happy, just like me. :)

Here's to cucumber sandwiches and crumpets and all things new!