BLOGHUNGRY

Bloghungry Burgers

Every food enthusisest should have their own spin on burger making. Mine is a flavorful suburban crowd pleaser. You can use any ground meat and it always comes out tasty. I prefer to make my burgers in a frying pan and finish them in the oven to melt some cheese and grilled onions on top. It also helps keep them warm until dinner time.

Bloghungry Burgers

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder

shredded cheese (for topping)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using 2 forks, pull apart meat and mix all ingredients until well combined. Form into 4 equal patties. Make a hole thought the center of your patties with your finger to help them cook through in the center and reduce burger shrinkage once cooked. Heat frying pan to medium high. Cook patties 3-4 minutes per side. Place cooked patties on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Top patties with grilled onions and a handful of your favorite grated cheese. Heat in oven until cheese melts and keep them warm until ready to serve.

Grilled Onions (for burger topping)

1 large onion

1 tbsp butter

splash of red wine or beer (optional)

Thinly slice onion into rings. Melt butter in a frying pan. Toss in onion and saute until soft and slightly browned. Deglaze pan with a splash of beer or red wine.

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Open-Faced Meatloaf Sandwich

While my In-laws were visiting, I rediscovered my childhood love of chain restaurants. Mall food isn't just for teenagers and the elderly. Angels wept the day that I discovered the Mile High Open-Faced Meatloaf Sandwich was taken off the Cheesecake Factory's menu. Without acknowledgement or a mourning period it was replaced by some less comforting Thai-like salad nonsense. Who needs Cheesecake Factory?! After a little research and spiritual guidance I have achieved a pretty convincing homemade version. People stood up and applauded after eating this sandwich.

Cheesecake Factory Meatloaf (sandwich layer 2)

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

3/4 cup large-curd cottage cheese

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup dry, unseasoned bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/3 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon Dijon

1 tablespoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Combine all in a bowl and mix well. Pack into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes (sandwich layer 3)

2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 10 minutes. Drain, and place in a large bowl.Combine potatoes with butter, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Mash together until smooth and creamy.

Meatloaf Gravy (sandwich layer 4)

1/4 cup meatloaf drippings

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 green pepper diced

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup red wine

1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet, blend in flour. Cook and stir over medium heat until flour begins to brown. Add peppers and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Stir in beef broth. Bring to boil. Add wine and worcestershire sauce and cook at a medium simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced to desired volume. Add freshly ground pepper.

Caramelized Onions (sandwich layer 5)

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

a pinch of sugar

a splash of red wine

Heat butter or combination of butter and oil in heavy skillet. Add onions and sugar and slowly cook over medium heat. Cook until onions are caramel colored, stirring often, 10 to 20 minutes. Add a splash of red wine at the end of cooking, stirring to deglaze the pan.

To Assemble Sandwich:

1 box frozen texas toast, prepared according to directions

1 thick slice meatloaf (recipe above)

1 scoop of mashed potatoes (recipe above)

Meatloaf gravy (recipe above)

Caramelized onions (recipe above)

Place 1 slice of toast on a plate. Top with a slice of meatloaf. Add a scoop of mashed potatoes. Drizzle with gravy. Sprinkle with caramelized onions.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Judge me as you will, but I love Red Lobsters Cheddar Bay biscuits. I even forced fancy lady Popmuse to go there on a date once just so I could scarf down the bread basket. The world needs to gain respect for a butter drenched, garlicy, cheesy drop biscuit.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix

¾ cup cold whole milk

4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

pinch salt

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Bloghungry's Meat Lasagna

I put together this recipe from a few different sources to create the perfect crowd-pleasing lasagna for my in-laws. It was a huge success. After 8+ years of shtupping their son, I finally won their approval. That's how good the lasagna turned out. If you don't have fresh basil at home I recommend buying the little frozen tray of herbs in the frozen foods section. It's cheaper than buying fresh herbs and they last forever. Dried herbs are never as good. Have some self respect and get some fresh herbs in your kitchen. You are worth it.

BH Lasagna Meat Sauce:

1 whole chopped red pepper

1 whole chopped green pepper

1 medium chopped onion

1/3 cup olive oil

1 pound of ground beef

1 can tomato paste (small)

1 tsp of cracked black pepper

6 minced cloves of garlic

5 basil leaves (chopped fine)

1/2 tablespoon oregano

2 tsp of salt

14 ounces of tomato sauce

In a medium to large sized pot, heat up your olive oil on high heat. Now, add in your ground beef, coat with cracked black pepper and cook through. This should take approximately 5 minutes.
Once cooked through, remove the ground beef from the pot and put in the peppers (red and green), onions, half of your minced garlic and your herbs. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the peppers are soft.
Next, add in the tomato sauce and paste, season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium heat for 1 hour.

BH Lasagna Filling:

2 whole eggs, beaten

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 lbs. Ricotta cheese

1 tsp finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

In large mixing bowl, add the eggs, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and garlic. Mix well with a whisk. Add the flour, and salt and pepper. Mix until completely incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again to be sure all is incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate. 

To Assemble Lasagna:

6 sheets lasagna noodles

Lasagna filling (recipe above)

Meat sauce (recipe above)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

10 oz mozzerella cheese, grated

Using rubber spatula, spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom of 8 qt baking pan. Lay a sheet of pasta over sauce. Spread 3 cups of lasagna filling evenly over pasta with spatula. Spread 3 oz of marinara sauce evenly over ricotta filling. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese on top. Place another pasta sheet on top.
Repeat creating a total of 6 layers of pasta and 5 layers of filling. You will finish lasagna with a sheet of pasta. Spread 8 oz of marinara on top.
Cover lasagna with 2 layers of plastic wrap. Then 2 layers of aluminum foil. If you like, you can assemble lasagna the day before and store in refrigerator overnight.

To cook:
Remove plastic wrap, cover with the 2 layers of foil. Bake in a 350F oven for approximately 2 1/2 hours or until instant read thermometer reads 155F.
Melt grated provolone over top. Allow lasagna to rest for 15 minutes. Cut into portions and serve with additional marinara and grated parmesan.

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