Sweet and Sour Chicken Burgers

I know "grilling season" is smoldering down to ashes (ha, get it) but its going to be above 90 degrees today.  Puke.  But, for most Minnesotans that means they don't want o cook inside.  I'm definitely not going to...but I'm cheating a bit.  I'm going to dinner with our friends Heather and Joe who are expecting their first baby in December! EEEEEE!!  I am so excited for these two I can hardly stand it!!!! BAHHHH is it December yet!?  I digress.  

These burgers are a new little twist on the traditional hamburger.  Earlier in the summer I made these Teriyaki Turkey Burgers that were fab.  It got me thinking...I like Sweet and Sour sauce too...why not make a Sweet and Sour burger.  That's just a little slice of what goes on in my little head.  I promise, you don't want to know more...ask Mr. Schwartz.  : ) 

Start by prepping the veggies.  Finely chop onion and a pepper, I had an orange one on hand.

Peel and mince some ginger as well.  Ahhhh fresh ginger.

Toss it into a bowl with the ground chicken, you could use turkey if you wanted.

Forgot to grab garlic at the grocery store so I use some of this.  Seriously this little tube has been a life saver.

Crack in some black pepper

Shake in some red pepper flakes

Add a bit of hosin suace

And Panko bread crumbs to get it to stick together.  Form into patties and...

Pop on the grill.  You see that blurry yellow ring, yeah that's pineapple...grill that too.

Assemble...chicken, pineapple...

Lettuce...

Lots of sweet and sour sauce.  Mr. Schwartz also slathered his bun with mayo that was a great addition...the guy knows what's good.  I mean, he married me right?  I know that was terrible but I had to.

Just try to convince me you don't want to sink your teeth into that.  Just try.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Burgers
(Makes 4 large burgers)

1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 small bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
A few cracks of black pepper
A few shakes of red pepper flakes (this can be omitted if you don't like spice)
1 tablespoon Hosin sauce
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
4 pineapple rings
Romaine lettuce, for serving
1 cup sweet and sour sauce
Buns, for serving
Mayo, for serving

Preheat the grill on medium high heat.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, pepper, ginger, chicken, garlic, pepper, red pepper flakes, Hosin sauce and Panko bread crumbs.  Form into four patties.

Grill the burgers on medium high heat for about 4 minutes or so on each side or until they are fully cooked.  In the last few minutes of grilling grill the pineapple as well.

Assemble the burgers by placing the burger on the bottom, then pineapple, lettuce, sweet and sour sauce and spreading mayo on the bottom of the top bun.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Weekend.

Last weekend we were up at my parent's friend's cabin.  Since I wasn't around to make any delicious things to blog about I figured I would share a little snapshot of our weekend. 

The boys (my dad and Mr. Schwartz) played in the golf tournament on Friday.  Two good looking guys wouldn't you say?

I had to sneak in a pic with my husbear.

Cloudy day...

Here is the back of the cabin.  An absolutely perfect set up.  See the big metal looking thing on wheels?  Oh yeah, that's an industrial deep fryer, NBD.  We made homemade onion rings and french fries one night.  I was too busy helping to take any pictures but they were out of this world.

Beach.

The storm rolling in on Friday evening.

Another view of the cabin and huge garage they just built.  Yep, thats a Big Green Egg grill and a smoker. Bob, the cabin owner, has a bit of a thing for grilling.

Cabin.  If you look closely you can see my Momma in the yellow jacket.  Hey mom!

Since it was going to storm, we did what anyone would do.  Drink and play cards.

Carbles to be exact.

Then I caught a fish--the biggest fish of the weekend actually : )

More of the storm coming.

Ah yeah, he has a thing for grilling.  Holy mother of all grilled things, these were good.

And I'll leave you with this.  I made the Italian pasta salad and potato salad.  Behind there, cheesy potatoes.  Absolutely divine cabin eats.

Thanks for a great weekend Bob and Lysa!!!

4th of July Recipes

I figured since I wasn't making anything (yet) for the 4th I would share some recipes that would be perfect to celebrate America.  Check them out and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! 

Make Ahead Lava Flow Slushy Cocktails 

Oatmeal Nutella Cookie Cups

Chili Lime Chicken Burgers

Cake Batter Popcorn --you could totally use red and white sprinkles. Adorbs.

Raspberry Lemonade Cocktail

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Ranch Pasta Salad

Turkey Burgers

Maple Crispin Grilled Pork Chops

Rainbow Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

The Best Steak Marinade

Cheater Italian Pasta Salad

Steak Marinade and Garlic Roasted Potatoes

I have to start this post by saying Mr. Schwartz and I were very hesitant to marinate our steaks.  We are more of a salt and pepper and that's it kinda of steak eaters.  But, this marinade knocked our socks off.  The steaks were super juicy and the flavor was fantastic.  

Does anything go better with steaks than potatoes?  No, I don't think so.  This is my go-to roasted potato recipe.  It is easy, I always have the ingredients on hand and they make great leftovers for breakfast hash.  

Here it is, the perfect grilling duo. 

 The cast.  I forgot the dijon mustard.  That is why I don't take these pictures, I always forget something.

 Start by combining the oil

 Worcestershire sauce

Soy sauce

 There's that mustard

 Honey

 Tons of garlic.  Does anyone else have a garlic zoom?  I love this thing when I am making things that need lots of garlic and it doesn't matter if it has an even chop.

 A few shakes of red pepper flakes and that is all.

 Stir it up

 Place the steaks in a large zip top bag

 Pour the marinade over the steaks

 And try to get all of the air out of the bag, zip the top and place in the fridge until you are ready to grill.  I would suggest letting it marinade for at least an hour.

 Now on to the potatoes.  Quarter the red potatoes (after you scrub them of course)

 Chop up more garlic.  Why didn't I use the zoom…

 Add the garlic to the potatoes.

 Then do something naughty.  If you have a little jar in your fridge with bacon fat, add it to some melted butter.  If you don't have it--no biggie but this adds some awesome flavor.

 Add the melted bacon butter to the potatoes

 Chop up some parsley

 Add it to the bowl

 Crack a good amount of black pepper over the potatoes

 And a big pinch of salt

 Pour the potatoes out onto a large baking sheet in a single layer

 Into the oven they go.

 Grill the steaks to your desired doneness

 Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, take them out, flip them around and back into the oven they go for another 15 minutes.

 Once the steaks are done, let them rest for at least 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute.

 Delish.

 Perfectly roasted garlic potatoes.

 Looks fancy.

 Yum.

Juicy.

Steak Marinade:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dijion mustard
4 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl.

Place your steaks in a large zip top bag and pour the marinade over the steaks.  Seal the bag and try to get as much of the air out as possible.

Put the bag into the fridge in a bowl or on a large plate.  Let marinade for at least 1 hour.

Grill steaks on medium high heat to your desired doneness.

Recipe modified from: here 


Garlic Roasted Potatoes 
1 lb red potatoes
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 stick of butter
1 small spoonful (about a teaspoon) of bacon fat (optional)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Wash the potatoes and cut into cubes

Melt the butter and bacon fat and pour over the potatoes.  Add the chopped garlic, parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Pour potatoes on a large baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, toss the potatoes and place back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz