Too Hot for the Oven!

Well, we officially moved into our house! We are beyond excited. Not only for the fun projects, privacy, pride, and parties... but also for the food. The past three weeks or so we have been living on the left overs of our apartment pantry, boxed dinners, and canned yuckiness. We were trying our best to move with very little food so we could start clean with brand new groceries in our new home. Well, I finally went grocery shopping last night and tonight was our first cooked meal here!

Since it's summer and grillin' season... we chose burgers. YUM. I wanted to do everything on the grill since our beautiful oven gets really hot and heats the whole place. It was the first time I did veggies on the grill and we both really liked the results.

So I started with some red potatoes, halved then quartered (next time I would go even smaller).

I always do extra potatoes, even when it's just the two of us. Michael loves his potatoes, plus you can always use the extras for a leftover breakfast hash in the morning. MMM. 

Combine the cut potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any herbs you like. Fold them into a pocketed aluminum foil wrap so nothing escapes. 

Once you have the potatoes going on the grill (set at medium, high heat), start prepping the meat. I always leave my ground beef out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Add whatever you like to make your burgers yummy. I always put breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and worchestire sauce in with my meat. 

Then you want to form into patties, scooping out a hole in the middle. Fill the hole with bacon and cheese. Note: I already cooked the bacon earlier and let cool (and nibbled on some pieces). You could add a variety of things here... peppers, mushrooms, different cheeses, egg, etc. 

Then cover the holes with a smaller piece of meat (the little balls of meat on the side were used for flattening over the patty). 

Just about this time, my potatoes have been going for a good 10-15 minutes. Start on the corn prepping now. 

We have some friends that gave us some freshly picked, beautiful corn. Now here's my thing with corn... I don't understand it. Is it good? Yeah... it's okay. Is it so wonderful a city should devote an entire festival to it? No. I learned very quickly when I moved to Illinois that people here LOVE THEIR CORN. I guess because Illinois grows a lot of it they are super proud of it or something... I don't know. But they love it. Last summer when I attended a "Sweet Corn Festival" I learned just how much my husband adores corn. Yes, the entire festival was about CORN. So confusing.

But, if someone gives me free corn... I'll cook it. I really liked it on the grill and while I won't readily admit it, I might make it again even if I have to purchase the corn. 

Anyway, the corn was cooked about the same way as the potatoes. I rubbed them with olive oil, threw some salt and pepper on there, and wrapped them in a foil pouch. 

You can start the corn a little before the burgers. Once the corn has been on the grill for 5 or so minutes, add the burgers to the grill. 

All your food should end about the same time (giving your burgers a good 5 minute resting time too!). Once you add the corn and burgers to the grill give it about 20 minutes, flipping the burgers halfway through. Because the burgers are so thick, you will have a yummy charbroiled outside and a moist, little pink inside. yum! 

And the finishing result is to die for. It's the perfect summer meal. And of course, my husband was pleased to not eat a box of mac and cheese tonight :) 

Grilled and Stuffed Burgers

• 1 pound of ground beef (makes 3 big burgers or 4 small burgers)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp worchestire sauce
• little less than 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• shredded cheddar cheese
• cooked and crumbled bacon
• hamburger buns
• all the toppings you desire

1. Combine the thawed beef with breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, worchestire sauce, and garlic powder until well combined. Use as little or as many ingredients until you reach the desired "burger" consistency. 
2. Form the meat into 3 or 4 patties (leaving 3-4 small balls of ground beef to the side). Carve out a small bowl in the center of each patty. 
3. Fill the bowl with cheese and pre-cooked bacon crumbles. Cover the patty with the balls of meat by flattening them over the patty until the cheese and bacon is covered completely. 
4. Put the patties on the grill, about 10 minutes on each side (more or less depending on desired doneness). Let the patties rest about 5 minutes before serving. 

Grilled Potatoes

• 4-6 Red Potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• olive oil

1. Wash and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces (halved then quartered). 
2. Combine the potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil. 
3. Pour the potatoes into a foiled envelope or package. Set the package on the grill for 30-40 minutes on medium-high heat. 
4. If desired, sprinkle with fresh herbs and more salt once cooked. 

Grilled Corn

• 4 ears of corn 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• olive oil

1. Shuck and clean the corn.
2. Rub olive oil over all the corn until drenched in oil. 
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other herbs or powders preferred. 
4. Wrap the corn in a foil package so that nothing can leak out. 
5. Put the package on the grill for 20 or so minutes. 
6. When done grilling, rub butter over the hot corn or serve on it's own.