Grilling Recipes on Food Friday: Inside-Out Burgers For Your Holiday Picnic

Are you getting ready for a Memorial Day Picnic?  I have great memories of summer picnics from my childhood.  Read my post on a Minnesota Memory Picnic Supper--I guarantee it'll make your mouth water!


If you're gearing up for a weekend of get-togethers with family and friends, or searching for simple suppers for your family, grilling recipes are a great idea.  Grilling conjures up in my mind a picture of a relaxed group of people enjoying laughter, good food, and a beautiful day on a deck or patio, or in the backyard.  I love showing hospitality, but I admit that it sometimes can feel like too much work.  Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, like being in the middle of a remodeling project, which make it impossible to host anyone inside. (Speaking of our remodeling, they say it always gets worse before it gets better, and I guess that is true.  I will have more photos next week, including photos of our our wood floor which partially was installed today.)


So, if you feel that your heart of hospitality needs heating up, grilling may be for you.  Host your next gathering outdoors and grill up some great memories.


May I fan the flame of your creativity?  Why not start by inviting your guests to come for a casual supper, and grill Inside-Out burgers. (You'll find the recipe below.)  Ask your guests to bring a big salad; serve watermelon, fresh veggies with dip, and chips to go with your burgers.

Ice cold lemonade is such a treat on a really hot day, isn't it?  Though we aren't experiencing hot weather yet, it's still a favorite.  Have a pitcher available and ready to put in chilled glasses.  (Just pop the glasses in the freezer for a short time, and they'll be refreshingly cold!)


For dessert, try this recipe for a dessert that's delicious and extremely easy: recipe for Chocolate Peanut Grahams.


Sit outside to eat:  on blankets in the grass, or lawnchairs on the patio or deck, or at the picnic table.  Forget the fancy dishes--use paper plates.  (Chinet holds up best without buckling or flopping over.)


While supper is cooking, and after you've eaten, play outdoor games such as bocce ball, croquet, badminton, or volleyball or just sit and visit, enjoying the beauty of God's creation.


There you have the ingredients for a lovely evening without a lot of fuss.

Chocolate Peanut Grahams

The following recipe for Inside-Out Burgers is sure to become a new grilling favorite!  (Do you have non-pickle-lovers in your family?  Don't worry.  I am not a huge fan of pickles myself, but the flavor is not strong, and neither is the crunch. It's very subtle, just adding yumminess.)  These are some of the best burgers.


Recipe for Inside-Out Burgers
Serves:  8
Ingredients:
2 lb ground beef
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
24 bread and butter pickles
1/2 cup BBQ (barbecue) sauce
8 hamburger buns


Directions:

• Divide beef into 16 portions.  Shape each portion into a 1/2-inch thick patty.
• Place 2 tablespoons cheese and 3 pickle slices in centers of 8 patties.
• Top with remaining 8 patties; Pinch to seal.

To Grill:
Place filled patties directly above medium coals.  Grill, uncovered, until desired doneness.  (Allow 10 minutes for medium and 12 minutes for well-done.)  Turn and brush often with barbecue sauce.  Place patties on buns.
On open gas grill, sear over medium to medium-high heat, then switch over to low to medium heat on other side of the grill until done.
Enjoy!

I hope you have a great weekend with friends and family and also remember those who have sacrificed so much, including their very lives, so that we might be free.

Food Friday: Recipe for Jumbo Stuffed Shells

Welcome to Food Friday!  I have been remiss in not welcoming you in the past!  I apologize!

Kelsey and Phoebe

So, welcome!  I hope you enjoy this weekly feature on my blog!  And check out all the photos below from that fun day of cooking!


Today, I'm sharing a good hearty main dish recipe, Jumbo Stuffed Shells, that is really pretty easy, and doesn't take very much time to prepare, especially if you have ground beef cooked up in your freezer (a good habit to get into).  We made this recently when we visited friends to cook with their girls and leave a meal for this family with a newborn baby.  Remember the Food Friday where I posted 4 recipes including Pesto Chicken, Popovers, and Chocolate Peanut Grahams?  Make sure you check out that post! That was another fun day.  I love cooking with girls--it's so much fun!
They really enjoyed stuffing the shells, and getting their hands dirty to mix up the filling.

We made one dish for their family and gave them more shells, and one dish for ours.  Doubling this recipe is super simple, and then you've got another meal made.  This recipe is another from Holly Clegg's trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Meals Cookbook;Go to the link to see another great recipe from that book: Greek Chicken.


One tip:  Make your sauce first, because otherwise you'll end up waiting for the sauce to cook!  We stuffed the shells, but then had to move them to the side to add the sauce--backwards!  But it worked.  Also, rinse your pasta with cold water after it's cooked.  This will prevent the shells from sticking together, and you won't burn your fingers trying to work with them.  

Phoebe and Dezi:
I Love working together with girls in the Kitchen!

Recipe for Jumbo Stuffed Shells
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) package jumbo shells
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (or any kind of bread crumbs and add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning)
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Tomato Sauce (your own, from a jar, or from the recipe which follows)
1 (8 oz) pkg part-skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded


Tomato Sauce:
Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato juice
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, sauté the onion until tender.  Add garlic, tomato juice, tomato paste, sugar, and season with salt and pepper; simmer 10 minutes.


Directions:
Cook pasta shells according to directions on package, omitting oil and salt; drain and set aside.
In a non-stick skillet, cook the ground beef until done;  drain any excess fat.
Add egg whites, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, basil, oregano, and season with salt and pepper.  Pour half the Tomato Sauce (see recipe) in a 2-quart baking dish.  Stuff shells with filling.  Arrange stuffed shells in baking dish and cover with remaining sauce.
To Prepare and Eat Now:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and continue baking for 10 minutes longer.

A really fun day!

To Freeze:
Do not bake before freezing.  Cool to room temperature, then wrap, label, and freeze.  Recommended freezing time:  up to 3 months.


To Prepare After Freezing:
Remove from freezer to defrost.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated.  Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and continue baking for 10 minutes longer.


Nutritional information per serving:  Calories 402, Protein (g) 33, Carbohydrate (g) 45, Fat (g) 10, Calories from Fat (%) 22, Saturated Fat (g) 5, Dietary Fiber (g) 3, Cholesterol (mg) 65, Sodium (mg) 667, Diabetic Exchanges: 3.5 lean meat, 2.5 starch, 1.5 vegetable
Enjoy!

Food Friday:

There's a fine line between trying to make healthy meals for your husband and "mothering him."  It's a line no wife should cross.  No man wants to be "mothered."  Our job is to be his wife and to make him happy.

"It's really good for you--you'll love it!

What do you mean it tastes like straw?!"

I frequently fall off this tightrope, but I know I should fall off more often on the right side.  This past week I made a recipe which made my husband happy.  Not ecstatically, mind you, but moderately so.  I told you, I haven't got this down (sigh).


So, here's the recipe which I'm sure my husband would be happy to eat again.  Oh, and I'm linking up again this week with "What's Cooking Thursday"--check it out!


Recipe for Crescent Cheeseburger Bake
Oh my goodness!  I was so busy cooking, I forgot to take pictures!  Next time:)


Serves:  4-5 (If your family's like mine, then you should double this recipe, so you actually have some leftovers!  My family of 4 ate every crumb.)


Ingredients:
3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar or American cheese  (I used cheddar.)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (Buy Pillsbury Crescent Rolls--they're the good ones--this isn't a time to scrimp)


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

• In large frying pan, brown beef and onion; drain.

• Remove from heat; stir in remaining ingredients, except rolls.  Set aside.

• Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles.

• Place in ungreased 11x7-inch baking dish.  Press over bottom and about 1/2-inch up the sides to form crust.

• Spoon meat mixture into crust.

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Now, don't say a WORD about it being unhealthy.  Just let your husband Enjoy It!!

Food Friday: Recipe for Greek Chicken

This recipe was taken from one of my absolute favorite cookbooks, by one of my all time favorite cookbook authors!  It's entitled "Holly Clegg's trim&TERRIFIC™ Freezer Friendly Meals."  I use this cookbook very, very often.  (This is an unsolicited recommendation.) I learned to love Holly's recipes when I had cancer, and bought Eating Well Through Cancer. (I still use many of those recipes today.)


I often purposely cook more than I need and freeze the rest, or make a double recipe and freeze one for future use.  This cookbook is a fabulous help to me.  Freezer Friendly Meals has excellent information on freezing most everything you will ever make.  Each recipe comes with information for eating it right away, or freezing it for later use.  This is also very helpful when making food to take to another family.


The recipes from this cookbook are always delicious--I can count on it--the instructions are easy to follow, and Holly gives fabulous suggestions for variations and time savers that work!  You can tell she's actually made these recipes in her own home.  I heartily recommend this cookbook to you!


Recipe for Greek Chicken
Serves:  6-8


Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1 Tbsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tsp light brown sugar
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese


Directions:
In a large non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, sauté the chicken and green pepper over medium heat, about 5 to 7 minutes or until peppers are softened.  Stir in green onions, basil, oregano, thyme, tomatoes, and brown sugar.  Simmer about 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickens slightly.


To Prepare and Eat Now:
Before serving, stir in the feta and serve chicken and sauce over pasta.


To Freeze:
Cool to room temperature, wrap, label, and freeze.  Recommended freezing time:  up to 2 months.


To Prepare After Freezing:
Remove from freezer to defrost.  Reheat in a non-stick skillet over low heat until well heated.  Stir in the feta and serve over pasta.


Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 170, Protein (g) 28, Carbohydrate (g) 7, Fat (g) 3, Calories from Fat (%) 15, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Dietary Fiber (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 71, Sodium (mg) 420, Diabetic Exchanges: 3:5 very lean meat, 1.5 vegetable


I'm participating in What's Cooking Thursday again this week--Join Me!