Burgers and Fries- YAY for Sunshine!

What better way to celebrate the summer than cooking up some burgers and fries!  Today is April 1st and it was 82 degrees  here in Cedar Rapids.  A beautiful day and a perfect day for  burgers!  I love making burgers and I tend to make them a dozen different ways.  I love creating new burgers and experimenting with new burger recipes.  I am not a huge fan of ground beef, so in my house we eat a lot of ground turkey.  Turkey burgers are super yummy  if made correctly.  Tonight I made barbecue onion turkey burgers with fries and a tossed salad with ranch dressing.  Also I should mention that when I make burgers and fries I don't tend to measure ingredients so measurements are approximate.  Just eyeball it.  That is what I do with most things actually.


Barbecue Onion Turkey Burgers:
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 packet onion soup mix (when buying onion soup mix, be sure that you find one that is free of MSG.  I usually buy this from the organic section of the grocery store).
1 tsp. garlic salt or garlic powder
1/4 cup grated cheese (this acts as a binder for your burgers and keeps them nice and moist.
Sliced pepper jack or cheddar (optional)


Mix all ingredients together with your hands and form into four patties (the little patty in the picture is for Daniel).  Cook in a grill pan over medium heat about 10 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle.  You can also cook on your barbecue.  If adding cheese, place sliced cheese on each burger at the end of cooking, tent with foil to help the cheese melt quicker.  Serve on a whole wheat bun.  

My biggest weakness is fries.  Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I absolutely LOVE fries (and tater tots).  I like to think of myself as a fry snob.  Fries have to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They have to have just the right amount of seasoning, and they cannot come from a freezer - unless of course I prepped them and froze them myself.  I own a deep fryer, but to be honest, I only use it to make fries about once a year.  Most of the time I make fries in my oven.  It is really easy, and much better for you than deep frying.  The key to making fries in the oven is to make your oven screamin' hot.  I cut my fries with a fry cutter, but you can cut them using a knife if you don't have a fry cutter.


Oven Fries:
2 large or 4 small russet potatoes
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic salt or garlic powder
1 egg white (the egg white helps to give the fries a crispy coating)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and then top with wire racks.  Spray generously with cooking spray.  Cut potatoes into fries.  In a bowl, mix fries with the rest of the ingredients.  Spread fries out on the wire racks (it is ok if some fall underneath).  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until fries start to get soft.  Broil on high, watching the fries closely, until they are golden brown.  Be sure to watch them closely because they can burn easily.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.   


David is a huge fan of green salad.  We eat a lot of vinaigrette dressing, because that is what I can throw together in the least amount of time.  But when I make burgers and fries, I like to have a nice Ranch dressing.  Not only is it delicious on salad but it is also a yummy dip for the fries!  Ranch dressing is also super easy to make and it only takes about 5 minutes to throw together.  I often use fresh herbs when available, but you can also use dried, like I did tonight and it will turn out just as yummy.  


Ranch Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup baby carrots
1 tbsp. dill
2 tbsp. herbes de provence or any mixture of fresh herbs
2 tbsp (eyeball it) white wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder or garlic salt

Place all ingredients EXCEPT vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade.  Mix ingredients until well blended. Stream in vinegar.  Use as a dipping sauce for veggies or as a salad dressing...however you use Ranch!

Well, that is all for now!  I hope you enjoy these recipes. Until next time Foodie Mommies and Daddies, happy cooking!