Today’s tips are all about making the most fabulous at-home grilled burger possible. Later this week, I’ll share the burgers I made for Marissa and Jeff while in Chicago last month. The Illinois grilling season is quickly coming to a close, but here in Arizona, it lasts all year long. Chef John Ash was a frequent guest chef at Les Gourmettes Cooking School and one of my favorite teachers. All of the tips/secrets come from him.

Is there anything better than only using one pot or pan to make an entire meal? I think not. I made this for our Cinco de Mayo buffet.

I’m using a couple of my favorite seasoning blends from Trader Joe’s. Don’t worry if you don’t have them, there are suggested substitutions you can use instead.

One Skillet Mexican Beef, Bean, and Rice Casserole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 small jalapeño, cored, seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend (or chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Everything but the Elote Seasoning Blend (or ground cumin)
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 can refried black beans
• 1 can pinto beans, with liquid
• 1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies, with juices
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• Garnish suggestions: thinly sliced green onions, diced red onion, shredded lettuce, sliced mini peppers, sour cream, salsa, etc.

Heat a large skillet and add the oil, when oil is hot add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned, stir in the taco seasoning and the two Trader Joe’s seasoning blends.

Along with the Corn and Shishito Salad I posted yesterday, I made burgers for the guys on Labor Day. I used a one-half pound of 80/20 ground beef for each patty. So yeah, they were BIG burgers! If you’d like to make them more manageable, use about a quarter-pound of beef per patty.

But this recipe is really about the great zippy basting sauce that consists of sweet chili sauce and sriracha. The sauce really makes these burgers sing. Added bonus: Half of the sauce gets mixed with mayo … truly addictive stuff!

It is “birthday week” around here. Marissa’s was yesterday, and today is Blake’s 12 birthday!  Blake is one of three sons of our very best friends in the world! His parents are Dr. Jeffrey and Jennifer Markett, who live in St. Charles, Illinois. Jeff is my husband’s best friend from college. He was our best man and is godfather to both Marissa and Connor. Jennifer is my best friend, whom I just adore… more on her tomorrow… Until then, Happy Birthday Blakey! We Love YOU!

In Blake’s honor, today we have a seven-layer dip that I’ve never seen a kid turn their nose up at. Use this recipe as a guide, you can add in or sub out so many great ingredients; such as shredded lettuce, roasted red pepper strips, chopped jalapenos, sliced black olives, and chopped tomatoes, etc.  In the picture below, I assembled the dish with a cut-away, so you can see the layers.  Then I just filled it all in after snapping the photo, don’t want you to think I served it this way! 🙂
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My friend and neighbor, Amy Kilpatrick, makes this yummy and oh-so-satisfying soup every Halloween night and shares it with all who come by and are looking for a bite to eat.  The soup can be doubled, tripled, or increased by any amount you need to feed a crowd.  Delicious served with a side of cornbread. It is the epitome of the “Easy-Breezy” category and is guaranteed to be an adult and kid-pleaser!  For whatever reason, I never seem to have the taco seasoning mix packages around or forget to buy them when I’m at the store, in that case, I just make my own with the spices I always have on hand. An added bonus to making your own…. tons less sodium than the pre-made stuff… you will be shocked if you look at the sodium content on one of those mixes! That recipe is at the bottom of the page.

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