Southwest inspired dinner and a breakfast experiment

Sometimes I see a product in a grocery store at an outrageous price for what it is, and I think, “I could probably do that at home for cheaper.”  Frequently I see in the meat case “Pub Style” burger patties, a growing trend in restaurants, where spices, cheese, and occasionally veggies are patted in for extra flavor.  My husband and I have been making these since we saw them on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives several months ago.  They’re a cheap and easy way to pep up an old standard.

In a sense, they’re almost like mini meatloaves, sans eggs and breadcrumbs.  Spice up these burgers any way you please.  My husband just has a love for southwest flavors, so that’s what we’ve gone with today, since he’s the one who has to eat it.

Pub Burgers

• 1 lb. Ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Cayenne
• 1 tsp. Coriander
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Onion powder
• ½ Cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• ½ Of a small onion, sliced
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced

 

In a small pan, sauté onion, jalapeño, and garlic, set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, mixing well.  Form into patties and fry.  Top with sautéed veggies and  additional cheese if desired.

To go with these burgers, and keeping with the southwestern dinner theme, I threw together this easy salad.  The hardest part is remembering to add the avocado at the last minute.

Southwestern Salad

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• ½ a medium onion, chopped
• ¼ C chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. Lime juice
• 1 small avocado

In a medium sized bowl, combine everything but the avocado, refrigerate for a half hour to let the flavors meld.  Add the avocado at the last minute, stirring in well so that the lime juice sticks to it, preventing browning.

This next recipe is my twist on a Pinterest find.  I’m not sure yet if it was a misadventure or not.  Don’t get me wrong, they tasted great, but I learned the hard way that they are something that needs to be refrigerated for storage.  After a few days, they turned on me, and it made me sad to throw out half my batch.

The original pin was suggesting to put cooked bacon or sausage, or fruit into the bottom of a muffin tin, pour over it pancake batter, and bake for pancakes to go.  A great idea in theory – have an all-in-one on hand breakfast that you can grab as you’re running out the door.  However, it wasn’t a complete recipe, and I formed my own  ideas around it.  I had a banana which needed to be consumed soon, and I thought, what’s a banana without peanut butter? Well, if I’m putting peanut butter and bananas in my breakfast, then cinnamon was a must, too…What I ended up with is this.

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes 

•  1½  Cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1¾ tsp. Baking powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1½ Cups Milk
• 3 Tbsp. Melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• ½ Cup peanut butter
• 1 banana, the browner the better
• 1 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1½ tsp. Cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk in milk, butter, eggs, vanilla and peanut butter, mash in banana.  (Mine was very ripe, so I mashed my in with the whisk, though you may need something stronger.)  Dip ¼ cup of the mixture into greased muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.

Please note that these leftovers need to be refrigerated.

 Tip of the Week: Sometimes when I make muffins or cupcakes I’ll get to the batter before completely filling the pan.  I hate that when it happens, because it means that’s one or two fewer muffins or cupcakes.  To keep from scorching my muffin tin, I fill the empty cups half way with water before sliding it in the oven.