To liven up dinner, we decided that custom hamburgers were the way to go. I bought enough ground beef for four hamburgers and then prepared a slew of options to mix into the uncooked meat. Each person could choose their mix ins, and I'd smash it into a custom burger.
I was inspired by a new hamburger place called Smashburger. I've never been to one, but I think the concept is the same as Cold Stone Creamery or Marble Slab, where ice cream is mixed to order with the customers favorite add ins. I thought the idea worked so well with hamburgers that I'd give it a try at home.
(***Wrong! I went to a real Smashburger restaurant and it didn't live up to my imagination. To them, the "smash" is cooking the meat between to griddles. The toppings you choose are all on top. So not as much fun as my idea. I say, do it my way at home - it's delish.)
I added sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, chopped green olives, a few dill pickle chunks and a little shredded cheddar cheese. It was love at first bite and I'd choose the same combination again - yum!
We cooked them in a saute pan to help the burgers stay together (I think pieces would have tumbled into a grill) and this method kept the burgers juicy and tender too.
When "making hamburgers for dinner" just don't sound good, consider smashing something into them first. You just might find the perfect combination.
Want a great picnic idea? Nothing is more fun than sitting on a blanket and enjoying a layered salad in a glass jar. I got this idea years ago from Southern Living magazine and it is my "go to" item for picnic dinners.
Simply fill glass jars with:
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- diced orange bell pepper
- chick peas
- black olives
- cucumber chunks
- steamed green beans
- cooked bacon pieces
- and slivers of Parmesan cheese
Take along a few salad dressings and when the time comes, let your guests add their choice of dressing and shake! It is a delicious dinner every time. I also served marinated grilled chicken breasts and crusty French bread. Clean-up is a breeze...simply snap the lids shut and tuck the jars away in the picnic basket. Voila!
This picnic basket is very important to me. It literally reminds me of when I discovered that I could "make" things. I had always done needlework, light sewing, painting etc. But about 15 years ago, when I my Mom offered me some beautiful yellow floral "plasticized" fabric, I really wanted to put it to good use. How I "leaped" to a reversible picnic blanket, I'll never know. But I remember taking the yellow print to the fabric store to find a coordinating print. I found a cute pink & blue stripe and sewed the 2 together to make a picnic blanket. Then I bought an inexpensive picnic basket, some batting and a glue gun and started "lining" the picnic basket. It was so cute, I surprised myself. I even made a padded "arm rest" to make it easier to carry the basket on a picnic.Every year since then, we have packed a picnic dinner in this basket and gone to an outdoor concert of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Tonight is the night and I
simply can't wait.
A tisket, a tasket, I love my picnic basket.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is performing a series of free outdoor concerts (sponsored by Target) at area metro parks this Summer. Packing a picnic and "going to the symphony" is one of my favorite things to do. It was a bit rainy, but I loved every minute of it. Just after I took this photo, two sailboats on the lake tacked over to join the party. Can you think of anything better than drifting along in a sailboat listening to Brahms on a Summer night? I brought along a new kind of individual frozen dessert cup (Creme Caramel cheesecake by Bellaberry) in my picnic basket and it was delicious. You pack it frozen and by the time you're ready for dessert, it will be defrosted - bravo!
