Garlic Feta Burgers

 

Hey, everyone! How was your weekend? We had a wonderful weekend over here. My mom arrived on Friday night and stayed until Sunday after church. And she brought Nutmeg with her, too! I can't tell you how good it feels to be reunited with our little fur baby after two weeks without her. 

The weather in Iowa was absolutely unreal this weekend, too, so we made the most out of it by spending a lot of time outside. Tennis was played, more than one long walk was taken and we grilled out, too! Since we don't have a deck or much outdoor space in our apartment, Joe and I are stuck grilling on our little baby grill (pictured below), which I realize is incredibly lame. But I'm shocked at how well it works. I think it will have to do until we have a larger place to store a grill. 

I made these Garlic Feta Burgers for my mom and Joe on Saturday night and served myself a veggie burger. And we paired it with a fresh salad and steamed green beans. If the calendar didn't say it was March, I could swear that summer is already here. 

Back to the burgers...

Out of the pound of ground beef that I had on hand, I made three burgers. I seasoned the meat with Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper, then formed it into six small patties. For the filling, I combined chopped garlic, feta cheese and oregano for a little Mediterranean flair. Then the filling was placed in the center of three of the patties and topped with the remaining patties for a salty, juicy filling. Just be sure to seal the edges of the patties completely in order to be sure the cheese doesn't come in contact with the grill.

The burgers were a huge hit with my mom and Joe, and I enjoyed my veggie burger, too. ;) Now let's bring on summer!

Garlic Feta Burgers

Ingredients

*1 lb. ground beef

*1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

*2 ounces crumbled feta cheese 

*1 clove garlic, minced 

*1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

*3 hamburger buns

Instructions

*In a bowl, combine the beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt and ground black pepper. Stir until well combined. Form the meat mixture into six thin patties, about 4- to 5-inches in diameter.

*In a small bowl, combine the feta, garlic and oregano. Place some of the feta mixture into the center of three of the patties. Top each of the feta-topped patties with the remaining patties. Seal the edges tightly with your fingertips to completely cover the cheese. Form the patties into well-formed circles.

*Preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill the burgers for eight to ten minutes, flipping once halfway through cooking. 

*Transfer cooked burgers to buns. Serve immediately.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

You know me. I'm all about simple weeknight meals. In fact, I think everyone I talk to is looking for more easy meals that don't require a bunch of ingredients or a lot of time. This is especially true when it comes to meat. Being a vegetarian, most of my meals are quick to prepare. Roasted veggies, sauteed tofu, loaded up salads - they're all quick and easy. So it's probably no surprise that I have less patience when cooking meat for the hubs on weeknights.

Before we got married, I had never cooked with a slow cooker. After seven months of being married, I'm not sure I could give mine up. Singe Joe is happy to eat meals that are much heartier than my preferred fare, the slow cooker is my savior. It cooks meat to absolute tenderness and does everything for me while I am away at work.

This 'pulled pork' (I'm using the term loosely for the barbecue purists out there) was a big hit tonight. Yes, it uses bottled barbecue sauce, ketchup and a tenderized pork loin. But it's also practically ready to eat the minute you walk in the door. All you have to do is mix together the ingredients for the sauce and shred the pork. It's really that easy.

And what did I have for dinner you might ask? Greek yogurt, Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, peanut butter and mixed berries, of course. :)

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
*1 Hormel Always Tender Pork Loin (27 ounces)
*1 cup beef broth
*3 cups water
*Salt and black pepper
*1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
*1/2 cup ketchup
*1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
*1 tablespoon brown sugar
*Hamburger buns or kaiser rolls

Instructions
*In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the pork loin, broth and water. Set the slow cooker on low. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 hours, until the loin shreds easily when pierced easily with a fork.
*Remove the loin from the slow cooker. Discard the liquid. Place the loin in a large bowl and shred with two forks. Add in the barbecue sauce, ketchup, white wine vinegar and brown sugar and stir into the meat until evenly combined. Transfer shredded pork to buns and serve immediately. Store unused pork in an airtight container in the fridge. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Happy Cooking!
Madison