I was craving a burger and my husband wasn’t home. He makes seriously the best burgers I’ve ever had. even including Au Cheval in West Loop in Chicago. So I was looking for a way to make a delicious burger that wouldn’t make me miss his bacony mushroomy dripping with cheddar burger goodness.

I cook for a million kids and don’t measure, so try this at your risk:

Ingredients:

5 lb cheap burger meat

lots of salt, maybe 1T, didn’t measure, I just dumped the container

1 bottle teriyaki

1 c sesame seeds

1/2 T jarred minced garlic

1/4 c (approximately) minced onions, maybe 1/2 c

1 T jarred minced ginger

Cook on cast iron griddle if your grill is broken (like me). Put on super high flame til the griddle is smoking. Carmelize the burgers, then lower heat to cook through (I just burnt the heck out of them, but still awesome).

Serve of cauliflower buns if you’re keto, with butter lettuce. If not keto, serve on regular buns with sliced pineapple on top.

• 2 lb chicken tenderloins
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 2 c rice
• 4 c water
• 1 can La Preferida Whole Kernel Corn, drained
• 1 can Rotel Mexican tomatoes
• 1 can cooked black beans, drained
• 3 cans mild enchilada sauce
• 1 large can diced mild chili peppers
• 1 bar cheddar
• half bar butter
• tortillas

Boil water, add a lot of salt, at least a Tbsp, add rice and butter, simmer for 15 min. Put chicken on baking pan, coat with olive oil, salt pepper. Cook at 350 deg for 15 min. Mix corn, chilis, black beans, rice til it’s a mixture you like. Add chopped chicken. Coat in enchilada sauce, fill with meat mixture, roll up. Then cover them all with shredded cheddar. Cook at 350 til cheese melted.

• 2.5 lbs chicken tenderloins
• 2 T minced ginger (jarred)
• salt pepper
• 21 oz jar teriyaki
• 3 broccoli crowns
• 1 onion
• cashews
• 1 green pepper
• 2 c jasmine rice
• 1 stick butter
• fresh cilantro

Marinate chicken in aprox half a jar of teriyaki for at least hours. Cook the rice and add 4 T butter while it’s cooking. Melt about 2 T butter in cast iron chicken fryer. Brown the chicken. In separate cast iron pan, brown the vegetables in 2 T butter. Add veggies to chicken, with ginger and lots of fresh cilantro, salt pepper.

• Leftover veggies that were about to go bad
  • Onions (If my pantry is bare, I use minced)
  • Potatoes (I’m trying to get rid of my big butt, so I don’t include these)
  • Old carrots
  • Withering celery
  • Red pepper or whatever veggies were about to get thrown out, like green beans
• Leftover chicken (or whole roaster when it’s ridiculously cheap at Caputo’s, like 29 cents per pound
• 1/2 stick salted butter
• LOTS of dried sage
• dried mustard
• salt
• pepper
• flour
• 2 cups or more chicken broth
• Pioneer woman pie crust

Preheat oven to 400º. Melt butter in cast iron chicken fryer. Brown veggies and then slow roast for 10 mins. Add chopped chicken. Add lots of sage, at least 1 TBSP, maybe 1/2 tsp mustard, maybe 1/2 T or more salt, bunch of pepper. Add 1/4c or more flour till it’s a sticky mess. Add chicken broth slowly until it forms a gravy. Cover with dough. Cook for about 1/2 hour.

The first time you make a pork roast, it usually tastes amazing, but you can’t reheat it without it tasting gross. Here’s my remedy, no matter the seasoning on the original.

• Leftover pork roast
• onions
• cheddar
• cumin
• coriander
• salt
• pepper
• avocado
• tortillas
• 4Tbsp butter

Brown the onions in butter and then slow roast on a low flame for 10 min. Shred the pork and add to the butter. Add salt, a bit of coriander, LOTS of cumin, I mean a LOT, and some pepper. Brown a tortilla, add shredded cheddar, and let it melt a bit. Add shredded pork, sliced avocado and fold it in half. Serve with salsa if desired.

• Cut up Chicken fryer
• minced ginger
• 2 lemons
• 3 parsnips
• 1 turnip
• 3 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 huge onion
• 8 c chicken broth
• 2 c Bisquick
• 2/3 c Milk
• salt
• pepper
• vegetable oil
• butter

Heat up oil in a really big pot. Brown the chicken, skin sides down. Remove chicken. Melt about 4 T butter. Brown the vegetables and roast for about 10 min on lower flame. Add chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. Add about 2 T ginger. Roll lemons and squeeze into soup. Add chicken. Cook about 1/2 hour. Remove chicken from pot and debone. Yes your fingers will get burnt. Add chicken back in. Mix bisquick and milk and drop by tablespoon onto top of soup. Put the lid on and cook another 10 min. Watch your kids scrape the bowl to get every last drop.

• 1 lb leftover turkey breast (or chicken)
• red leaf lettuce
• green apple
• grapes
• walnuts
• 1/2 c walnut oil
• 1/4 c ish champagne or red wine vinegar
• 1/2 t or more salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 T dijon mustard
• 1/4 c or 1/2 c mayonaisse

Cut up turkey breast, apple, grapes, walnuts. Chop lettuce. In a Tupperware shaker combine dressing ingredients, estimate until it tastes good. Poor some on salad and toss.

• Cooked salted ground beef
• 1 stick butter
• 1 onion chopped small
• 2 carrots chopped small
• 1 stalk celery chopped small
• 1 red pepper chopped small
• 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• pinch tarragon
• pinch coriander
• lots of salt and pepper
• flour
• Better than Bouillon beef flavor
• 6 cups mashed potatoes (from scratch if I’m being nice, otherwise instant)
• parmesan
• garlic salt
• French’s onions

Melt half a stick of butter in cast iron chicken fryer. Let it get very hot. Add chopped veggies and brown them. Then turn heat down and let them roast for at least 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add salt and pepper to flavor. Add enough flour by the tablespoon until it looks like a thick gooey mess. Add enough beef broth until it forms a thick delicious gravy with the vegetables, about 3 cups. Add enough ground beef so there is more ground beef than veggies, maybe 1.5 lb (totally eyeballed it). Beat your kids off with a wood spoon as they try to eat it right out of the pan at this point. Make the mashed potatoes with the other half stick of butter. If I’m making them from scratch, I use bacon fat rather than butter, and sour cream and half and half. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt to the mashed potatoes. Add the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture. Top with French’s onions and parmesan. Cook for about 15 min at 400º.