As I mentioned last week, we’ve been grilling as much as possible and enjoying eating on our patio.  Burgers are always a great thing to grill, but sometimes you gotta spice it up a little from plain old ground beef (not that that isn’t wonderful, too, from time to time).  These burgers were inspired by some that my friend Sadie made for a cookout for the Fourth of July, and I immediately had to go back home and recreate them.  They are chock full of bell peppers and onions, as well as a bunch of herbs and spices.  The only peril is they don’t hold together real well.  I might add some breadcrumbs or something next time.  But it’s a tasty combination – almost like a light, summery version of meatloaf, and endlessly adaptable to whatever veggies, herbs, and spices you have on hand.  I somebody forgot to put buns on the grocery list, so we ate them on a bed of watercress since I happened to have some (also good if you’re trying to go the low-carb route).  Either way, a cheap, easy, and quick dinner, perfect for eating under the summer sunset.

Doctored-Up Burgers

1 lb ground beef
3 strips bacon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 of a green pepper, diced
1/4 of a yellow pepper, diced
small onion, diced
1/4 c cilantro, diced
1 t salt (or to taste)
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground mustard
black pepper to taste
dash cayenne pepper

6 slices of cheese (cheddar, American, colby-jack, etc.)
leafy lettuce such as watercress, arugula, mesclun greens, etc., or buns

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and form into burgers (I made 6). Try not to handle it too much or squeeze it all together too tightly, as that can make them tough. Grill over medium high fire, covered, a few minutes to a side until desired doneness. When almost done, top with cheese so it can melt a bit.  Serve over greens or on a bun, with the usual accompaniments.  Sit outside and enjoy!

Now that summer is in full swing, we’ve been grilling at least a couple times a week.  I love how little preparation this often requires, and even more how little cleanup there is afterwards!  We have a charcoal grill, which does mean it takes a bit longer to “preheat” than when I cook inside.  Even if I wanted to spend the money though, I wouldn’t give up my charcoal grill for a gas one — I love the flavor that the charcoal smoke gives to the food, and it’s just never the same on a gas grill.  Yes, I know that smokiness is probably giving me cancer, but really, what doesn’t?  And it sure does taste good!

These grilled vegetables are a great easy side for some kind of grilled meat.  In this case we served them with the sausage left over from the sausage ravioli we made a couple weeks ago.  (No, they didn’t sit in our fridge two weeks before we ate them.  I’m just a little behind on posting…)  They take less than five minutes of preparation (other than the grilling), and what can taste more like summer than zucchini and squash, eaten al fresco?

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I originally found this in an old Cooking Light magazine, and it’s become one of our go-to, easy meals, perfect for spring or summer.  It’s super fast and simple, but it’s delicious and elegant enough for company.  We most recently served it for an early birthday celebration for my mom.  You can easily substitute out the cilantro for whatever is in season or on hand, and I’m just thinking lime zest instead of lemon would be a tasty substitution as well; you could also use any mild fish instead of the tilapia.  It went great with the fresh peas we found at the farmer’s market.  Delicious, fresh, simple, and with tilapia, usually pretty inexpensive, too!

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My mom has cooked salmon this way for a long time, and I think she originally got the recipes from Stirring Performances, a cookbook from the Winston-Salem, NC Junior League.  It’s just so darn good that I really hardly ever cook salmon any other way.  Even better, it’s dead simple — rub with a little garlic and salt, squeeze some lime over, let it sit a bit, and throw it on the grill!  Or, if like us, you get ready to fire up the grill and find you’re out of charcoal, and stick it under the broiler instead.  (I think this is even easy enough to go in the Just for John category, at least if you can find the salmon on sale!)  We find it’s a little easier with salmon steaks (they hold up a bit better on the grill) but fillets work fine, too.

Tonight, we served it over the Sweet Potato Mash with Mint from Simply Recipes — delicious!  This was a really unusual combination of flavors — sweet potatoes, mint, cilantro, raw onion, and a touch of vanilla.  I know it sounds a bit odd, but I thought the vanilla especially really gave it a nice depth.  It was definitely on the sweet side — I added a touch of cayenne to balance it out, and next time, I think I’ll add a little more.  But the sharp flavors of the garlic and lime played nicely against the sweetness of the potatoes, and it ended up as a really good combination.  Could use another color to balance out the orange though!

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My younger brother, John, asked me a couple days ago for the address for our blog. I’m pretty excited when anyone shows interest in what we’re writing, and I’m also always trying to make the blog better and more usable, so I asked him for his input. The first response I got (via Google chat) was this:

1:15 PM John: ok

im real gald you put the carrot recipe up

im going to make a vat of them

Score! Something I wrote was actually helpful to someone else! I’m not just typing off into the ether! What else you got?

1:24 PM John: you need more entrees

that i can afford

1:25 PM i dont care what kind of experimentation you want to do i just need ideas for meals i can afford that taste real good and are real easy to make and are really cheap

if it doesnt fit that criteria then dont put it up

that is all

Ok, well that one’s a little more of a bummer. But, he makes a good point. (I should probably mention that my brother and I were taught from a young age to tease each other incessantly, so while that might come across as an insult to the untrained ear, to me it sounds like bother … err … brotherly love. And yes, I said taught — you know who you are.)

Anyway, I’m not going to stop my “experimentation,” but the idea of posting (and cooking/eating) more affordable, quick and easy meals sounds like a worthy goal to me. As a junior in college, I can certainly understand why John wants to do that, and it’s probably a good target for me, too, before I bankrupt us with my foodie habit.

Sooooo, I’m starting a new category called “Just for John” (though honestly, I’ll let anyone read it, even if you’re name isn’t John) that includes “meals i can afford that taste real good and are real easy to make and are really cheap.” And I’m going to try to add “and are reasonably healthy” to that list too, before someone starts thinking we should add French Bread pizzas or Cook Out to the category. I’ll also try to include an estimate of how much I spent on the groceries (per serving) and how much time it took to prepare.

The first installment will be this recipe for trout, inspired by recent recipes from Cooking Light and from The Wednesday Chef. We served it with creamed spinach, but in a hurry, just sauteed spinach or a salad would be good, too. The sauce is somewhat like that used in Chicken or Veal Piccatta. You could easily leave out the prosciutto for a crowd that doesn’t eat pork, or just to make things a bit healthier. If you’re really in a hurry, the fish is flavorful enough by itself you could even leave off the sauce entirely, in which case this meal takes no time at all to prepare.

Lemony Trout with Prosciutto, Caper, and Lemon

Sauce:
olive oil
1/4 c of finely chopped onion or shallots
a couple slices of prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon, chopped
juice from 1/2 a lemon
a couple forkfuls of capers

Fish:
whole boned trout, head and tail removed (depending on the size, 1 trout per 1-2 people; we were able to split a large one and had plenty of food)
1/2 lemon, sliced thinly
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the broiler. Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft. Add the prosciutto and saute until it’s a little bit crispy. Add lemon juice and capers. Turn the heat down and simmer until most of the liquid is reduced away, and there’s just enough left to hold the sauce together a bit. Remove from heat and put the lid on to keep warm.

Brush the skin side of the fish with olive oil. Place on a greased broiler pan, or just a greased pan. Brush the inside of the fish with oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of the fish with 3 or 4 slices of lemon and fold the fish closed. Broil about 4 minutes on a side, until the fish is opaque and flakes when tested with a fork. Open up the fish and top with the sauce.

Total time: about half an hour
Total cost:
(I forgot to save my receipt from Safeway, so I’m guessing on most of the produce, and probably overestimating)
Trout: $3.85
Lemon: $0.85
1/3 onion: $0.50
2 slices of prosciutto: $1
1 T capers: $0.50
1 bunch of spinach (for side dish): $2

Total: $8.70 for 2 servings, or $4.35 per meal