Beef BLT Burger

Last weekend, I was out to shop for some ground pork, I already had envisioned myself making meatballs or "bola-bola" (Philippine translation) which is one of my daughter's favorites. I am not sure if this has an etymology or if this word is truly Filipino but it sure does sound like it comes from the root word BALL. But really, that is besides the point of this post LOL sidetracked again! So I did find myself some ground meat and shopped for other household stuff and went home. I did find ground meat, alright! I was just so disheartened when I read the tag that said "GROUND BEEF". 

Don't you just hate it when things do go well as planned? A complete bummer! 

But this recipe served well for a different audience. My daughter is not much of a burger fan so my father got one of the burgers the other one I had to taste for myself. ;-) 

I didn't have any of those square cheese slices, so I had used cheese spread. It still is cheese!!!

Beef Burger Patties

3/4 ground beef

1/2 head of garlic, minced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce

1/2 beef bullion cube, crushed to powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg 

Place the ground beef, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and egg in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. This makes 4 small burger patties, you can divide them, form them into balls and flatten them out to form patties. You can let this rest into 

It is better to use the topside cut of meat and have it grinded as it has little fat. You can ensure a tender and more flavorful beef burgers. Topside is the recommended mince for making beef burgers as it contains the right amount of fat. The egg acts as a binding ingredient it holds the minced beef together while cooking.

http://www.codicotebutchers.com 

Making the Burger:

1 toasted burger buns

burger patty

1-2 tomato slices

1-2 onion rings

iceberg lettuce

cheese slice or spread

mustard

mayonnaise

I stumbled upon this picture on the net, It gives you an idea how you can layer your BLT burger

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugecool/5660865590/ 

Oooh la la

Prepare your BLT burger bite

Here is another recipe idea for those extra tomato and lettuce.

Recycled Salad

RECYCLED. HA! "recycled food" sounds off for something that should be appetizing. If you are a frequent grocery shopper, you would know what I mean. When you buy vegetables, they come in packs of 2's & 4's. If you happen to have plently of spare ingredients on your fridge and wouldn't know what to do with them, why not create something delish out of  them.

Most of the ingredients I have on here were extras from a dish I was making. The lettuce and tomatoes were from the hamburgers I made over the weekend; the carrots were from an extra piece I had from the apple carrot juice; the croutons were from yesterday's loaf of bread. I for one do not have a crouton box lying around my kitchen. But if you want to go technical on me, croutons are dry or stale leftover bread usually fried or re-baked. I'm sure we Filipino's won't have any problem finding some leftover bread from the 3pm "merienda".

Out of the leftovers mentioned above came out this healthy alternative that can substantially replace any of your meals. You have your GO, GROW and GLOW food all in one plate. 

That is if you are on a low carb diet. 

1 head small iceberg lettuce

croutons: 1 slice of bread, toasted or re-baked, cubed

1 whole large tomato, sliced

1/2 carrot, peeled diced

1 slice of cheese, cubed

mayo lite dressing (you can add more to your liking) 

1 tbsp. white cheese (optional)

boiled eggs, diced (optional)

Serves 1

I tell you, the white cheese mixed with the lite mayonnaise dressing adds to the flavor and will let you finish every last piece. I honestly do not know what kind of salad this is, I tried searching for salads have these ingredients, I haven't found it yet. I am also quite certain that I am not the first who came across this idea. So, if you know what this is, leave me a comment and let me know. 

For now this will be called "recycled salad".

Cheesy and Meaty Baked Ziti in Tomato Sauce

Cheesy and Meaty Baked Ziti in Tomato Sauce

This is actually a smaller version of what I had cooked for my tatay's(dad) birthday. This is right there on top of my favorite dishes, but I am accustomed to eating it with bechamel sauce. The most convenient and reasonably priced restaurant where you can get a good helping of baked ziti is at Sbarro, a local restaurant. This food just brings back fond memories, this was already an indulgence for a bunch of college friends trying to make the most of their weekly budget. It really didn't matter where we ate, it was just rounding up the circle for food trip (Hahahaha good times!!!)

Well, this is my version and I am opting for a lesser evil, lesser caloric content; hence, I served our guests baked ziti in tomato sauce. The picture below is the bigger verion, that serves 12 people with big appetite.

=)