Friday, March 27, 2015

THREE-CHEESE Burgers (Not "Three Cheeseburgers") & Cherry Blossoms

Last night we took our hands in our lives and decided to grill again (after the grilling fiasco earlier in the week). I had a pound of ground beef in the fridge and decided to make "gourmet burgers". I considered making my Stuffed Babybel Burgers but decided I wanted to make them a little different this time. I decided to make "Three-cheese" Burgers (note I'm not talking about 3 cheeseburgers, we are talking cheddar, Parmesan and Babybel cheese as in THREE different kinds of cheese)!

They were SO delicious I am making them again for tonight's dinner and I also had a leftover burger for lunch today as well! The burger itself has cheddar and Parmesan mixed into the meat mixture and then a beautiful little wheel of mini Babybel cheese inserted deep into the center of the burger so that when you cut it open, the melted cheese just oozes out. These burgers are simple to make and don't require any special ingredients that can't be found locally at your supermarket....but believe me, the ingredients may not be special but these burgers most definitely ARE!

If you don't have a grill or you simply want to make them inside, you can cook these in a skillet or grill pan on top of your stove, too. Even though I had some of my Sesame Seed Buns available to place the burger on, I didn't want ANYTHING to detract from the flavor of these "three cheese" burgers! Instead, I sauteed onions, red bell peppers and half of a jalapeno and served the burger on a bed of the sauteed veggies and then scattered some quartered fresh grape tomatoes on top. Check out a few photos below as well as the easy peasy recipe. Under the recipe, I also tossed in a few photos I took this afternoon of a beautiful cherry blossom tree that sits outside of my office...it is absolutely gorgeous. I stood underneath this huge tree and shot some photos looking up into today's beautiful blue sky through the soft pink blossoms that were being tossed around by the huge wind gusts this afternoon. The tree reminds me of "home" as in Washington DC, where growing up we used to go to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival around the Tidal Basin. I had a painting of the cherry blossom trees in bloom surrounding the basin that hung in my bedroom while I was growing up. Enjoy!





Three-Cheese Burgers

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
2 to 3 tablespoons ketchup (no HFCS)
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning, or to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 Mini Babybel Cheese wheels, unwrapped

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix ground beef, ketchup, mustard and steak seasoning together; add cheddar and Parmesan cheese and mix just until combined. Divide equally into 3 portions. Roll each portion into a ball; press a mini Babybel cheese wheel into the center and form into a patty shape around the wheel, keeping it centered. Grill or pan fry over medium-high heat to desired doneness, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. 

*Note: You don't need to exactly measure out the ketchup or mustard and dirty up a measuring spoon. A few guesstimated squirts will get you where you need to go!








           

9 comments:

Tessa said...

Oh I LOVED the cherry blossoms!!! I also grew up outside of DC and I always said I was going to get married under them. :-) Alas, that didn't happen - but wouldn't it have been pretty!!

Thanks for another yummy looking recipe.

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

What gorgeous photos ... the beautiful burger *and* the beautiful cherry blossoms. We still aren't quite into grilling season. Temp today was around 26, which is unseasonably cold by at least 20 degrees! (We also had snow flurries today!) These burgers will definitely be making the menu when the time comes. Also looking forward to lamb chops *AND* Copper River Red! :-)

Do you remember the cherry blossom "Forever" stamps issued by the Post Office a couple of years ago? I really liked those.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Tessa,

You are so right...the cherry blossoms would have been a beautiful place to have been married...and the photos would be spectacular. Thank you! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Thanks. Believe it or not, our temps (that have been in the low 70s) are dropping drastically today and we are supposed to awake to 20s & 30s tomorrow morning! They are giving freeze warnings, etc. We haven't put the turtleneck sweaters away yet!

Ohhhhhhh...lamb chops and Copper River Red. I can't wait! I really miss the Copper River salmon since it has such a short season. I do miss it.

Yes...I do remember the stamps. I had forgotten all about them! I so wish I had bought a bunch of them. As silly as it sounds, I only buy "pretty" stamps. I figure they cost the same as the plain generic ones. I still have some pretty forever Love stamps. I have even mailed something to the IRS with a Love stamp...you've gotta "love it"... ;-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

LOL! You're right ... I love it! :-)

Alice said...

These burgers will be on the menu here sometime in the next week. I have all the ingredients without needing a shopping trip for something!! Yay! Mine will likely be over salad as well. Or if bread is desired, your Almond Flax buns will be the choice! I love that stuff!!

The cherry blossoms are beautiful. Your photos are lovely. What a joy to see signs of spring!

I started working in our front flower bed yesterday. I have to plant in containers rather than directly into the ground. My knees can't take otherwise and that flower bed is pretty much impossible to dig in. Tons of roots underneath. It is an exercise in frustration to even try! Weeds took over though, over the winter, so it is mostly cleanup right now, but so many of my perennials made it and began showing their green a few weeks back, even over our last icy weekend! Looking forward to having the clean up done, ground vinegar sprayed, newspaper laid and moistened, and new mulch on top to help the bed be fre'er of weeds! Can't wait to actually mess with the plants!!

Hope your weekend was just as you wished!

Alice B.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Alice,

It's great when you already have all the ingredients for a recipe isn't it!

Thanks...so glad you enjoyed the cherry blossom photos. It is definitely a site for sore eyes. Would you believe we awoke to below freezing temps here this morning? The temps are all over the place it seems.

It's always nice to look forward to the new spring growth, isn't it. I just hope our crazy temps here don't damage some of the new tender buds coming out on the trees and shrubs. You mentioned ground vinegar...is it actually vinegar? I'm intrigued. Is it for week control or to kill bugs, fungus, etc.? There is nothing better looking than freshly mulched beds is there! W

We had a busy weekend. I got our taxes done and began "spring cleaning". I have so much spring cleaning to do that it is likely to roll over into "summer cleaning" as well! LOL. Hope you had a nice weekend. :-)

Alice said...

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2011/06/got-weeds-use-vinegar-not-roundup/

Above link is the vinegar for weed control in our front flowerbed! Did this 2 years ago and it really helped a lot!!!

Then I put down a double thickness of newspaper, moistened it, and topped with nice cedar mulch. Then my containers went on top of the flowerbed.

I never got around to redoing this last year, but there still wasn't much weed problem until late summer. I thought that was amazing!

So, I'm in the midst of a redo of all the above for this season!

If you try this, hope it is successful for you too.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much for the info Alice! I'm always looking for a healthier, less toxic way to do things. :-)