We’ve been grilling a lot this summer! Anything to be in the sun and to minimize a kitchen mess is the name of the game.
This summer has been, you know, slightly different, due to the global pandemic. What I’ve been grateful for is getting my meat delivered to my doorstep through ButcherBox (this is an affiliate link). It is truly the highest quality meat I’ve found on the market, not to mention it is insanely tasty! We are never looking back.
Actual photo of me receiving my ButcherBox:
It truly is a love story. Ok, this has been my summer “meal plan”:
- Open freezer the night before and decide what meat to have for dinner (chicken for greek bowls, ground beef for tacos, ground sausage for creamy, cheesy pasta, a roast…you get the idea!)
- Around 5:00pm the next evening, grab any veggies I want to grill with said meal.
- Eat!
That’s it. That’s what has worked for us! It helps that I get the same vegetables delivered to us every 10 days.
This is my quarantine fresh veggie list:
Fresh Produce/Refrigerator Groceries
(delivered/picked up every 8-10 Days)
- Lemons
- Limes
- Green leafy lettuce
- Avocados
- Cilantro
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Cherry tomatoes
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Fresh dill
- Fresh basil
- Mini bell peppers
- Jalapeños
- Red Onions
- Sweet Onions
- Butter potatoes
- Garlic
- Green beans
- Ginger
- Hummus
- Block of mozzarella
- Block of sharp cheddar
- Feta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter
- Pepperoni slices
- Grapefruit
- Watermelon (the watermelons from our local grocer have been so tasty this summer!)
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Mascarpone cheese
This is what I work with every week for meals! A few weeks ago I noticed I still needed to use my sweet onions and so I caramelized them for our grilled burgers we were making! (Side note: my burger recipe was featured on the MSNBC site a few summers ago and has been pinned over 100,000 times!).
Let’s talk about the onions! These onions cook down quite a bit so you’ll want to slice two onions. It will seem like a lot but, two onions will top 4-5 burgers (the first time I did this I also had some shiitake mushrooms I threw in the pan!).
I slice these onions up and let them caramelize in a big sauté pan for 30 minutes on low. Did I mention I add lots of butter? And a little salt?
I was eating this buttery, salty, sweet topping out of the pan! We proceeded to use this topping on hot dogs, sausages and even our tacos!
As a bonus! If you are not highly opposed to turning your oven on in the summer, bacon grease sweet potato fries are in your future!
We like to make our bacon in the oven. It’s easy. No mess! The bacon turns out crispy every time. We love putting bacon on our burgers!
After the bacon cooks we remove it to a plate and then throw some frozen sweet potato fries on the same sheet pan with the leftover bacon grease!
Your sweet potato fries will crisp up and be insanely delicious! (Full method for fries below!)
Crispy, salty, sweet perfection!
The Best Burger Topping
Ingredients
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS butter, divided
- 1 tsp salt (1/2 tsp salt if your butter is salted)
- 2 sweet onions, halved and thinly sliced
Optional:
- 8 oz. Shiitake or Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp Magic Mushroom Powder or 1 tsp Chili Powder
Instructions
- In large sauté pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and 1 TBS butter. Once butter is melted, add onions (and mushrooms if using). Allow to cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes lower the temperature to low. Add salt, additional tablespoon of butter and stir to combine. These will cook low and slow to perfectly caramelize for about 25-30 minutes. Stir every 5-8 minutes.
- The end result will be melt-in-your-mouth, buttery, golden brown onions.
Notes
If you are making this topping for more than 4 people, double the recipe! Be sure to use a large sauté pan. The cooking time will take a bit longer, about 45 minutes. But this is so worth the wait!
To add extra flavor, add 1 tsp Magic Mushroom powder, Chili powder, or Paprika when you add the salt!
Bacon Grease Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 4–5 strips bacon (generally 1–2 strips for each person you’re serving)
- Sweet potato fries (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with foil.
- Add slices of bacon.
- Place sheet pan into the cold oven. Set the timer to 400 degrees F and set the timer to 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes check to see if the bacon is to your preference. For crispier bacon keep it in for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove sheet pan from oven. Place bacon on a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Place sweet potato fries on sheet pan. Using tongs, toss the sweet potato fries in the bacon grease. (If there is not much bacon grease on your sheet pan, add 1/2 TBS olive oil.)
- Place sweet potato fries in the oven and bake according to package instructions.
- Serve warm!
Notes
If you are using fresh sweet potato fries, follow this method for baking.
I made the caramelized onions over the weekend and added them to my burger…..delicious!!! Took my burger to a whole new level!!!! Will definitely be making these again and next time I am doing the sweet potato fries too! Thanks, Bree!