Helping Hands in the Kitchen: Summer Cookout

August 9, 2022

MENU

• Burgers
• Pickles
• Potato Salad
• Pasta Salad
• Deviled Eggs
• Brownies
• Lemonade

It’s August – almost back-to-school time, vacations about done for this summer, and time to enjoy family and friends before getting back into Fall routines. It’s a great time for outdoor cookouts.

BURGERS

Burgers can be made of beef, pork, poultry (chicken or turkey), or vegetarian. Today I will be sharing recipes for beef, pork, and chicken burgers.

BEEF BURGERS

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Season ground beef. Make into patties.
2. When the grill/pan is hot, lay the patties on the grill/pan and cook until your preferred doneness – internal temperature should be 135-145 degrees F. The time it takes to cook depends on the thickness of your patties.
3. To serve, use your preferred buns – try to make your patties the same size as your bun. And serve with toppings such as pickles, onions, tomato, lettuce, and dressings. Any cheese you prefer is excellent.

PORK BURGERS

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of ground pork
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ medium onion, grated or minced very fine
• 2 Tablespoons garlic
• 2 Tablespoons ginger, grated
• ¼ teaspoon ground sage

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and make them into patties.
2. When the grill/pan is hot, lay on the grill/pan and cook until your preferred doneness – internal temperature should be 150 degrees F.  The time it takes to cook depends on the thickness of your patties.
3. To serve, use your preference of buns – try to make the patties about the same size as your buns. Serve with toppings such as coleslaw.

CHICKEN BURGERS

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of ground chicken (or turkey)
• 1 Tablespoon minced or grated garlic
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Fried bacon strips, optional

Instructions

1. Combine and make into patties.
2. When the grill/pan is hot, lay on the grill/pan and cook until your preferred doneness – internal temperature should be 170-175 degrees F. The time it takes to cook depends on the thickness of your patties.
3. To serve, use your preference of buns – try to make the burgers about the same size as your buns. Serve with toppings such as dressings of choice, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and pepper jack cheese.

DILL PICKLES

Ingredients

• 15 small cucumbers
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup table salt
• 1 large bunch fresh dill
• 15 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 bay leaves (or 1 bay leaf for each jar)
• 4-6 jars – depends on size of cucumbers and size of jars

Instructions

1. Wash and cut the cucumbers into spears or coins.
2. In jars, layer dill and 2-3 garlic cloves.
3. Add 1 bay leaf in each jar.
4. Place the cucumber coins or spears standing upright in each jar.
5. In a pitcher or bowl pour then stir together the remaining ingredients until salt is dissolved (important!).
6. Pour the brine over the cucumbers making sure they are fully submerged.
7. Cover jars tightly and leave out of sunlight for 2 days until they taste like a dill pickle.

POTATO SALAD

Ingredients

• 6-8 potatoes, boiled (Yukon Gold, Red, Russets)
• 6-8 hard boiled eggs, peeled
• Green onions or yellow onion, diced or sliced small
• 4 dill pickles (or if you prefer, use sweet pickle relish)
• Half jar diced pimento peppers
• 3 Tablespoons green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons celery, chopped or sliced
• 1 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon – 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the potatoes and eggs into bite-sized pieces.
2. Add a little pickle juice into the dressing and add mustard to thin it just a little.
3. Combine all ingredients – taste and adjust flavors.
4. Place in serving bowl and cover – chill until nice and cold!

PASTA SALAD

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups dry macaroni pasta
• ½ cup diced sweet onion or green spring onion, sliced
• ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small jar pimento pepper, drained
• ¾ – 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup celery, sliced (optional)
• Green peas, cooked (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the macaroni until tender. Drain and cool.
2. Add all ingredients together.
3. Cover and refrigerate. Keep cold when serving.

DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients

• 8-12 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika (for garnish)

Instructions

1. After peeling the hard-boiled eggs, cut them in half length-wise.
2. Put yolks in a small bowl, and mash.
3. Add the other ingredients, taste, and adjust if needed.
4. Spoon the filling into the egg whites and dust with paprika (or black pepper).

BROWNIES

Ingredients

• 10 ounces margarine
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Melt the margarine and cocoa together in a pan.
2. Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed. One at a time.
3. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13” pan (or another pan you prefer.)
4. Bake in a preheated 375 deg F. oven for 25 minutes just until done. Do not overbake.

FROSTING: (optional)

Melt together 2 ounces of margarine and 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa. Then add 3 Tablespoons of boiling water, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, and approximately 2 cups of powdered sugar. Combine and frost.

LEMONADE

This recipe makes about a gallon of lemonade.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh lemon juice squeezed, with no seeds
• 1 cup extra fine sugar (makes dissolving faster)
• 1 gallon fresh water

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients. Taste and adjust as needed.
2. A fun thing to do is to use some of the lemonade to make ice cubes – keeps the lemonade cold and from getting diluted!
3. OPTION: To make pink lemonade, add some maraschino juice to the lemonade!

Enjoy my friends! I hope you are enjoying your summer.

Bon Appétit
With Love,

Download the recipes here.