Culinary Adventure: Broiler Burgers and Mashed Taters

My very first impression of meal planning is pleasant surprise. I got home from work today, knew exactly what I was going to have for dinner, and got started right away. No hum-hawing for an hour about "well do I want to cook" and "what do we have"... Nope - everything was ready and waiting.

I used modified version of two recipes from the book 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know. I love this book because it's hilarious, easy to follow, and has a lot of recipes I've tried and loved.

So first up we have my Broiler Burgers.

Obligatory Instagram food photo.

 Ingredients

1. 1 pound ground beef (80-20)
2. Salt and pepper
3. 1 tsp ground cumin
4. 1 shallot finely chopped (I used half a large onion today and it was just as good)
5. 2-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
6. Pats of butter
7. Cheese (optional)
8. Hamburger buns lightly toasted (toasting the buns makes burgers 100% better)

Prep

1. Mix meat with salt, pepper, cumin, shallot, and Worcestershire sauce. Do not warm meat.
2. Divide into 2-4 balls and flatten.
3. Create a depression in the tops of the burgers with your thumbs and add a pat of butter to each patty. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. Preheat the broiler.
5. Broil patties on a foil rimmed baking sheet for 7 minutes.
6. Flip and broil for 4 or more minutes, depending on desired doneness.

Super easy and super delicious. This time, I put a little Montreal Steak seasoning on the burgers too. Experiment with what you think might add a little something!

With the burgers we had Mashed Taters. My grandmother used to complain about making mashed potatoes for as long as I can remember, and I don't understand why! I think she didn't like peeling potatoes, but I feel like they're super easy to make and *very* delicious.

Ingredients

1. 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
2. Salt
3. Somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup of milk (I use lactose and fat free, you can use whatever)
4. A ton of butter (I usually use about 1/4 of a stick, but the recipe calls for up to a stick)
5. Nutmeg to taste
6. Pepper

Prep

1. Cover potatoes with cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook approximately 25 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and return to pot.
3. Smash potatoes with potato smasher or giant awesome fork.
4. Add milk (NOT ALL AT ONCE!) and butter.
5. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Don't be afraid to taste it!!

We ate all the burgers, but I have leftover potatoes to bring to work tomorrow (and some leftover rice from yesterday, too...). You could definitely play with both of these recipes, too. Maybe add some cheese or garlic to the potatoes. Let me know what you try and how it goes!