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Tastee-Rings Burger Press

It's summertime...and time to fire up the grill. If you're frustrated by the way your hamburgers turn out, I've got a tip for you.

The Tastee-Rings Burger Press does a remarkable job of preparing hamburger patties so that they cook uniformly and unusually fast. They're moist, they hold together, and they finish with a perfect shape. So what's the secret?

The grooves.

As the patties begin to cook, the grooves trap juices and seasonings. As they continue to cook, the hamburger shrinks and the grooves close up. With a hand-flattened patty, you end up with a burger that is thick and undercooked in the middle and thin and overcooked at the edges—and that's no good.

$6.00 is not a lot to pay for a handy little kitchen gadget that helps produce such beautiful and flavorful hamburgers.

For you scientists/technologists that want to check out the patent drawing, click on the icon below.

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

The only macaroni and cheese I've ever had is that fluorescent orange stuff that comes out of a box and the occasional side dish at a restaurant. I decided recently to try homemade mac and cheese, and I'm glad I did—it's great.

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1¼ cup milk
8 oz elbow macaroni (2 cups uncooked)
8 oz chedder cheese (2½ cups grated)
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

1. Boil the macaroni in a big pot of water according to the directions on the box (7 minutes ought to do it). Drain in a collander.
2. Melt butter and flour in a saucepan over high heat, stirring frequently.
3. When the butter starts to turn a light caramel color (it takes only a few minutes so keep an eye on it) turn off the heat and pour in the milk slowly—stirring quickly and constantly (with a whisk) until you have a nice, smooth mixture.
4. Switch to a wooden or plastic spoon and add the cheese a little at a time, mixing it into the mixture until you have a thick, smooth cheese sauce.
5. Pour the macaroni into the cheese sauce and mix it up good.
6. Add the salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
7. And for you diehards out there: add 4 drops of orange food coloring if you want it to look like the macaroni and cheese you grew up with.

Some people bake their macaroni and cheese. If you want to do that, knock yourself out. Pour your mac & cheese into a lightly greased casserole dish, sprinkle some more cheese on top, and bake it at 350° until the top is browned (about 30 minutes). But who wants to wait 30 minutes?

Healthy Breaded Onion Rings

This isn't the easiest or cleanest recipe you'll see here, but it's one of the tastiest.

1 large onion
2 cups Progresso Italian style bread crumbs
2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 egg whites, beaten slightly

Note: Depending upon the number of rings you make, you could reduce the amount of bread crumbs, milk, and flour. I wouldn't go below 1 cup on each, though—you need to coat the rings easily. (Plus, how much does an extra cup of bread crumbs and milk and flour really cost?)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray a large cookie sheet with Pam (or cover with parchment paper which is my preference).
2. Cut the onion in half (in the way that allows you to create "rings," of course). Cut a ¼ inch slice from each half. (Note: It only takes two slices of onion to make enough rings for two people!) Separate slices into rings.
3. Put the ingredients together on the counter in this order, from left to right:
     a. Plate of raw onion rings
     b. Bowl of milk
     c. Pie or cake pan with flour
     d. Bowl with egg whites
     e. Pie or cake pan with bread crumbs
     f. Cookie sheet
     g. Kitchen sink
4. Dip each ring into the milk, flour, egg whites, and then bread crumbs—place onto the cookie sheet.
     Tip 1: When I put a ring into the flour and the bread crumbs, I set it down in the pie pan, then "shower" it with the flour or crumbs. If you over-handle the rings, you'll wipe off the milk or egg and the crumbs won't stick. If this happens, just dip the bare part into the egg and then dip it back into the bread crumbs.
   Tip 2: Your fingers will get just as coated as the onion rings. I rub the coating off of my fingers into the sink every other ring. Don't wash your hands because it takes too long and they'll just get coated even worse than before.
5. Bake for 15 minutes on one side, turn the rings over, then bake them for another 10 or 15 minutes on the other side—depending on how brown you like yours. The longer you cook them, the softer and sweeter the onion gets, and the browner and crunchier the coating gets—to a point, though, and then you're burning them.

This recipe may seem complicated, but it's really not. I just wanted to add lots of tips to make your experience easier.

Kalamata Olive Spread

Kalamata olive spread (also called tapenade), is a spread of (French) Provencal origin that traditionally consists of capers, black olives, and anchovies pureed with olive oil. The recipe below is an Americanized version (i.e. hold the anchovies). It is usually served with a nice crunchy loaf of bread before dinner.

1 small can (4.5 oz) chopped black olives
2 Tbsp chopped capers
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1tsp chopped fresh basil
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Chop everything as finely as you have patience for. (You can save yourself some effort if you buy crushed garlic in a jar.)
2. Mix all the ingredients together, then add olive oil until it's the consistency you like.

This particular recipe is relatively mild. If you want a more earthy or provincial flavor, I would add more capers and garlic. Most importantly, you will note that this recipe does not call for Kalamata olives. I tried using them once and the resulting spread was much too salty for my taste. You might try mixing half Kalamata and half black olives if you want more of that flavor.

10 Minute Gravy

I call this Ten Minute Gravy because that's how long it takes from the time you get it in your head that you want some, to when you're drowning your mashed potatoes.

Also, this is a really quick and easy recipe—none of that measuring cornstarch into the turkey drippings stuff. Yuck.

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 bullion cube (beef, chicken, vegetable—whatever goes with your meal)
1½ cup water

1. Melt butter and flour in a saucepan over high heat.* Stir frequently.
2. Dissolve the bullion cube in the water by heating it in the microwave to boiling.
3. When the butter gets to a light caramel color (it takes only a few minutes so keep an eye on it) turn off the heat and pour in the bullion slowly—stirring quickly and constantly until you have a nice, smooth gravy.
4. Serve in a sterling silver gravy boat if have one, in a small bowl with a serving spoon, or in a glass measuring cup.

*Tell people that you're making a roux (pronounced roo). Sounds fancy.

[Note: You can make thicker or thinner gravy simply by using more or less water. "Gee, no kidding." I would call the thickness of my gravy "medium." Go as high as 2 cups of water or as low as 1 cup. Live on the razor's edge—experiment.]

Sausage Cheese Balls

You can kiss your diet goodbye with this recipe. But then again, you don't have to eat more than one. ; )

3 cups Bisquick
1 lb. uncooked sausage
4 cups (16 oz.) shredded chedder cheese
½ cup grated paremsan cheese
½ cup milk

1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Stir ingredients, shape into 1" balls (they'll expand when they cook so keep them small), and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 3 dozen

[Note: You can freeze them uncooked. To bake from frozen: thaw on baking sheet 15 minutes and then bake as before. You can also bake and freeze them for up to a month. Just microwave them on high for 45 seconds-1 minute.]

Creeping Cobbler

This dessert is called Creeping Cobbler because the dough starts off below the fruit, but then creeps its way up through it during the baking process.

½ cup butter 1 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. baking powder ½ cup milk 2 cups fruit 1 cup (or less) sugar

1. Melt butter in a 10" baking dish in a 350° oven. 2. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder—add milk and mix. 3. Spoon mixture over melted butter. 4. Heat fruit with sugar, then pour over dough. 5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Honey-Gingered Carrots

This dish tastes fancy, but it's really easy to make—a great accompaniment to beef.

10 oz. baby carrots (I use half of the bag you find in grocery stores.)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. honey
½ tsp. powdered ginger (If you have grated fresh ginger, use 1 tsp.)
½ tsp. salt
Pinch of ground black pepper

1. Combine the carrots, olive oil, honey, ginger, salt, and ground black pepper.
2. Sauté in a large pan for 5 minutes over medium heat or until the carrots are hot and tender just on the outside—I like them with some crunch on the inside.

Key Lime Pie

This is the fastest (5 minutes from start to finish) and easiest pie recipe I've ever seen—and it's delicious. By the way, you can also make this a low calorie pie by using the sugar-free and fat-free versions of the ingredients listed below.

1 graham cracker pie crust (6 oz.)
1 pkg. (4 serving size) lime-flavor Jell-O
¼ cup boiling water
2 containers (6 oz.) key lime pie flavor yogurt
1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip
Optional: 5 drops of green food coloring

1. In large bowl, dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Stir in yogurt with wire whisk. Fold in Cool Whip and food coloring with wooden spoon or spatula.
2. Spread in crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Overnight is better.)

You can also make this pie recipe with a number of different flavors. Just find a matching Jell-O and yogurt flavor.

Click here to see a list of Yoplait flavors.

Click here to see a list of Jell-O flavors.

I've tried strawberry, lemon, and orange. Lemon is my favorite.

Greek Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is excellent served warm or cold. The "secret ingredient" is Cavender's Greek Seasoning. You can find it in the spice section of the grocery store.

16 oz. package of farfalle (bowtie pasta), boiled and drained
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs. lemon juice
2 tbs. Cavender's Greek Seasoning
3 tbs. mayonnaise
1 can chopped ripe olives
4 oz. jar of pimiento, drained

Mix all ingredients except pasta. Toss with pasta. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.