Monday, June 2, 2014

Money Saving Cheeseburger Supreme Salad with Southern Fried Pickles!



Summer means Salad! How do you find a main course salad that the whole family can agree on? How about making a giant cheeseburger?!

Money Monday. This salad is a much less expensive and a much healthier choice than buying a bag of burgers and you can control the fat! We don't always serve it with fried pickles, but when we do,  I use my  Refrigerator Pickles for the fried pickles...Yes and the homemade organic "quake and bake" from organic ingredients.  Dip in my Homemade Ranch Dressing!  Other homemade condiments I use are here today are included homemade ketchup and homemade mustard.  Save money by getting your salad greens from the local farmer's market. The cost for this meal was just around 7$ for our family of 5! 

Cheeseburger Supreme Family Salad


Ingredients
6 sesame seed hamburger bun tops
1 pound 95% lean ground beef or turkey burger
Grilling seasoning (heavy on the garlic)
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup sliced dill or sweet pickles
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
6 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce or shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 plum tomatoes
Additional toppings: thousand island dressing, bacon bits or blue cheese crumbles if desired
Directions
•Slice bun tops into 1/4-inch strips. If bun tops are very thick, slice bottoms off horizontally before slicing into strips).
•Arrange in a single layer on large bake pan; bake 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees or until lightly toasted. Place on a cooling rack; cool completely.
•Cook ground beef over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles. Season well with grilling seasoning of your choice.
•Add sliced onion and cook a minute or two more. Finely dice pickles and add along with ketchup and mustard to the cooked beef. Remove from the heat.
•To serve, arrange lettuce on large serving platter. Spoon beef mixture over lettuce. Top with cheese, tomatoes and sliced onion. Arrange hamburger bun croutons around edge of platter. Drizzle with Thousand Island dressing and sprinkle with bacon bits and blue cheese if desired Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings


Deep Fried  Pickles
Ingredients
24 very cold fresh kosher pickle wedged, drained and patted dry 
2 eggs, beat
2 1/2 cups Quake and Bake Breading (recipe follows)
Canola oil for frying
Chef Stephanie's Homemade Quake and Bake
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
2T parsley flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
2T onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground basil
1 tsp ground oregano
(yields 5 cups, which will make 2 batches)
Directions
•Using only very cold dill pickle spears, dip pickle into egg wash and then coat with breading. Repeat until no pickles remain, and arrange dipped pickles on a sheet pan lined with waxed paper.
•Chill for at least 20 minutes.
•In a deep fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees F. Alternatively, heat oil in a large, heavy pot suitable for deep-frying.
•Carefully add chilled pickle spears, in batches, to the hot oil and fry for about 3 1/2 minutes or until golden. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
•Dip in ranch dressing
Chef notes:  I use my  Refrigerator Pickles for the fried pickles. 
 Dip in my Homemade Ranch Dressing or store bought.
Other homemade condiments I use are here:  homemade ketchup homemade mustard 

There you go!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess


No comments: