Jana: "Crumbled" Ranch Burgers

This isn't exactly rocket science, nor is it totally new to me, but you can't do a "Ground Beef Month" without a burger recipe. So Rob and I planned to have Ranch Bacon Burgers last night. Remembering a recipe from my old boss, I threw an egg, Worchester sauce, and a 1/4 cup of oats into the beef mixture before making patties.

Unfortunately though, as I flipped each patty over, it just crumbled all over the pan. Devastation and panic set in. Flashbacks to this awful meal (made just over a year ago!). Apparently dinner prep should not be required of teachers in May.

However, Rob was good-natured, suggesting that we make sloppy joes... that is until we realized we didn't have any ketchup. So "crumbled burgers" it was. Paired with a slice (or two!) of avocado and a couple of strips of bacon, I couldn't even really tell the difference. Rob even mixed and melted his cheese in with the crumbles to create a Hamburger-Helper like mixture. It must have been good... he ate two helpings, plus quite a pile of homemade baked potato chips.

I just wish the patties had turned out. Maybe I should have added another egg. Maybe I should have nixed the oats. Maybe I should have used my hands rather than the plastic patty maker. I don't know... I've made burgers just fine before. Made me glad that I used the grill pan on the stove, rather than pulling out the gas grill. Watching all of my crumbles fall through the bars would have caused me to have a major breakdown.

Well, here's the recipe... if you're brave enough to attempt it...

Jana: Easy Beef Chimichangas

When I go to a Mexican restaurant, I always have to choose: tacos or chimichangas. And while I've made tacos millions of times at home, I had never tried to make chimichangas. I'm not so much into frying things by myself.

However, when I ran across this recipe for "Quick and Easy" Chimichangas and saw that they were baked rather than fried, I knew I needed to try it out. And, because Wednesdays are almost the only night of the week that Rob doesn't ride, we planned to try it out tonight.

The recipe was certainly "easy, but at 50 minutes from start to finish, I wouldn't call it especially "quick." However, I'm sure that's quicker than the traditional recipes.

The result was eight little golden brown, crispy chimichangas, which I paired with refried beans and tortilla chips. Total success! And, a recipe that I will be making again soon.

Jana: Cottage Pie

Rob's way into this Iron Chef Sisters thing. Over lunch the other day he brainstormed a menu plan for a month of ground beef. One of his suggestions was "Shepherd's Pie." So last night I gathered my ingredients and set to work. This recipe from Simply Recipes served as my inspiration. I used frozen mixed vegetables and added two cloves of garlic to the mix. I also added some flour to thicken the beef broth, and then added cheddar cheese on top of Rob's half of the pie. But otherwise these directions did the trick.

First off, I learned that the traditional dish of "Shepherd's Pie" should include lamb... when you use beef, it's called "Cottage Pie."

Secondly, I learned that this recipe makes tons of food. And my husband never backs down from a food challenge... while I had one scoop, he had three double scoops. He ate everything except one "Jana-sized" serving.

Third, I might be a "meat and potatoes" girl, but this is most definitely a man's meal. Yummy, but extremely hearty. I doubt I'll make this again until I have a brood of boys that I have to feed. It's a little too heavy for my stomach.

But if your husband or sons have a hankering for such a meal... here's the scoop...

Month 5

Considering that neither of us did very well with black beans, we've decided that May is going to be a double month. Although I was careful to specify... double the ingredients, not necessarily double recipes. Both black beans and ground beef. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!!