Creativityismessy's Blog

Oh, Lucy… you are so Juicy!

12 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by creativityismessy in In the Kitchen Tags: barbecue, bbq, cheese, dinner, hamburger, juicy lucy, kitchen, recipe

I have been a bit MIA lately, and I apologize.

However, to make up for the absence, I am dedicated to post a weekend full of blogs – starting tonight!  Each post filled with wonderful recipes and pictures of super-delish food straight from my very own kitchen.  Each recipe is easy, and the ingredients are affordable and can be found at any local grocery.

My husband and I recently decided to buckle down financial-wise and to go out to eat as little as possible.  It has been pretty tough with me working full time and trying to maintain my “Craft Goddess” status, and him going to nursing school.  Neither of us has much left over energy to cook dinner after a long day at work / school.  However, we have done pretty well thus far.

To keep on track, we make up a meal list for the entire week and make up our grocery list according to it.  It has been fun coming up with new ideas and recipes each week!

I’m especially excited for this weekends menu.  So excited that I wanted to share it with you!  So I decided that at the end of each day, I would post a photo and recipe of the dinner that we cooked that night.

Tonight’s dinner was one of our household classics:  Juicy Lucy’s and Homemade Potato Chips

Juicy Lucy’s (enough for our family of 3)

Around 1 lbs of extra-lean ground hamburger

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Black Pepper & Garlic Powder – to taste

6 slices of cheese (we used reduce fat cheddar this time, but pepper-jack is our family favorite)

3 whole grain buns

Your family’s preferred condiments and veggies

Optional: We love to put turkey bacon on top our burgers, but didn’t have any this time around

Juicy Lucy’s are simple really.  It’s just a burger with a delicious surprise inside.

I start by putting the ground beef into a bowl and mixing in the Worcestershire sauce, pepper and garlic powder.  I use my hands to kneed the sauce and seasoning into the meat.  Once it is well mixed, I divide the hamburger into thirds.  Then I take each third and divide it into two round balls of meat.  I smash each ball down to an extra thin patty, sometimes placing the meat between two small pieces of wax paper and rolling it thin with a rolling pin.  However, you can get it thin enough with just your hands as well.

I take one of the thin, flat patties and use it as the “bottom” of my Lucy.  Next I take a piece of the cheese, rip it into 4 (roughly) equal squares and place them in the center of the patty.  Don’t stack them directly on top of one another, but just overlay them so that all 4 are in the center of the patty leaving at least a 1/2″ around the edge.  I then place the second thin, flat patty on top and “seal” the two patties around the edges with my fingers, creating one patty with a pocket of cheese in the middle.  It is important to seal the patties well, otherwise the cheese will escape when they are cooking.

After you have all your patties made up, it is time to stick those babies on the BBQ!  As the meat cooks, the cheese inside heats up to a beautiful, bubbly, tasty mess.  Once the meat is cooked through, take the 3 remaining slices of cheese and let them melt on top of the patties.  Then take them off the grill, place your patties on your buns and dress them up however you see fit.

The best thing about Juicy Lucys, is that very first bite.  The yummy cheese lava flows out from the middle of you burger like a river of hot, bubbly goodness.  Just be careful, sometime it can be a bit hot!

Homemade Potato Chips

4 – 5 medium sized baking potatoes

Olive Oil

Garlic and Herb Mrs Dash

Italian Seasoning

Preheat your oven to 425.  Wash and dry the potatoes.  Slice the ends off of each potato and discard the ends.  Slice the remainder of the potato into thin slices and place them in a large bowl.  I like to use a bowl with a lid (you will see why in one moment).  After they are all sliced, drizzle olive oil over the top… I’m guessing I use about 3 or 4 tbsp, but I don’t really measure.  Then throw the seasonings in as well.  Then I place the lid on the bowl and give them a good shake, coating the potatoes in oil and seasoning.

After they are all coated, place the sliced potatoes on a cookie sheet or baking pan in a thin layer.  It is okay to overlap a bit, but try to get them as thin of a layer as possible.  Then bake for about 30 – 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the potatoes.

I hope that you all enjoyed Friday night dinner at the Larson household.  Tune back in tomorrow for my hubby’s wonderful Beanless Turkey Chili!