Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers

Only one night has passed since our last challenge of providing for ourselves, although we were quite proud of our sandwich making skills last night (which was sadly impressive compared to our normality – take-out, mac & cheese, and salad.)

For our second kitchen adventure, we decided to go for another “easy” one – Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers.   These only took us 20-30mins, so they were a good, quick meal.  The ingredients are below:

Ingredients
2 spray(s) cooking spray
1/4 cup(s) barbecue sauce
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1 pound(s) uncooked ground chicken breast
1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), sliced
1/4 cup(s) celery, chopped
1/4 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, plain-variety
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp table salt
4 item(s) mixed-grain hamburger roll(s)
2 cup(s) romaine lettuce, shredded
1 large tomato(es), cut into 8 slices
2 tbsp blue cheese, crumbled

We substituted multi-grain english muffins for the hamburger rolls and feta cheese for blue cheese (only because we forgot to buy blue cheese, but it worked out).  We also skipped the bread crumbs – forgot again – hey, we’re not great grocery shoppers either.

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine barbecue sauce and hot pepper sauce. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce mixture, scallion, celery, bread crumbs, garlic and salt. Using wet hands (to prevent mixture from sticking), form chicken mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties; brush top of burgers with some remaining barbecue sauce mixture.Place burgers on grill, sauce side down; brush tops of burgers with remaining sauce. Grill, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Lightly toast open-faced buns on grill during last minute of cooking.To serve, place 4 bun bottoms on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce, 2 tomato slices, a burger, 1/2 tablespoon of cheese and a bun top (cheese will melt a little from hot burger). Yields 1 burger per serving.

Here is the condensed version of these directions: roll all of the ingredients up into large, disgusting balls of pure rawness and then cook them.  Unfortunately, our urban apartment didn’t bless us with an outdoor patio and grill, so we went with our high-tech Foreman on this one.  Tip: make the balls smaller than you think, because these puppies expand when you cook them.  To ensure your tasty burgers are complete in Booze Kitchen fashion, we recommend washing them down with a few cold Coronas….. and then for a sensuous postprandial potable, try the hard-to-find Samuel Adams Chocolate Boch.

Success:

Moo Shu Beef in lettuce cups: Bok Choy Wha…?

Our first challenge:  Picking out an intriguing recipe, finding the  foreign ingredients at the supermarket, and following directions to produce an edible delight.

Below is the recipe we chose – yes, a little promiscuous for a first-time endeavor, but that’s how we roll:

Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Cups

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 cup onion, yellow, thinly sliced
2 tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 cups bok choy, thinly sliced
1 medium sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups button mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 10 mushrooms)
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
8 leaf bibb lettuce

Ok, so first off, what the eff is Bok Choy?  If you already know, then you should probably get off this blog , it’s not for you – this blog is for kitchen-challenged individuals.

First piece of advice: approach the supermarket with confidence, in fact, go overboard – get cocky with it.  Your list says “bok choy,” walk over to the ice cream section like it’s your job, and reach for the Choy.  No luck?  Well if you did have luck, then you’re in one crack-ridden playhouse.  After a bit of searching, we found the Bok Choy in the fresh vegtables section, by the lettuce – over where it’s cold.  Actually, as far as we can tell, Bok Choy is a fancy name for lettuce, so if you still come up short, maybe just grab some lettuce and tell yourself its the Choy.

Ginger root?  Think garlic with herpes -mmmmm, delicious…. look over by the mushrooms, you should find it.

Does anything else on this ingredient list look intimidating?  If so, then you probably have challenges that stem far beyond the kitchen.  This is our first recipe, keep up.

Ok, here are the instructions we were given:

Instructions
* Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion, ginger and garlic; cook until beef is browned and onion is soft, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 to 7 minutes.

* Add bok choy, pepper, mushrooms and soy sauce; cook, stirring occasionally, until bok choy is wilted and pepper is tender-crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes.

•    Spoon about 1/2 cup of beef mixture into each lettuce leaf. Yields 2 filled leaves per serving. Serve with extra soy sauce if desired.

With the help of some booze, we found these instructions pretty self-explanatory.  Our vegetable slicing techniques could probably stand for some improvement, but we got it done.  Basically, just cut up all of your ingredients, toss the goods into a pan and cook until it appears edible… then throw your portions into lettuce leave bowls and enjoy.

Somehow, we managed to succeed, so you should be able to as well.. give it a try.  We found the finished product to be quite tasty.  Eat that **** with a fork or just shove it in your mouth like a lettuce wrap.

Below is a picture of our final product.  Post links, pictures, or comments of your own experience with this delightful dish.