Food Friday - Dinner on the Grill

July 31st!  All of the sudden the summer seems to be speeding by.  Soon it will be back to school and the freedom of our summer schedules will disappear.Tracey is enjoying some time away with her in-laws this week, so it is my turn to go it alone.  She and Harry have done a little back to school clothes shopping, but otherwise I think that they are trying to squeeze a little more fun and adventure into these last few weeks of their summer break and not think too much about the fast approaching beginning to a new school year.  

I am grateful that Tracey and I have an easy going relationship, one that allows us to work well together through the ebbing and flowing of our lives.  For me, this is a big deal.  I have never really been a fan of group projects because it always seems the work is never evenly distributed and I end up doing way more than my fair share.  That is certainly not the case with us.  Tracey has restored my faith in working with others. It is nice to have a project that you enjoy and the opportunity pursue with someone who is truly a joy to work with!  I have missed our conversations this week, but I am glad that Tracey and Harry had have this time with Grandma and Grandpa.

And now on to food...

I am still on my outdoor cooking kick.  This may be because we are about to have some major landscaping done at our house and I am trying to justify including a small outdoor kitchen in the plan.  Or, it may just be that it is easier and burgers taste better when they are grilled.  Whatever the case, this week's recipe is an open faced grilled burger topped with creamed spinach.  This recipe is adapted from one in the current issue of Cuisine at Home magazine.  

Creamed Spinach
2 TBS butter
1/4 Cup minced onion
2 TBS flour
1/2 Cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 Cup low sodium chicken broth
Salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to taste.  I probably used a 1/2 tsp of each, maybe?  I'm not sure.  Focus here on the "to taste" part of the instructions.
4 Cups rough cut spinach
1/4 Cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp lemon juice

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the onion and cook until it is translucent.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute.  Whisk in the milk and chicken broth followed by the seasonings. Bring this mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.  Add the spinach stirring until it is wilted, then add the cheese and lemon juice.

The spinach is rough cut to keep it from being too "stringy" when the dish is served.

The spinach sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.  Reheat before serving.

Burgers
1 Lb ground beef
garlic
Worcestershire sauce
onion
garlic
salt and pepper
Texas toast

Using a pound of ground beef, make your favorite burger.  I added a little onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.  Shape the burgers and grill to your desired level of done-ness. 

In the final minutes of grilling the burgers, brush both sides of Texas toast with olive oil and place them directly on the grill.  Toast until it is golden.  The turn and repeat on the second side.

To serve, place a burger on a single slice of Texas toast and top with the creamed spinach.

The recipe makes 4 servings.  

The creamed spinach sauce can also be used to top chicken or a pork roast.


Have a great weekend!