So, it's been a cold couple of weeks during which I have done a lot of hibernating indoors in my comfortable sloungewear, cooking, reading, writing and watching dvds.
Cosy and lovely as it's been, I'm ready for Spain! Of course it's winter there too and no doubt the nights will be cold, however, I'm anticipating some al fresco lunches, leisurely walks along the coast and a few glasses of vino tinto on the terrace.
As always I do prep some food for Bert because I refuse categorically now to buy ready meals. There was a time when I would have bought ready meals, stuck them in the freezer and Bert could have quickly and conveniently bunged them in the microwave, but I've returned to find, even in a short space of time, a spotty, lethargic Bert, desperate for some real food. So, as busy as he his, long working hours, a football team to manage, football matches to play, the gym etc, I feel I can hardly preach to busy working mums about cooking from scratch and then facilitate my son to take the easy option.
Whilst shopping today I looked at ready made burgers, it's hard to find free range, grass fed, ready made beef burgers, however, the best burgers I could find were priced £5.99 for four. At the lower end of the scale £1.99 for four which seems cheap (and nasty) until you compare 500g of free range minced chuck steak from my butcher, costing less than £5, out of which I made six tasty, juicy burgers......you do the maths.
Burgers are so easy to make it defies logic to buy ready made, who knows what's been minced up? I like to know exactly what's going into my burger! Once made they can be frozen so it's a good idea to double up on quantities and put some in the freezer for a quick alternative when you're pushed for time, or as in my case when Bert's pushed for time. The inspiration for these burgers came from my love of roast beef and the perfect accompaniment, mustard, the mustard is very subtle but certainly enhances the flavour of the beef. I added chilli for an extra kick but the chilli is entirely optional.
Mustard Beefburgers
Recipe
500g free range beef
1 large onion, finely diced or blitzed in a food processor
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and combine thoroughly using clean hands
Form the mixture into six burgers
Cover and chill until required
Preheat grill and cook burgers until browned and cooked to your liking, as you would steak
Serve on lightly toasted brioche buns with relish (I like beetroot) melted cheese and crispy free range streaky bacon
'Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.'
- Kim Hubbard
See you in Spain
Love Donna xxxxxxxxxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment