Kafta Burger Patties

Posted by CK in bbq, beef, budget, burger, easy, onion, parsley, recipe

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BBQ season is upon us! For what has now become a traditional annual cottage week end, this Canada day week end will be spent eating and bathing at a friend's cottage. Unfortunately, cottage-time often means quick and easy meals, which often equals store-bought hot dogs and burgers, and whatever other fast food you can find.

Since both A and I are trying to watch what we eat, I inspired myself from last year's sweet and sour chicken skewers and amazing pasta salad, and decided to prepare everything ahead. That way, we'll make sure that we eat right and light. As I'm sure a whole bunch of other posts will follow post-cottage, I'll give you a pre-taste of the meals we'll be enjoying at the cottage. Let's start with burgers!

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This burger patty is a traditional Lebanese recipe (a.k.a Kafta) and is absolutely fantastic! These patties cost me around 7$ to make, if not less (for 10 regular size patties).

You'll need:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• half an onion, diced
• half a bunch of parsley, cut up into the tiniest pieces possible
• 2 stalks green onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

The steps are very simple: 

1. Mix all your ingredients in a bowl, making sure your veggies mesh well with the meat (think of it as kneading the meat)
2. Once everything is mixed well, form 10 balls, approximately the size of golf balls (maybe slightly bigger)
3. Take each ball and flatten it on the palm of your hand. Note: If the meat is sticking to your hand, don't hesitate to dab a little bit of cold water into the palm of your hand.

That's it. That's all. If you're not planning on eating them right away, freeze them!

If your boyfriend is anything like mine and likes the raw taste of meat, avoid buying the pre-made-fully-packed-with-fake-food burger patties, and simply add salt and pepper to a pound of lean ground beef and form patties. 

Enjoy BBQ season and stay tuned for our other cottage recipes! 

- CK

Spicy Lime and Honey Chicken

Posted by CK in bbq, chicken, easy, honey, lime, recipe

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Now that summer is right outside our door, the BBQ's are out!! Lately, I've had a craving chicken wings. I know, I know. Not very healthy you'll say. But I guess it all depends how it's prepared! BBQ or bake your wings and you'll see all the difference in the world :)

So, in addition to the most delicious sweet and sour sauce (tried it on wings - marinated them overnight in this sauce, it was absolutely fantastic!), I'm adding this spicy lime and honey sauce. Very easy and quick to make. Great to prepare for cottage week ends or summer potlucks! I adjusted this recipe from the What's Cooking, Chicago? blog since I didn't have all the ingredients. I also used chicken breasts instead of wings because I didn't have any wings available :(

Ingredients (Yields 3 portions):

• 1/3 cup lime juice 
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tsp ground hot peppers (adjust according to spiciness liking)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 chicken breasts

Method:

1. Pre-heat your BBQ or grill pan to medium-high heat.
2. Prepare the marinade: Mix the lime juice, honey and ground hot peppers in a bowl and place aside. (Note: the original recipe asks to cook this sauce until it slightly thickens. I didn't try that, but go ahead and play around with this recipe!)
3. Toss the chicken breasts with the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. Grill the chicken until marked, turning as needed.
5. Baste your chicken with the marinade until your chicken is fully cooked. Make sure to keep basting to ensure that the chicken stays moist. 

You can also marinate overnight your chicken breasts/wings in a combination of all the ingredients and simply grill them the next day. I'll definitely try that out at my next BBQ! :)

Enjoy!

- CK