Baked Cod w/ Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives, by Cheryl

This is very similar to another cod dish that I frequently make. I wanted to keep a similar taste, but switch it up a little. I had bought sun-dried tomatoes at our local farmers market and thought that they'd be a great addition to this tapenade! I also added some capers, parsley, and lemon juice. This was a great meal served with pearled couscous and roasted tomatoes and zucchini. Yum! 

Ingredients:

2-4 cod fillets

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

3/4 cup black pitted olives

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp capers

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp parsley

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400. 

2) In a food processor, process the rest of the ingredients. You don't want it too smooth, but finely ground is fine. 

3) Place fish on a baking dish brushed lightly with olive oil. Put a couple of tablespoons of the mixture on top of each fish, spreading it out. 

4) Bake until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size. 

Juicy Lucy Burgers, by Diane

 

Forming the burgers

Looking good....

The final product!

I saw this burger on a cooking show, it's known all around Minneapolis as a juicy cheeseburger that leaks cheese sauce everywhere when you bite it! The secret is that the cheese is stuffed inside the burger patties rather than being laid on top, and as the burgers cook the juice of the meat blends with the melting cheese. We tried this for our latest cookout along with some homemade thousand island made with grilled diced onions (to mimic in-n-out burger!), and man were these a hit!!! We also paired them with lightly grilled King's Hawaiian rolls. These will be on heavy rotation this summer for sure, and were a nice change from the normal cheeseburgers on rotation.

PS- all recipes call for processed American cheese singles, but we want to experiment to see if other cheeses melt differently!

Ingredients (this made 3 burgers):

1 lb Ground beef (make sure to use 80/20 as the fat content helps the cheese)

Seasoning (we used a blend but salt and pepper would also work)

3 slices American cheese singles

3 Kings Hawaiian rolls

Thousand Island dressing (we blended ketchup, mayo, 1 tsp vinegar, salt, minced garlic, sweet relish, and pan fried white onions- YUM)

Sliced raw white onions

Directions:

1. Season the ground beef and separate into 6 portions. Form each one into a thin patty (these will be 3 big burgers so each patty is half a burger). It helps if you slap the meat to make sure it's held together!

2. Break each cheese slice into 4 squares and place in the center of 1 patty, then top with the remaining patties and seal the edges so the cheese sauce doesn't leak out. See first photo for reference!

3. Grill patties until cooked well on each side, flipping only once so as not to disturb the cheese. 

4. Serve immediately so the cheese sauce stays hot on a grilled bun slathered with your dressing and raw onion slices. Bite carefully- the sauce will be hot and spill everywhere!