New recipes and cooking methods

Due to necessity, I had to come up with a new way to make hamburgers! I have always broiled burgers under the oven broiler setting on a broiler pan (unless it's summer and I was using an outdoor grill). First off, let me say that since I can remember I have never really liked home made burgers. But DH likes them and they have always been an easy meal to make for the family, so they have always been our our dinner menu list every so often. I have never figured out how to keep the patties from shrinking up so much, either.

Fast forward to our new house here and the weird set up that there is no oven vent to outside. Seriously, dumbest thing ever. There is a microwave over the oven with a fan underneath that just blows the smoke into the kitchen. Again, dumbest thing ever. I probably make burgers about once a month or so. First time I tried it set off the smoke alarm....the next time I kept the sliding door open, but that was when the temperature wasn't 5 degrees outside, so needless to say we have not had burgers in a couple of months.

Last week (as I'm running out of dinner ideas) I decided to give frying the burgers in a fry pan a try. I was looking at google and saw a recipe to saute some chopped onion in the pan first and fry patties on top. So, I gave it a try. OMG! Best burger I have ever eaten (and that includes some good ones at restaurants). They were so juicy and didn't really shrink up. Plus the onion gave the burgers great added flavor. We liked them so much, I made them for dinner again last night (and was able to use up some more of the buns leftover). And, there was very little smoke and no alarms going off!

I was also craving chocolate cake a week or so ago but didn't have any cake mixes in my pantry. But I do have baking cocoa in my pantry, so I made a cake from scratch. It was yummy but did sink in the middle a bit. Not sure what caused that. Google gives several possibilities as so why, but sounds like maybe I over mixed the batter with my kitchenaid mixer. The cake and texture reminded me a lot of the yummy (from scratch of course) chocolate cake my grandma used to make.