Hellz Writer's Bacon Cheeseburger

For those of you that watch shows like Diners, Drive ins and Dives.  You may have seen those juicy burgers that can take 2-people to eat.  Maybe you have gone to that great hamburger joint that makes their burgers so big and juicy.  Yet, when you go home to make your burger, it tends to be this tiny little patty.  Hardly any flavor and it's dry. Yes, I know.  I have made those tiny little patties.  Which made me seek new ways to make food better.  Before I started to watch the Food Network, I was always experimenting with food.  Call me a self taught Chef.  I love food and if you really enjoy cooking....you will always find ways to cook it better.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of hamburger meat
• 1 lb Italian sausage {{Optional}}
• 1 package of bacon
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cilantro {{One cube}}
• 1 tbsp Garlic salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp caldo de pollo with tomato
• Buns {{I prefer the wheat kind}}
• Tomatoes
• Cheese {{Optional}}
•  Avocados {{Optional}}
• Onions

Utensils 

• Cutting board
• Measuring spoons
• Knife
• Plate
• Frying pan
• Bowl
• Spatula

Part 1: Prep

• In the bowl put the hamburger meat, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic salt, caldo de pollo, black pepper and ground cilnatro.  {{Optional: Italian sausage}}
• Mixed all the stuff together and let it marinate
• Grab your cutting board and knife onto a clean surface.  Cut your onions, avocados and tomatoes.  Place those on a clean plate

Part 2: Combination

• Wipe off your cutting board and take a handful of marinated hamburger meat
• Place the marinated hamburger meat on the cutting board.
• Form in a circular motion a patty.  Slowly pressing down. Smooth out any cracks, but keep forming it.
• Open your package of bacon
• Grab a strip of bacon. Stretch out the bacon.  Wrap the bacon around the hamburger patty.  Use a secondary bacon strip.  
• Grab 2-more strips of bacon and stretch it.  But go in the opposite direction.
• Repeat this for the remainder of your marinated meat.

Part 3: Cooking

• Cook until bacon is cooked your way.  Either crispy or soft.
• Add your choice of cheese until melted.
• Dress up your burger the way you want.  With tomatoes, avocados and onions or onion rings and whatever else you want.   

Serve with your choice of onion rings, french fries or whatever else you want.
I know I have cooked this hamburger in several different ways.  With cheese and with out.   Using the Italian sausage in it and using jalepenos in it.  So many different ways to make it.  But of course the basic recipe of it allows the hamburger to have so much flavor to it.  I know I have sauteed mushrooms in the grease of hamburgers allowing the flavor to soak into it.  My suggestion is to share with someone because this cheeseburger/hamburger can feed two people.  You will be full.  So either be starving or share.

Happy cooking

~Irenia Guajardo~

Crispy Onion Rings

Have you gone to a restaurant and had their onion rings and thought they're out of this world??  Yet when you go home and try to make them but have no idea how they make it so yummy. You buy those frozen onion rings and they just have that frozen taste to them.  Even going to those fast food places just have that frozen taste about them.  You can honestly pull out the onion from the batter.  There is just something not that great.  I have experimented with different things to getting that wonderful crispy onion rings that you can make at home.


Ingredients

• 1 Onion
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cups of bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
• 4 cups peanut oil

Utensils  

• Measuring cup
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon
• 3 bowls
• wire rack 
• Foil
• plate
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Whisk
• Pot
• fork

 Part 1: Prep

• Grab your onion and peel off the outer skin.  Wash your onion.
• Place your cutting board and knife on a clean counter.
• Slice the ends off your onion.  
• Cut your onion in nice thick slices {{about 1/4 inch thick}}
• Place your onion slices in a water bowl to let them soak in some water
• Crush your crackers into crumbs {{Unless you using bread crumbs}}
• Place the oil into your pot.  Heat till it reaches 350 degrees

Part 2: Combing

• Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, garlic in to a bowl
• Drain the onions and dust each one in the flour mixture
• Combine the egg, milk and seasoning salt and into the flour mixture creating the batter
• Set up your wire rack with the foil underneath.

Part 3: Cooking

• Coat your dusted onion rings into the batter and place them on the rack to allow drain the excess batter
• Coat them in the crumbs
• Slowly place each onion ring into the oil and let it fry till they are golden brown. 
• Place them on a paper towel to soak any excess oil.
• Repeat till all your onion rings are completed. 

**Helpful Hints**The cracker crumbs gave my onion rings an extra crunch.  Of course you can play with the seasoning.  I know not everyone has a fryer or a thermometer to tell you how hot your oil is in your pot.  Best thing is to drop a little batter and see it bubble up. Then you know it's ready.  Make sure that you are either working alone or having someone monitor the pot.  You don't want to be careless with hot oil around...

One thing about cooking is have fun....experiment with spices and you'll create a flavor you'll love

~Irenia Guajardo~