Old-Fashioned Burgers

Actually, we attempted to copy Smashburger with these. Pretty darn close. Ground beef, 15% fat, rolled into balls of about 1/4 pound each. Melt a bit of butter on a griddle warmed to 400 degrees. When butter sizzles, add meat and smash it down thin with a spatula. Let burgers cook until there's a brown crust. Flip and cook for just a couple more minutes. They'll be done quickly after the flip. Butter soft buns and place butter-side-down on the griddle until browned. Add your favorite burger goodies. For us, it was a little bacon, mayo-ketchup mixed, tomato, lettuce and onion. Butter is magical.

Leftovers Salad

Chopped grilled chicken, tomatoes and corn - all leftovers, tossed with grated cheddar cheese and chopped Romaine. We topped wtih ranch dressing.

Strawberry-Blueberry Trifle

Layers of diced angel food cake sprinkle with orange juice, sliced strawberries, blueberries and freshly-whipped cream.

Leftover Pizza Dough

 I thought it might make nice pretzels. Kinda. The dough rose a lot more than I thought it would when baking. I brushed the formed pretzels with butter and sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. They tasted right, but were too puffy.

Pot Roast Weather

Rain. Rain. Rain. Good week to simmer feel-good smells in the crockpot. Every time I make a pot roast, I always wish I had added more carrots. They might be the best part of the pot.

Tomato Bisque

I need to get my hands on a reliable tomato bisque recipe. This is a Schwan's frozen soup. Very tasty in a pinch, but I'm sure homemade would be even better.

Bacon Cup Noodles

I'd taste test these...if I could find them.