Lemon Basil Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

Do I have your attention? :) I love to cook, and it has a lot to do with my dad who was an AMAZING cook. I'm glad I inherited his cooking skills along with his sense of direction. LOL... Anyways, earlier this year from Tower Grove Farmer's Market I bought a whole bunch of fresh herbs and planted them in the garden. They're growing insanely now, so on a whim grabbed a huge handful of the lemon basil and made burgers. I rarely measure unless it's baking so feel free to adjust!

Lemon Basil Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms
Serves 8
Burgers
2 lbs of ground beef
lots of fresh lemon basil, finely chopped (if you can't find, I think regular basil and a splash of fresh lemon juice would work)
1 packet of lipton french onion seasoning mix
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Topping
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. of brown sugar
soy sauce
8 oz of sliced mushrooms (used the cleaned and ready kind from the store)
1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar

Combine burger ingredients throughly and make a little patty to test if it's to your liking, then divide into 8 equal patties. I was too hungry to light up the charcoal grill so I did them up in the pan. Cook to desired doneness (medium all the way! :)

I drained any remaining fat left over from burgers, but left all the brown goodness on the bottom. Over medium heat, thew the onions in, and sautéed them for about 7-8 minutes until soft. Added the brown sugar and a tiny bit of soy sauce, then cooked for additional minute. Set aside in a bowl.

Still using the same pan, I added a tiny of olive oil, then sautéed the mushrooms for 8-10 minutes until tender. Added the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in a bowl.

Assembly time! Toasted some wheat buns, then patty, melted american cheese, onions and mushrooms. If I had tomatoes or romaine lettuce handy, I would add those too. Serve with whatever.

flutter

Captured another Etsy treasury the other evening called Flutter. Just a mix things that float in the breeze. :)

I really wanted to torch this evening but it's way too hot... it's currently 93 degrees with a heat index 100 blah, blah. Even with the AC it's HOT! Oh well... the weekend shall beckon me. Everyone stay cool!

Making Glass Winestoppers

It's definitely been a long time posting... I swear I need to get better at posting more frequently! I have a tendency to run a million ways at once during the summer, so I'll use that as my excuse. :) Anyways, I'm SUPER excited because over the weekend, I made my first glass winestopper! I really the base of these because it's all stainless steel, so there is NO chance it'll chip or tarnish if left in the wine bottle. Or your olive oil bottle for that matter. :) I have two more of these that I pulled from the kiln this morning and will get pics of that up soon.

Have a Happy Monday!

I'm YARTing ~ 20% off my entire shop

Looking for the perfect piece jewelry for your friends or family? I'm participating in the YART Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST. A “Yart Sale” is an artistic spin on the traditional Yard Sale: Art + Yard Sale = “Yart Sale”. From June 10-14, all items in my Etsy shop is 20% off! I will refund the amount through PayPal.