Bacon Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger Casserole

So, here's the deal. I'll keep it short and sweet.

Because it's Friday, and because I love you guys, we are going to take my favorite burger and make it into a casserole.

Stay with me because things are about to get crazy. You want this--nay, you NEED this in your life. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I dreamed up this recipe, but if I were this creative all the time I like to think that I'd be in a pretty good place in life.

This Bacon Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger Casserole is essentially a really delicious deconstructed burger. We are taking bold flavors and we are being bold.

I took some inspiration from my Mom's Macaroni and Cheese recipe, namely by creating a simple cheese sauce by melting a block of cheese into condensed soup. Only this time, we will melt swiss cheese into mushroom soup. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Bacon is baked until crispy, ground beef is browned and crumbled, and the whole kit and caboodle gets mixed together with orecchiette pasta then topped with crispy french fried onions! Bam! Burger casserole.

By the way what does the phrase kit and caboodle actually mean? Where the heck did it come from and who was the first soul to utter the phrase? I'm not sure how I feel about it...

I digress...

French Onion Pasta

 

Why does everything become ten times better when you add bubbly, melted cheese on top?

I'm talking about French Onion Soup. Tender onions in a salty brown broth served in cute, rustic soup bowls with a generous layer of cheese melted on top. Oh boy, I need some now.

While this soup is usually an appetizer, this recipe will take everything we love about French Onion Soup and make it a hearty, comforting meal

This dinner is adapted from a post I saw on Pinterest a while back. I am such a sucker for recipes that take a traditional dish and put a new spin on it. See: Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese.

All the basic principles of French Onion Soup are built up in a delicious, thick sauce then poured over pasta and baked with mozzarella cheese on top. If your knees have gone weak at this point, I can understand.

If the flavor profiles weren't enough, this meal is so easy to put together and you most likely have a bunch of the ingredients laying around the kitchen.

We begin by caramelizing slices of onion in unsalted butter over medium-low heat. I added just a scant teaspoon of salt along with 1/2 teaspoon of honey to get the process going. Don't overdo the salt here because there are other salty elements joining the party.

For the perfect caramelized onion, see my how-to post!

While the onions are caramelizing, a small shallot and a glove of garlic are diced. Once the onions are browned and tender, add the shallots and garlic.

A full-bodied red wine deglazes the pan and helps pick up bits of onion on the bottom. I used a good Pinot Noir, but a Marsala is also an obvious choice.

Once some of the alcohol cooks out, mix in beef broth. Bring to a boil, stir in a packet of onion soup mix (try Lipton) then simmer on low until thickened.

A tablespoon or so of fresh parsley and cracked black pepper brightens up the sauce.

A touch of flour and a couple of tablespoons of milk make this sauce ready for the pasta.

Everything is transferred to a baking dish and gets topped with shredded mozzarella cheese. Then under the broiler it goes until perfectly melted and browned and crispy. YUM!

I am posting this as my first "Meatless Monday"--many thanks to my friend for the suggestion! If you would prefer to not use the beef broth, vegetable stock would also taste great with this dish.

The sweetness of the caramelized onions adds a great compliment to the salty onion soup mix. The wine gives the sauce body and richness, while the parsley adds freshness throughout. Melted mozzarella cheese is simply perfect. This is a real winner!

Cobb Salad Chicken Burgers

Cobb salad is such a classic dish. Wikipedia (very reliable internet source) tells me it has been around since the 1930s! It's simple but elegant and keeps people coming back for more.

For a salad, it is pretty robust. You get a good amount of protein from hard boiled eggs, added creaminess from avocado slices, a crunchy salty delight from bacon bits, and tartness from bleu cheese. All of these elements are served over a bed of lettuce and tomatoes with a red wine vinaigrette to create a traditional Cobb salad.

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I wanted to think of a fun new way to enjoy all the flavors of Cobb salad without eating a salad for dinner (don't judge me!).

So here's how tonight's dinner progressed. I thought "ok, Cobb salad is often served with chicken on top. I like chicken." Next I thought..."well, I really like burgers. All kinds of burgers."

Chicken...burgers...Cobb...salad...yes!

This recipe for Cobb Salad Chicken Burgers is simple and inviting. The flavors are all very familiar, yet when they are served in burger form on a bun, there is a nice complexity added to each ingredient.

The freshness of the toppings pairs well with the richness of our chicken patties, which I amped up by mixing them with panko breadcrumbs, blue cheese crumbles, and fresh parsley. Grilled up perfectly.

After hard boiling a couple of eggs, I created an egg salad topping. Diced eggs are mixed together with a dressing of greek yogurt, dijon mustard, chives, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of sugar. If you have any of this leftover, it makes a great egg salad sandwich for lunch!

Crispy bacon. Swoon.

Now all that's left is burger construction. This is my favorite part!

Toasted bun.

Burger. Egg salad. Bacon.

Avocado. Tomato. Lettuce.

The other bun.

Smash it down, cut it in half, and take a big bite. And always be on the look out for creepy kitty photobombers...

This is a great weeknight dinner that comes together in no time. It's also a real crowd pleaser. I served it alongside a mix of grains and steamed veggies, but french fries are also a logical accoutrement. So creative and super satisfying!

Inspired: A Delicious Dinner Salad

Every now and then, we all have that moment where our minds are just bursting with creative ideas. For me, that tends to happen in the kitchen because I am simply not the artsy type. Food, if you will, is my canvas.

Ok, I’ll leave the lame metaphors there. Because my creative food endeavors are not my point here. My point is, more often than not, we foodies need to be inspired by others and cannot always rely on our little brains to think up something delicious. Cooking has been a part of mankind’s everyday life since…well, a whole lot of years ago. People have tried and failed and tried again and succeeded in the kitchen – why not learn from the mistakes and conquests of others when it comes to our bellies?!

I have always been of the belief that recipes are out there to help jump-start our creative juices. Save for baking, they are really more like guidelines and suggestions and tips. As I have tried different meals and techniques, I find myself becoming inclined to try my luck cooking different dishes I have out at restaurants in my home kitchen.

And why not?! If we have a meal that is so memorable we want to recreate on our own, it must have been a delight!

Pretty much everything I have eaten at Parish Café on Boylston Street has been amazing. I absolutely love this place – lunch, dinner, anytime of day I could eat their food. Their sandwich menu is a compilation of great sandwiches from chefs at other restaurants throughout Boston, and they also have entrees from their chefs. Some of the sandwiches are too amazing and complex to recreate, though I don’t mind the excuse of needing to go to Parish to have one.

However, a few months ago I had the Hot and Cold Chicken Salad (a Parish-original) and enjoyed it so much that I started thinking about how I could recreate it at home. It is a sweet and sour salad with warm chicken and rice alongside cool, crisp veggies and sweet caramelized almonds. The dressing is a delightful teriyaki vinaigrette.  I made a few adjustments to account for things I had around the house. Overall, it was truly reminiscent of this excellent entree salad. Give it a try, and if you like what you have here then head on over to Parish Cafe for the original!

Here's what you need:

1 head romaine lettuce
3 handfuls of arugula (I was really arbitrary with the measurements -- apologies in advance!)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1 fruit cup of mandarin oranges, drained of the juice
2 sliced chicken breasts
2 cups rice (preferably stick, but I happened to have brown rice on hand and it worked well!)
Ken's Asian Sesame Ginger Soy Low Fat Salad Dressing
Low sodium soy sauce
Lime juice
Olive oil
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic

Here's what you do:

Cook the rice according to the package, replacing 1 cup water with 1 cup low sodium chicken broth.
Sautee or grill the chicken in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon minced garlic. Set aside to cool.
Toast your almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degress for 5 minutes or so. DO NOT BURN!
 Roughly chop the romaine lettuce and toss in a large mixing bowl with the arugula.
Cut off the tips of the sugar snap peas and add to your mixing bowl along with the drained mandarin oranges.
In a small bowl, add 3 parts of the sesame ginger dressing with 1 part soy sauce, 1 part lime juice and 1 part olive oil. I cannot say exactly what measurements I had for the dressing, but this is the ratio of that. Adjust it continually as you taste the mixture. Add salt and pepper. Taste again and adjust as you please.
Add the dressing gradually to the lettuce mixture, tossing to coat. Do not add all of it at once -- do this in waves to assure you are not left with a soggy bowl of veggies.

 On each serving dish, scoop 2 large spoonfuls of rice onto the center of the dish. Top with a generous helping of the salad mix and 4 to 5 slices of chicken breast. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and enjoy!

I made this meal when it was over 90 degrees here in Boston. It was a quick and low maintenance dinner that required very little time over the stove which was so worth it in the heat! Plus, it was light, refreshing, and filling. Although not exactly like the original dish, it definitely had the sweet and sour, warm and cold harmony I was looking for! Yuuuuuummmmmmyyyyyy!

Have you ever recreated or thought to try making a dish that you had at a restaurant? How did it go?!