Let's Make the 2021 Derby Winning Burger!

Y’all love recipes so I am here to DELIVER! The Kentucky Derby is SATURDAY, hello!!? That is amazing and it is one of my very favorite times of the year. If you’ve been here long enough you probably remember that I moved to Kentucky FROM Michigan at the age of eighteen in hopes of becoming a jockey. What!?? Sure did. I worked at Churchill Downs my Freshman year of college at U of L and what an experience it was. Obviously I’m not a jockey…and now owning my own off the track Thoroughbred I kinda have a love/hate relationship with the sport?? But still! This time of year is SO FUN, especially when you live here!

So let’s chat about the running for the 2021 Derby Burger Challenge. Judges selected the top 8 burgers and voting happened online—guidelines included judging for creativity, burger descriptions (photos + videos that would make the judges crave a TASTE), and ease of preparation.

DING DING DING!!! Want to know which burger WON???

A burger made by Brian Capps of Louisville, KY!!! His burger, made with 100% Kentucky Cattlemen’s ground beef is packed with FLAVOR. The patty is topped with brie, thick-cut bacon, a blueberry bourbon sauce and arugula - all on a brioche bun. So leave it to Asa, to completely re-create this dish, and to do it to a TEE. I am not typically a cheeseburger gal, I’m going to be 100000% honest. I have preferred veggie burgers the past five years (if not more) when Asa makes burgers in our household. But when he made this one, I literally could NOT resist. I firmly believe it was the Kentucky Cattlemen’s ground beef that made the biggest difference. On top of that, the blueberry bourbon sauce is to die for, not to mention the brie (I’m definitely a cheese gal…) and the delicious crispy bacon.

We think YOU should make it! And I want to hear all about it when you do. Who is up for the challenge? I knowwww I have a lot of women following/reading here whose men love to grill and whip up some burgers; so why not try this one in honor of our 147th Kentucky Derby!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef or 1 package Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef Patties 
4 slices cooked thick cut bacon, halved 
1  wheel of brie cheese, rind removed, sliced ¼ inch thick 
1  pint fresh blueberries 
1 lemon, halved 
1/8 cup white sugar 
2 tsp. cornstarch 
1 1/2 tsp. bourbon 
2 - brioche buns 
2 Tbsp. salted butter 
Arugula
¼ tsp. course kosher salt 
¼ tsp. coarse black pepper

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HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Form ground beef into two patties that are slightly larger than your buns, set aside. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add butter and sliced buns, cook until golden brown, set aside. 

2. Salt & pepper both sides of burger patty, cook over medium heat in cast iron skillet. Cook until internal temperature reaches 160°F degrees, turn off heat add cheese and cover with lid until melted. Remove to a plate to rest. 

3. Add blueberries to small pot, add sugar, and juice from half of a lemon, cook on med/low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch with just enough water to become a slurry. Slowly add just enough slurry to thicken blueberry mixture slightly. Remove mixture from the heat and stir in the Bourbon. 

4. Build burger: Place bottom bun down, add burger patty with brie cheese, bacon and pour some blueberry sauce over bacon until it runs off, add arugula and top bun.

That recipe is straight from Kentucky Cattlemen’s Beef website, who we were privileged to partner with when making this divine burger, and one thing I want to add, is that the QUALITY of your beef MATTERS. Both Asa and I have noticed a huge difference when we use Kentucky Cattlemen’s ground beef, as opposed to when we don’t, and this is completely authentic on my behalf (they haven’t sponsored this particular blog post!) We paired the burger with a side of curly fries, and while it’s pretty rare for me to completely clear my dinner plate? I definitely cleared this one.

Fun fact if ya wanna be lazy and NOT make this? This exact burger will be served at 80/20 @ Kaelin’s as a featured menu item from 4/21 – 5/2!

So what do you think?? Are you making this? Share in the comments if you’re game or if you’re gonna go grab it at a local restaurant :)

Easy and Healthy Mediterranean Lamb Bowls

When you think of a summer dinner, what sounds GOOD? For me I tend to lean towards fresh, light, and usually on the healthier side. There is something about these HOT and humid Kentucky days that make my taste buds crave less calories.

We recently partnered with Kroger to show how they support our local brands, and while this blog post is NOT sponsored, it is thanks to them that we found and created this dish and I wanted to share! I haven’t eaten a lot of lamb in my lifetime, but that’s what we went with when working with Kroger, to help promote Freedom Run Farm. Let me tell you, this lamb was DELICIOUS!! We looked up recipe ideas for working with ground lamb and we were led to Fox and Briar’s blog. She introduced us to this INCREDIBLE Mediterranean Lamb Bowl and I had to share with YOU.

For the Spiced Ground Lamb:

• 1 pound ground lamb

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/4 cup finely diced onion

• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• salt to taste

• pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped plus more for garnish

• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped + a little more for garnish

Ingredients for the Bowls:

• 1 cup Turmeric Rice or other rice of choice

• Spiced Ground Lamb

• 1 tomato diced

• 1 cucumber peeled and diced

• 1 cup hummus homemade or store bought

• 1 cup feta cheese

• 2 pita bread optional, for serving

To Make The Spiced Ground Lamb:
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add your onions and garlic.  Sauté all of this for five minutes, until starting to soften and then add the ground lamb.  Brown the lamb until cooked through. Add paprika, allspice, red pepper flakes, ginger, salt and pepper.  Mix until fully combined, cook for one or two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs. To assemble the bowls, layer the Turmeric Rice, top with some of the spiced lamb, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and feta. Sprinkle it with fresh mint and parsley! (It’s DELICIOUS!)

I think Asa has made this almost every week since discovering this recipe. He put his own little touches on it, but overall this comes from Fox and Briar. Make this for your next date night, family night, or when you have some friends over. The vibrant Turmeric Rice with the veggies and cheese and pita is SUCH a fun and refreshing meal. We bought some hummus and spinach dip to use on the pita’s, and every bite was filled with so much YUM! Let me know if you make it, I want to hear your spin on it and how/if you enjoyed it as much as we do.

Happy Summer dining, Friends! Stay safe stay well!

xx

Delicious, Simple, Must Make Cinnamon Rolls

Making homemade cinnamon rolls has always been an intimidating thought for me…it always seemed like so much dang work. I won’t say this was incredibly fast, but it’s a straightforward recipe and I am so excited to share it with you.

Here’s how to make the dough. Make sure you have these ingredients:
-1 cup warm milk (heated to 110-degrees)
-4.5 cups flour
-2 eggs room temperature
-1/3 cup melted butter
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup white sugar
-2.5 teaspoons yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, butter, salt, and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large bowl, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until it is doubled in size.

We discovered our kitchen was too chilly. We had tried to cover the yeast as directed and set a timer for an hour. It hadn’t risen at all. So my husband googled a solution and read that we should get the oven warm, not hot, so around 100-degrees. He did that for a minute or so, turned the oven back off, and closed the bowl inside. After about an hour inside the oven (remember, not HOT, just warm) the dough rose just as it needed to!

What’s next…
You’ll need these ingredients for the delicious, mouth watering, filling:
-1 cup of packed brown sugar
-2.5 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
-1/3 cup melted butter

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out on a lightly floured surface, cover, and let rest for 10 more minutes. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 16x21 rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up the dough starting on the long side and cut into 12 rolls. Place them into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled (about 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Bake rolls until they are golden brown (about 20 minutes). While the rolls are baking, beat together the frosting mixture:
-1 (3oz) package softened cream cheese
-1/4 cup softened butter
-1.5 cups powdered sugar
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/8 teaspoon salt

Here are what the rolls looked like after they rose, and before they were baked:

Here’s where I get to be completely honest with you, AND shock you. I did not make these.

My husband did.

I know, I know, I know. That is so shocking because I am SO crafty in the kitchen and I do so well there. But I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. I was all ready to help earlier in the day, but when the dough took longer than expected, we weren’t sure how this would all turn out aaaand I needed to head to the barn. So this is all Ace. And when I came home from the barn, we had these bad boys for dinner.

The kids were especially excited about this dinner option. Seriously, these cinnamon rolls were so soft, the frosting was perfection, and the sugar and cinnamon was all bubbly and caramelized. If you are someone who can wake up and make these beauties bright and early, go for it! But I am so glad we had these for dinner and I think they would be perfect for a brunch or girls night too. This is based entirely on the fact that I despise mornings, and my husband who IS the cook of the house, said that this was a little more work than he would normally want to do on the average morning for breakfast ;)

It is thanks to the Bakerlady that I found this recipe on Pinterest. And you can find her blog and post here! PS: who doesn’t want buns of cinnamon?! Here’s to all the cinnamon rolls and to the wonderful people you enjoy them with!

How to Make your Own Play Dough + Add Essential Oils

We’re all in this together. Stuck at home. Unsure of what’s going on in the world. Trying to avoid spreading germs and keeping those at risk around us SAFE. So with that comes a LOT of time. Our kids are in first and second grade and they love school. Their teachers are phenomenal, and daily they were being challenged to excel and shine in their every day lessons. We know that while we may not be first and second grade specific teachers, that our kids are blessed to have TWO teacher parents, who are able to be hands on and attentive during this time at home. We do not take this lightly, nor do we take it for granted. Prayerfully, nor do they…

Today after their math and reading lessons we wanted to do a fun science activity. We have been talking a lot about using resources that we already have on hand at home, so when they recently realized that their own store bought Play-doh was pretty dried up, we were inspired to make our own. The kids were so intrigued and Y’all, this was SO easy!

Here is what you would need:

• 1 cup of water

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or I have read that vegetable or olive works)

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 1/2 cup of salt

• 1 cup of flour

• food coloring of choice + essential oils

You will mix everything together in a sauce pan on the stove over low/medium heat. For us it took less than two minutes to have it all stirred in and at that dough like consistency. We let it cool, then brought to the table to let the kids get started!

I saw this recipe from my friend Casey on Instagram, she is the QUEEN of DIY with her adorable girls and she is such a fun and totally real mama. (Check out her blog HERE!) Using Essential Oils to add to the homemade play-dough made this activity even more enjoyable for us as a family. We are treading through uncharted territories with this COVID-19 and stress levels can get quite high. Essential Oils in general tend to help support our emotions and today they definitely boosted our spirits AND made our house so delicious smelling. We used lemon, lavender, peppermint, and last minute I grabbed the ylang ylang to add to our pink play-dough.

Did you know that all of those oils have a huge variety of benefits when we use them!?
Lemon: refreshing, energizing, uplifting AND has anti-fungal properties
Lavender: also has anti-fungal and microbial properties, is calming, and uplifting
Peppermint: energizes, disinfects, largely energizing, and is a great oil to boost spirits
Ylang Ylang: “flower of flowers,” this one is a big mood enhancer and stress reducer and it smells heavenly!

We added about 5-10 drops of the chosen essential oil to each mound of play-doh, and overall, this activity was a WIN. The kids thanked us several times throughout the day for making it with them, they played with it super often, and the density and texture of the play-dough was spot on. Even if you don’t have kids, I still recommend making this. What a great sensory activity for you to do AT HOME, while you have a LOT of time on your hands. If you are local reading this and don’t have oils but would like to try them? E-mail or text me and I’m happy to gift you some samples. We can even practice our social distancing skills and I can leave them on the porch or in the mailbox for you ;) Seriously though. Need oils? Holler at your girl. And if you try this recipe, will you please tag me in any Instagram or Facebook posts/stories you may do!? Find me at Instagram here!

Praying for all of you, sincerely! Thanks for reading and browsing through these photos. As always, hit reply or contact me through this page.