Liven Up Your Next Cookout: Peach Bourbon Jalapeno Jelly Burger with White Cheddar + Caramelized Onions

Another burger recipe, because we just couldn’t NOT share it. So many asked us about the Kentucky Derby Winning Burger and I loved hearing how much you loved it once you made it! We all know Asa is the Chef behind everything and I’m the lucky one who gets to indulge in his creations after I take pretty pictures! For your Twinning Tuesday, we are sharing a new burger favorite: Asa’s Peach Bourbon Jalapeno Jelly Burger with White Cheddar and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Butter (separated)
Red Onion-Thinly Sliced
Good Buns (We prefer Pretzel or Brioche)
1 lbs Kentucky Cattleman’s Ground Beef
1 Cup Peach Jelly
2 oz of Bourbon
1 Jalapeno Minced
1 Cup Shredded White Cheddar
Salt and Pepper

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Start by putting your thinly sliced red onion into a sauce pan with 1 tbsp butter and a pinch of salt. Over medium heat cook until the onions are a deep brown color and fully caramelized. Stirring occasionally as the cook. This will take approx. 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pot, add 1 tbsp butter and jalapeño and sautéed over medium high heat. Add to that the jelly and the bourbon and whisk to combine. The jelly should be rather thin at this point. Continue cooking over medium high heat until the jelly has thickened and reduced. Approx. 5 minutes. Set aside and allow it to cool.

Portion out the Cattleman’s ground beef into three equal portions. Form into patties and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Grill over medium high heat until you have achieved your desired doneness. Add the shredded white cheddar to the top of the burger in the last minute or so to allow time for it to melt.

Assembly: Lightly butter and toast the top and bottom buns. Place the bottom bun, burger and cheese down. Top that with the caramelized onion. Add a generous portion of the peach, bourbon jalapeño jelly to the top bun and set onto.

You will definitely liven up your next cookout with this burger recipe! It’s savory, sweet AND spicy, and don’t forget to use Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef to make it! The quality of meat DOES matter and I promise your burgers will always be better with this brand. PS: nope, this wasn’t sponsored. We just love it that much ;)

The Best Layered Dip You Need this Summer

Don’t you love a good 7-Layered Dip?! It’s SO easy to make and everyone loves it. I mean c’mon, layers of creamy and fresh ingredients spread into a 9x13 pan, how simple can a recipe get? Throw some tortilla chips on the side and you have perfect dippers to pair alongside it.

This dip has seven (obviously) layers to it and creating them was super quick and easy. Here’s what the layers are:

• Refried beans

• Sour cream (mixed with cream cheese and our newfound friend Dano’s Seasoning [found at Kroger just like the rest of this!])

• Guacamole

• Salsa (drained)

• Cheese

• Green onions

• Olives or tomatoes

Jalapenos and cilantro are also great toppers for this Mexican 7 layer dip, you can simply get creative and have fun with this.

This dip was a hit in our household and I may or may not have taken a HUGE portion for lunch the next day and then had MORE the following night. This will be GREAT to take to family functions this summer, potlucks, holiday parties, you name it. All of our ingredients were found at our local Kroger, including the Dao’s Seasoning (which is SO good, Y’all!!)

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 :)

Homemade Baked Mac n' Cheese, Yes, Please!

Reese is definitely a mac n’ cheese gal but let’s face it…who doesn’t love it? Asa has made his from scratch for a long time and it’s a huge hit at family functions and get togethers, but for this dish he found a new recipe that is absolutely to die for!

We worked with Kroger and the campaign was for a Southern Comfort meal. This dinner hit the SPOT for that comfort food deliciousness, so much so that I may have eaten directly out of the tray once I cleaned my plate. Oh my word, Ashley… that’s embarrassing.

Okay, want the recipe?? I expect this to be on your family’s weekend menu and I want to know how you like it! This dish was inspired by Mom On Timeout’s blog post, so I cannot take the credit, she totally deserves it all! :)

PS: we were in an airbnb when we made this dish, as our home was still being fixed up. Hence the reason for the disposable tray and a room you may not recognize at the bottom of this post ;)

Ingredients:

• 16 oz elbow macaroni, cooked (or other tubular pasta)

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 3 cups whole milk

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded

• 2 cups Gruyere cheese shredded

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs

• 4 tbsp butter melted

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded

• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a large 3 qt or 4 qt baking dish and set aside.Combine shredded cheeses in a large bowl and set aside.

• Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente according to the package instructions. Remove from heat, drain, and place in a large bowl.

• Drizzle pasta with olive oil and stir to coat pasta. Set aside to cool while preparing cheese sauce.

• Melt butter in a deep saucepan, dutch oven, or stock pot.

• Whisk in flour over medium heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute until bubbly and golden.

• Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream until nice and smooth. Continue whisking until you see bubbles on the surface and then continue cooking and whisking for another 2 minutes. Whisk in salt and pepper.

• Add two cups of shredded cheese and whisk until smooth. Add another two cups of shredded cheese and continue whisking until creamy and smooth. Sauce should be nice and thick.

• Stir in the cooled pasta until combined and pasta is fully coated with the cheese sauce.

• Pour half of the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese and then the remaining mac and cheese.

• In a small bowl, combine panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, melted butter and paprika. Sprinkle over the top and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

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A few tips from her blog that we also can’t emphasize enough:

Use block cheese and shred, do NOT buy the pre-shredded cheese. Yes, shredded cheese is so easy and serves so many purposes in homemade meals…but NOT for this! It is coated and will not melt properly. You need to shred it yourself for the best result.

Also—cook your pasta to slightly less than al dente, about one minute shy is great. The reason is that this is baked mac and cheese so the pasta will continue to cook in the homemade cheese sauce in the oven. Nobody likes soggy macaroni!

This mac and cheese recipe starts with a roux. The roux is crucial for getting the creamiest cheese sauce ever! Here is what you need to look for:

• The roux (equal parts butter and flour) is whisked together until bubbly and golden.

• Whisk in cold milk – not warm – to prevent the flour from clumping.

• Cook the roux until you see bubbles on the surface and then continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes before adding the cheese.

For an extra bang of flavor, add Parmesan to the Panko topping – cheese upon cheese upon cheese upon cheese. Always and forever, amen. What are you waiting for? Order your groceries, add these items, and get cooking! Comment here when you’ve tried it, I wanna know what you’d rate this!