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 ;)

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!

Gather: A Sunday Dinner with Friends

I've missed Sunday dinners for a long time. They weren't ever a huge or elaborate affair in my household growing up, however there was still something sweet and wonderful about them. I have a lot of nostalgia remembering the things Mom would cook; I'm pretty sure mashed potatoes were my obsession? But I tell Asa often that I miss Michigan (okay, ALL the time...) and one of the reasons I wish we could be closer than the six hours that we are, is because I wish we could pop in on Sundays after church to eat a meal with my family...

Sigh. Who knows where the Lord will take us in the years to come, but as you can see, meals and fellowship are important to me--to us. We've been blessed by the church we joined last September and with it, some truly amazing friends. Tim and Steph are ones that it's been so evident, God is just using immensely to be a part of our village. Y'all know the familiar saying, 'it takes a village,' in regards to raising kids--as cliche as it may sound, it is TRUE! So these two had the brilliant idea of getting together on Sundays to come around a meal; to eat food, hang out, and to just spend time together. Of course we said YES! Our kids love them, they love our kids, and both Tim and Asa love to cook. So duh. 

Not only am I obsessed with mashed potatoes (pictured above!!), I LOVE Asa's deviled eggs. He adds a piece of bacon on top and they are creamy AND tangy. I could have literally devoured the entire plate but go figure, Tim and Steph loved them too. Tim made the fried chicken (omg!!) and the greens. The whole thing was a giant Southern dream. 

It does my heart good to be able to just carefree sit around the table with friends AND our kids. Let's be real...eating with children is not exactly stress free. They whip their utensils around, spill 90% of what's on their plate, and talk/bicker LOUDLY. Oh wait, I have some proof of a big table spill below! Ha!

Reese had been playing with the salt shaker on the dining room table prior to dinner, but obviously we weren't aware. When one of us went to USE said salt shaker......well, you see what happened. It dumped ALL, OVER, THE, TABLE!!!!!!!!!!! So the second photo was everyone scrambling (minus me, oops) trying to clean it up. Oh my word, I love these people.

And last but not least, I *finally* made a homemade blueberry pie for the first time in a VERY long time. (Remember when I made a new pie a month for 12 months, a tribute to my Grandma?)

Tonight we just had our second dinner together, that I'm sure I'll get around to blogging here soon as well. On my list of must reads is Shauna Niequist's book 'Bread and Wine,' but from this book there is this magical quote that speaks to my soul: 

“The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It's about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.”

Now that you've seen OUR Sunday dinner, what do you love about Sundays? Or maybe what is a nostalgic meal you remember from your childhood? Leave a comment below and I hope you have the greatest week! 

xox