Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

easy recipes

LMD: Celebrate Summer Giveaway!

By

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

Mmm… Barbecue Season. I hope y’all enjoyed my recent Life Made Delicious post – those Grilled Chipotle Burgers with Guacamole have quickly become one of my new favourite BBQ recipes!

This is actually the first year that my husband has started to to leave his comfort zone (read: burgers and ‘dogs) with barbecuing. We’ve been trying out the smoker, using cedarwood planks to infuse flavour, choosing new cuts of meat and have even tried grilling fruit. We’re getting creative, peeps!

Life Made Delicious, your source for easy recipes, has just released a list of 10 Creative New Uses for Your Barbecue. At the top of the list? The trendiest way to barbecue… with Grilled Chicken on a Can, of course!

I don’t think we’re at that level yet… seems a teeny bit intimidating to me! Has anyone tried BBQ’ing with a beer can? What were the results?

Rounding out the Top 10 recipes are Grilled Summer Cobbler, Apricot Glazed BBQ Chicken Thighs and more. If you do make a recipe from Life Made Delicious, don’t forget to give it a “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” – the ratings are very useful to others who are considering the dish for their families. And, don’t you just love the quirky rating scale? The Grilled Summer Cobbler’s Thumbs Down – “0 people would serve it to their ex”. Ha!

Be sure to visit Life Made Delicious for more creative, easy recipes your family will love!


One lucky Listen to Lena! reader will win a “Celebrate Summer Giveaway” pack, valued at approximately $100!

It includes:
Barbecue Utensil Set
Paper Plates & Colourful Napkins
General Mills goodies from:
  Old El Paso
  Cheerios (including Chocolate Cheerios!)
  Fibre 1
  Betty Crocker
  Nature Valley

To enter, simply visit Life Made Delicious and find a favourite summer recipe that you’ve tried, or would like to try. Then, leave a comment here telling us what it is.

You can also qualify for extra entries! Remember, you must leave a separate comment for each. You can:

(1) Follow my blog, Listen to Lena!
(2) “Like” Listen to Lena! on Facebook
(3) NEW Follow Listen to Lena! on Twitter
(4) “Like” Life Made Delicious on Facebook
(5) Follow Life Made Delicious on Twitter
(6) Tweet daily: Please use this Life Made Delicious Giveaway Tweet.

I’ll draw for a winner on July 7th. Good luck everybody!

I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

BBQ’ing with Life Made Delicious!

By

Ah, one of my favourite times of year – BBQ season. It’s a time when hubby puts on his “Head Chef” hat, and I’m more than happy to oblige. You can find him flipping, grilling and smoking up a storm – hmm, why am I not as happy while slaving over a hot stove? One of life’s little mysteries, I’m sure.

My new favourite site for easy recipes – Life Made Delicious – recently sent out a list of “Top 10 Vibrant BBQ Recipes“. Eager to try out something colourful and new, I immediately picked out the featured recipe – Grilled Halibut Vera Cruz Packs.

Unfortunately, it’s harder than it seems to find quality halibut steaks in Mississauga, and as a trip to our favourite fish monger in Bloor West Village was not in the cards, I decided to go hunting for another option.

Not featured in their top 10 list, but a colourful option just the same, is their Grilled Chipotle Burgers with Guacamole. I was happy to see I had all the ingredients on hand, including a can of Old El Paso Chopped Green Chillies which had been hanging out in my pantry for some time now. Don’t you just love discovering those hidden gems?

INGREDIENTS

Burgers
2 1/2 lb (1.25 kg) lean ground beef
1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper sauce
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt, if desired
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can Old El Paso Chopped Green Chilies
3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, undrained
8 slices Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, if desired
8 burger buns, split
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
Guacamole
2 large avocados, pitted, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp (15 mL) lime juice

The recipe posted above serves 8 but I scaled it back to just 4 servings. I opted to pass on the guacamole and just top the burger with avocado slices instead – an option listed in the original recipe. Also, we are a family of burgers sans tomato, so unfortunately that colourful element was missing… but the burgers were delicious, nonetheless.

DIRECTIONS

Heat gas or charcoal grill. In large bowl, mix beef, green chiles and chipotle chiles. Shape into 8 patties, about 3/4 inch thick. In medium bowl, mash guacamole ingredients, using pastry blender or fork.

Place patties on grill over medium heat. cover grill; cook 13 to 15 minutes, turning once, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160ºF (71ºC). Top each patty with cheese slice; cook just until cheese is melted. To toast buns, place cut sides down on grill during last 1 to 2 minutes of cook time.

Layer buns with tomato slices, burgers and guacamole.

I only used about half the can of green chillies, but I will make this recipe again using close to a whole can. We just loved the spicy, tangy flavour! I also added a dash of salt, as it was an optional ingredient, and do recommend adding it to the burgers. I was a little worried that I didn’t have to add egg and breadcrumbs as a bunding agent, but the patties held together very well. All in all, the combination of flavourful beef, cheese and buttery avocado made this BBQ recipe a hit!

Click here for more easy recipes from Life Made Delicious.

I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.