Tonight was an exciting night.  After a long winter we uncovered the grill and barbecued some burgers.  That is one of my ALL-TIME favorite smells (anything cooking on the grill)!  It instantaneously puts me in a good mood and just as instantaneously makes my stomach growl.  You can make your burgers any way you like, but this is one of my favorite recipes I learned when I lived in Italy.  I never thought you could get such a flavorful patty from a bouillon cube.  Do your best to find Knorr even if you have to order it.  It's the secret ingredient to the flavor in the burgers.  We just happened to have some tzatziki sauce in the fridge and an avocado laying around that needed to be used.  Voila!  Avocado Tzatziki Burgers!    

Drew was hungry for fries, so we pulled out the air fryer.  Anytime I make fries, I love to add a little truffle.  You didn’t think you could make your own truffle fries at home?  Don’t be silly.  It’s so simple.  Buy yourself a small jar of truffle salt.  I bought mine on Amazon.  When your fries are done cooking from whatever method you prefer, put them in a ramekin, sprinkle them with the truffle salt, a little pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.  Broil them on high for a couple of minutes or just long enough to melt the cheese.  That’s it!  You just took your ordinary everyday plain fries up a notch and made some ridiculously impressive truffle fries!  (Watch them closely when broiling.  They brown quickly and will burn if you take your eye off them too long).

For the salad, I’m ALWAYS looking for good ways to make a quick and easy one.  A few weeks ago Whole Foods was sampling these two products from Green Joy pictured below.  One’s a gluten free Parmesan balsamic salad dressing, and the other is a cinnamon coconut salad mixer (a blend of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds).  They’re both amazing and when used together turn any field greens into a spectacular salad.  Generally, I’m not a fan of many gluten free dressings.  It’s like pizza dough.  It’s a hard thing to do right, but this one knocks my socks off.  It’s incredibly delish, and you’d never know it’s gluten free.  Tonight’s salad was three simple ingredients.  See recipe below.  Dinner complete, under 30 minutes, and my backyard smells a little bit like heaven.  

Recipe for Avocado Tzatziki Burgers:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (I like to use 80% lean / 20% fat)

• 1 Knorr beef bouillon cube, minced into fine pieces

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 avocado, sliced 

• tzatziki sauce, desired amount

• salt, to taste

• hamburger buns

Directions:

Combine two tablespoons of water and the bouillon cube in a microwavable measuring cup.  Heat the mixture in the microwave in increments of 15 seconds until the bouillon cube dissolves, stirring in between each cycle.  In a medium bowl, add the ground beef and egg.  Mix well using your hands.  Add in the bouillon mixture and breadcrumbs and mix until combined.  Loosely form four patties.  Lightly salt each patty, to taste.  Light your grill.  When the fire is medium hot, oil the grate.  Grill the burgers for about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through.  Set aside to rest for 3-5 minutes.  When ready to assemble, put your burger on the bottom half of a bun.  Add a layer of sliced avocado.  Top with a generous spoonful or two of tzatziki sauce.  Cover with top half of bun and serve.   

To make this gluten free, I use GF breadcrumbs and either skip the bun or use GF buns. 

Recipe for Parmesan Truffle Fries:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Ore Ida shoestring fries (frozen)

• olive oil cooking spray

• truffle salt, pinch or two

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 4-5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated and divided into 4 parts

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped and divided into four parts

Directions:

Put french fries in an air fryer and spray them lightly with olive oil cooking spray.  (If you don't have an air fryer use the directions on the bag.)  Give them a shake to make sure they all get coated.  Bake them at 380 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until they're browned, shaking halfway through.   When your fries are done cooking divide them into four ramekins.  Sprinkle them with the truffle salt, freshly ground pepper, Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.  Broil them on high for a couple of minutes or just long enough for cheese to melt.  

Recipe for Green Joy Salad:

Ingredients:

• mixed field greens

• Green Joy’s Parmesan balsamic vinaigrette

• Green Joy’s cinnamon coconut superfood salad mixer 

Directions:

Put mixed greens in a bowl.  Mix in balsamic vinaigrette.  Top with salad mixer.  Enjoy!