”You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

Abraham Lincoln

You can’t fool a good cook with a bad recipe and good cook knows most of the time that simple is better. In all my years of cooking, the most important lesson learned has been the less ingredients and steps a recipe requires, it is usually a better recipe.

It’s the same principle when spotting liar. The more information and the more complicated their story, you can usually bet they’re not telling the truth. So the problem with lying is that all the little details usually add up and get you caught. The same goes for a bad recipe – all those little details and steps add up and the result is a bad dish!

Recipe:

4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Wash and dry chicken breast, place in a large ziploc bag. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over chicken and seal bag. Place in fridge and let marinate for 1-3 hours.

Preheat grill to a medium-high heat. Grill chicken 8-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Juices will run clear when chicken is done.

Notes:

If you like a little bit spicier marinade, just add more crushed red pepper flakes.

Make a meal on the grill. I like to grill fresh corn and vegetable kabobs when I make this chicken dish.

Mama always says that “nothing good ever happens after midnight” , so growing up I had to be home way before midnight. Anyone that’s from the south, knows one thing good does happen after midnight - Krystal. Sure they’re great for breakfast, lunch or dinner but after midnight those little square burgers really hit the spot.

Once I was in college, the after midnight rule was out the window and yes, I would be in line at the Krystal with hundreds of other souls, standing there with their mouths watering, waiting to get their hands on a sackful of little square burgers!

Recipe:

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

8 tsp reduced fat blue cheese crumbles

lettuce

Place ground beef in a mixing bowl, season with Worcestershire, salt and pepper, mix together well and form 8 slider patties.

Cook in a large pan over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes each side, when done let sliders rest and top with 1 tsp blue cheese on each patty.

Place sliders on bun with lettuce, top with caramelized onions and hot jalapeno sauce.

For caramelized onions:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, sliced

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small saute pan on low heat, add onions and let cook slowly while you are cooking the sliders. Onions usually take 15-20 minutes to caramelize.

For hot jalapeno sauce:

1 tbsp Hellman’s mayo

2 tbsp stone ground mustard

1/2 tbsp hot jalapeno pepper jelly

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill before serving.

Notes:

Can’t find slider buns? Just use a large square dinner roll. I like to use Sara Lee classic dinner rolls.

I have had a love affair with Texas my whole life. It started early on with Bud and Sissy in Urban Cowboy. This was way back when HBO only played two movies all day and I would sit in my jeans tucked into my boots on the arm of the sofa enamored by Gilley’s.
I remember my dad took a business trip to Houston around this same time and all I asked for was a Gilley’s t-shirt. Sure enough he delivered and that shirt hardly ever left my body!
So I eventually got the chance to move to Texas. Here are some lessons I learned:

Girls drive trucks – real big ones and they look cool driving them!

Designer jeans aren’t just for clubbing – showing cattle is a very dressy affair. On my first trip to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, I stopped in the restroom and saw dozens of teenage girls decked out in designer jeans, shiny belts,  flat-ironing their hair and primping for their turn to show.

Goats aren’t just for petting zoos – I worked at the Brazos County Expo Complex where we hosted many livestock shows. During one of my first shows I became taken with the goats. They were so cute and I had a few favorites until I looked up at the sign where it advertised ‘meat goats’. It was then I learned all about livestock shows.

You never meet a stranger, Texans are super friendly. You can make a lifelong friend standing in line at the grocery store.

Get to know your beef. My boss was a wonderful man and he taught me a lot but the lesson above all others was to choose good beef. He was a cattle rancher in his spare time and when I sat down to enjoy a burger at lunch he would begin his cattle stories and why he only ate his beef –

 Recipe:                                                                 

1 1/2 lb flank steak

1/8 c olive oil

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Dijon or stone ground mustard

2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Place meat in a large Ziploc bag. Combine remaining ingredients, whisking together well. Pour over the meat and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

Before cooking meat, set out the Ziploc bag and let it come to room temperature. Heat a grill pan, grill or heavy skillet to high heat. Place the steak on the heat and do not move for 4 minutes. Once 4 minutes has passed, flip the meat and cook for another 4 minutes not disturbing the meat.

Once cooked, remove from pan or grill and place on a cutting board letting the meat rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting. Cut across the grain into thin slices for best result.

   Notes:

 Flank steak is a lean cut of  beef and requires a little more attention. Cooking at a high temperature seals in the flavor and allowing the meat to rest will hold in the juices.

If you have leftovers, you can make a great steak taco !

I used my Cuisinart indoor grill for this recipe.

I love a good burger! Perhaps on this bitterly cold Ohio winter day my brain is longing for a warm sunny day on Center Hill Lake in Middle Tennessee. When I was no more than 6 months old my parents had me on a boat and throughout my life this wonderful place has always been a refuge. Diving into the crisp, green water felt like all the stress and worries were just washed away and after a day of playing hard with sunburned skin nothing tasted better than a ‘lake burger’.

Let me explain, a ‘lake burger’ is probably the best thing you will ever eat in the burger category. It could be the grilled flavor, the crispy iceberg lettuce or sitting in the middle of the water and enjoying every last bite that makes it so great. There just something about pulling the boat up to a dock restaurant picking up your order and speeding off over the water to find the perfect place to enjoy that burger.

This is not quite a ‘lake burger’ but a healthy combo of flavors that I love and happen to be craving – enjoy!

 Recipe:

1 lb ground sirloin

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

pepper to taste

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Franks Red Hot to taste

4 whole wheat buns

Crispy iceberg lettuce

White cheddar cheese slices, reduced fat

Combine all ingredients well and form into 4 equal patties. Set aside and let come to room temperature before cooking. In the mean time start the onions. While they are cooking, whip up the comeback sauce and place in the fridge. As the onions are finishing up, cook the burgers to desired temperature. Make sure to let burgers rest a few minutes before assembly.

Caramelized Onions:

1 large sweet onion, sliced

1 tsp olive oil

Salt

In a fry pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 15-20 minutes until onions are a deep brown color. You may add a little salt if desired towards the end of cooking.

Lolleigh’s Comeback Sauce:

1/3 cup 0% Fage Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp ketchup

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp Hellman’s Mayo

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 dill pickle chips, chopped or 1 tbsp dill pickle relish

Frank’s Red Hot to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Add hot sauce and cayenne to taste, more for a spicier version. I used my rocket blender to combine everything but a bowl and whisk would work just fine.

To assemble burgers:

Be generous with the comeback sauce put on both sides of the bun. Place lettuce on bottom, add burger, caramelized onions and top with a slice of white cheddar – now sit back and enjoy!

Notes:

I don’t solely shop at Whole Foods but I do prefer some items – their bakery-fresh whole wheat hamburger buns are really good.

My tried and true Cajun seasoning of choice is Tony Chachere’s.

And yes that’ me. I was probably 6 or 7 years old enjoying a lake day!