Easy Ways To Turn A Potato Into A Meal Kids Enjoy

Potatoes are a staple of the American diet. This is because they are such a handy food. Potatoes can be boiled, fried, mashed, baked, or turned into chips. We won't be frying any potatoes today, but by using the other ways a potato can be prepared, you can turn it into a meal your kids will love.

Let's prepare a baked potato deluxe. To make the skin of the potato peel back simpler rub them with olive oil prior to baking them. I personally like that better than utilizing the aluminum foil wrap. I've seen people cut the potato without removing the aluminum and I wonder how many small particles of that aluminum are in that potato. While the potatoes are baking, enlist the help of your kids to help you prepare the potato bar. Let them add some of their favorites to your list. I would recommend that a good list start with: shredded cheese, bacon crumbles (they taste better than bacon bits), chopped green onions, salsa, butter spray or reduced calorie margarine, and sour cream. While the potatoes are piping hot, split them open and add the butter spray and the cheese to allow it a chance to melt. Then, add the other items if desired. This loaded baked potato doesn't require anything else unless you want a salad. Kids will like that fact that they get to fix their own dinner.

For a light lunch, scoop the potato out of the baked skins. Smash the potato and mix it with shredded cheese, bacon crumbles, green onions, and reduced-fat margarine. Refill the potato skins and reheat again until the cheese is melted. Cut the potato into four pieces to make it easier for your kids to handle. These twice baked potatoes are yummy.

Soup's On! Potato soup is delicious. It is best in the fall or winter to warm you up on a chilly day, but on a spring evening, it can be a treat. But, potato soup can be bland with just the potatoes. Here's another way to make a meal for your kids using a potato. Add a few tasty items to your soup. You can just about add the same things to the soup that you can add to top a baked potato. My favorite toppings for potato soup are shredded cheese, broccoli florets, bits of ham or bacon, chives, and green onions. The meat gives it more protein to sustain your kids until the next meal. Potato soup can be consumed as a lunch meal or a light dinner. All of the additions give it great taste for the kids.

The potato even works in a salad. Everyone makes their potato salad with subtle variations, but however they prepare it, it is great to eat on a balmy summer's day for lunch. Potato salad is most often a side dish item at picnics or housewarming parties. Here we will transform it into a light meal for the kids and you. To add a little crunch, add diced celery and onion to the salad. For the meat, use sliced shrimp for a seafood twist or ham pieces. The potato chunks should still be the largest thing in the bowl since it is the star of the dish. Mayonnaise and mustard round out the list of ingredients with salt and pepper added to taste.

Potatoes are yummy and wallet friendly. There are so numerous ways that they can be made which contributes to their appeal. If you are looking for a way to prepare them that will be tasty and satisfy your kids, try the tips above along with some of your own.

Ground Beef Hamburger Patty Recipe - Juicy Grilled Hamburger Patty

There's nothing worse than biting into a dry, unappetizing hamburger. You won't have that problem with this great grilled hamburger recipe. Hamburgers come hot off the grill with a delectable juicy texture that makes each bite really enjoyable.

2 pounds ground beef


1 egg, beaten


3/4 cup bread crumbs, dry


3 tablespoons evaporated milk


2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper


2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Preheat the grill on high setting.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, evaporated milk, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and the garlic; mix ingredients with your hands. Form into 8 individual patties.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill hamburger patties for 5 minutes on each side, until well done.

=> Ground Beef Hamburger Meat Recipe: Hamburger with Ketchup Gravy

If there's one thing that we know goes great together, it's hamburger and ketchup. Now here's a tasty twist on using ketchup on a hamburger patty. This ground beef hamburger recipe will become one of your favorites. The meat marinates in the gravy while it cooks and is oh, so delicious.

1 pound ground beef


1/2 cup ketchup


1/2 cup bread crumbs


1 teaspoon onion powder


1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning, or to taste


Salt and pepper


2 teaspoons vegetable oil


1 large onion, cut up into chunks


1 cup ketchup


1/2 cup water, as needed

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, 1/2 cup ketchup, bread crumbs, onion powder, steak sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Form hamburger into thick patties or meatballs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet on medium high heat. Cook patties until browned on both sides. Remove patties from skillet and place onto a paper towel lined plate. Drain grease from the skillet.

In the same skillet, slowly stir together the 1/2 cup ketchup and 1/2 cup water. You can add more water if the mixture is too thick, or, more ketchup if the mixture is too thin. Add in the onion and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.

Add hamburger patties to the skillet and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stir gravy. If the gravy is too thin, continue to simmer with the lid off until it thickens to the desired consistency.

=> Best Hamburger Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Hamburger

This qualifies as a best hamburger recipe because it is packed with flavor. It features two kinds of cheeses, onion, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and bacon. Wow. This recipe is a winner no matter how you serve it up.

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded


1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated


1 small onion, chopped


1 egg


1 tablespoon ketchup


1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/8 teaspoon pepper


1 pound ground beef


6 slices bacon


6 hamburger buns, split

Directions

Preheat skillet or grill on high heat.

In a large bowl, combine the cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, onion, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble the ground beef into the bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Shape mixture into 6 patties. Wrap one slice of bacon around the edge of each one. Secure bacon to patties with toothpicks.

Place patties into skillet or onto the hot grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side,
or until well done. Remove the toothpicks before putting hamburgers onto buns.

=> Gourmet Hamburger Recipe: Spicy Blue Cheese Hamburger

If you're a little adventurous, then you'll just love this gourmet blue cheese burger with a spicy twist. The hot wing sauce is that extra special secret ingredient that will have people trying to guess what it is. Maybe you'll tell them – maybe you won't, either way, these burgers are fabulous.

1 pound lean ground beef


1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled


1/2 cup onion, minced


1/2 cup hot wing sauce (normally used for chicken hot wings)


1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


1 teaspoon ground black pepper


1 teaspoon yellow mustard


4 hamburger buns, split

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, blue cheese and the onion. Add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper. Mix together well using your hands.

Make 6 patties and then place them on a plate. Cover patties with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat grill on high heat.

Take patties out of refrigerator. Pour hot wing sauce over patties until the tops (only) are well covered with sauce. Let patties sit there for 10 minutes.

Cook hamburgers for 5 minutes per side, until well done.

Ten Tips For Perfect Grilled Dinners

Grilling Basics

There is nothing better than good BBQ, whether it is slow cooked pork, crispy succulent chicken or a perfect juicy steak. Cooking outside over fire is the oldest method known to man, but you can't just belly up to the BBQ and start flipping without some know how.

Here are the basics:

The Fire

1 - Method


There are two main methods for grilling; direct and indirect. Direct is when the fire is directly under the food to be cooked, indirect is when the fire is to the side(s) of the food. Direct heat; think grilling or searing, indirect heat; think roasting like an oven or smoking. Some recipes call for both; first searing the meat over direct heat, them moving the meat to indirect heat to cook through. And a little smoke makes both direct and indirectly cooked foods taste amazing.

2 - Fuel


Propane grills are wonderfully convenient, charcoal is convenient and tasty, but it takes awhile to be ready to cook. Wood is even tastier, but takes longer to get going and requires adding more fuel for longer cook times.

How much charcoal do you need? Enough to make a single layer barely touching that extends two inches beyond the food you're cooking.

3 - Heat


What your dad told you about campfires holds true for BBQs too; a fire is comprised of heat, fuel and air. Those little vent holes in the top and bottom are used to control the flow of air through the fire and can make it much hotter. The fastest way to make a fire hotter is too add air flow. Of course too much air flow will blow the fire out.

How do you measure the heat? Well some grills have a thermometer built in, or you can put a stick type thermometer through the vent. This measures the air temperature inside like the oven temperature for indirect roasting, but not the temperature of the grill. One method to measure grill temperature is to hold you hand directly about eight inches above the coals and measure how long you can hold it there. This is not very scientific and can lead to injury, so be careful.

The best gauge of heat is experience. You have to grill awhile before you get good at it, but hey, you were going to eat dinner anyway, might as well use the experience to become the grill master. It will certainly make your parties popular.

4 - Smokin'


Soak woodchips in water for half an hour and place either directly on the coals or wrap in foil, poke holes and set on a propane burner. Use mesquite or hickory for hearty flavors; apple wood or cherry for more delicate food. Salmon cooked on an alder plank is a Northwest delicacy.

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5 - Size


The size on the food is important for deciding which method to use; direct or indirect and how much charcoal you need to have the fire extend beyond the edge of the food. For roasts and briskets, slow cook over indirect heat and smoke. For thinner, more tender cuts, sear rare over direct heat and move over indirect heat to finish. Tender meat cut in cubes for kebabs can be the best of all, because the increased surface area makes for more caramelization; just be sure not to overcook.

6 - Temperature


It is better to let meat sit at room temperature for ten to twenty minutes before cooking so the meat is not so cold at the center.

7 - Marinades


Marinade add flavor and can tenderize a tough cut of meat. The more acidic the marinade, the more it will tenderize, but marinating too long can change the texture of the meat. For thick or tough cuts of meat, or marinades that are not too acidic, marinate the night before. For more delicate meat or acidic marinades the morning of is good, but even an hour can add flavor.

8 - Seasoning


Seasoning is key. I like a steak that has been rubbed with a good spice mixture like Lawry's or McCormick and Schmidt's Montreal rub. You can make your own; it is cheaper and can be used for almost everything. The most important part of the seasoning is the salt. For the purist just some kosher or sea salt is perfection.

9 - Oiling


A little oil can make the spices stick and will transmit the heat better to portions of the meat not in direct contact with the grill. It does add fat though so I skip the oil and find the seasoning sticks well enough. I have better uses for my fat calories.

10 - Cook Times

Indirect Heat


For indirect heat, the best method is to use an instant read thermometer to determine doneness. Use the following chart as a guideline, but remember that eating undercooked meat can cause food borne illness.

Red meat Chefs USDA
Rare120 – 125 n/a
Medium rare 125 – 135 145
Medium135 – 145 160
Medium Well 145 – 155 n/a
Well Done 155+ 170

Chicken


Cook chicken over medium temperature direct heat until it releases from the grill before turning it. Keep the lid closed as much as possible and cook a chicken breast about 8 – 12 minutes, or a whole chicken over indirect heat 1 to 1 ½ hours over medium heat.

Direct Heat


With direct heat, a thermometer and experience are great guides. I find I like my 1 inch steak seared 3 to 4 minutes on each side at really high temperature for medium rare, and grilling a 5 to 6 ounce meat patty about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Happy Grilling!