Joanie's Kitchen

DIY ~ Thin Sliced Chicken Breast

I love thin sliced chicken breast. I never gave the price much thought other than a package of 3 thin sliced chicken breasts is cheaper than a Big Mac meal and presumably a lot healthier.Today I took a few seconds to check out the price for a package of 3 half breast and realized that if I cut them myself I could get three times the meat for half the money. Here's how I did it!

Cheese 'N' Onion Bread

I can't make this bread fast enough. This is a bread machine recipe. I set mine up for Basic Cycle, Medium Crust Color.

                                                         

A Different Slant on Making Gourmet Beef Patties

I love gourmet beef patties, but they are a tad on the pricey side, and I don't always like the ingredients or seasonings that are used.

I love to cook, but I hate the mess. 

Over the years I've come up with this method of making gourmet patties and I think it's worth sharing.

For this demonstration, I used 2 pounds of ground beef, 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1 medium onion chopped in my food processor, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. You can add or decrease ingredients to suit your taste buds. I sometimes add chopped bacon and/or mushrooms to the mix.

Put all ingredients in a 1 gallon baggie. Partially seal and push out all the air, then completely seal the bag.

Knead the ingredients by folding and pressing out until it is fully mixed.

I am the proud owner of a 4 piece patty maker, brand name unknown. I have no idea where I picked it up, but you can find similar ones on line costing anywhere from $4-$9. I use this tool every time I make patties. In the event you don't have one of these, you can use 2 round sandwich plates, bottom to bottom and press the meat between them.

To save on clean-up and everything getting greasy, I place a 4"x 4" piece of waxed paper on the bottom surface. Then I use the largest ice cream scoop I can find and fill it to rounded capacity

and drop the meat in the center of the paper.

I then place another 4" x 4" piece of waxed paper on top of the meat before pressing the patty.

This patty has already been pressed. I left my thumb in place to show the action and as a size comparison.

Here's a completed patty. I've removed the top paper for your viewing pleasure. I always leave the patty sandwiched between the two papers, even when stacking. If you are making them to freeze for later use, they are much easier to separate by inserting a knife between the two papers.

Here are 4 yummy burgers that I prepared for tonight's dinner. I cooked them on my Panini press/grill/griddle. I love this machine. About the only thing you can't cook on it is spaghetti, soup or baked potatoes.

Here are the rest of my patties pressed, stacked, packaged, dated and ready for freezing.

I hope you found this helpful. It really does save a lot of cleanup time, and if the phone rings when you are in the middle of the process, you don't have to answer with greasy fingers or run for a towel. Your hands are grease free, as they have never touched the meat. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

             Huggs,

                           Joanie