Good Days in Northern Michigan

So now that I have started this journey in the blogger world, I have found a new want/need....NEW CAMERA! Obviously you will see from the below photos, this need has not yet been met. Please bare with the sub par pictures taken from my phone.

*Fingers crossed by August (cough August 10th to be exact by birthday cough.. hint... cough) I will be able to grace you with some lovely pictures and the food and adventures will look much more exciting!

On to the adventures in Katie Land....

Northern Michigan is known to have some great morel mushrooms. Since I was little I would go out with my Dad to look for these camouflage fungi that were only visible in a small time frame. I remember the lesson of looking by the base of trees. We would take an onion bag so when we found some we would spread their spores as we looked for more. Dad and I never seemed to find a lot, but when we found one (usually two) it was always exciting for the two of us.

I hadn't been out morel hunting in a long time prior to this year but it is one of Ryan's favorite things to do. I find myself tagging along as much as possible now. Just having the time out in the woods is great. It is so beautiful where he lives. Ryan also seems to know exactly where to look so we always find at least a few.

Here is a picture from our first time out:

Cut those bad boys in half and saute in some butter..mmm baby those are good! We actually had these with my parents that night with meatloaf. I don't think any combo that includes morals is a bad one!


_____________________________________________________________________________

Now, I am on a mission to make it seem like summer no matter what the outdoor thermometer says! So, here we are again with an easy summer-like meal!

Menu: Grilled Stuffed Cheese Burgers with Spicy Cottage Fries and Purple Asparagus.
(Remember...please bare with the lack of photography skills...this will get better)

Stuffed Burger:

You can really stuff with whatever you please, we kept it simple last night.

I first mixed a tbls or two of Worcestershire sauce with the ground beef (which comes from Ryan's family's farm...yum!)

Flatten out a small portion of burger and make an indent into most of the burger leaving enough to seal up the edges with the second portion of burger.

I then added some sliced cheddar (Ryan was really hoping for some pepper jack) and then a little dried onion.

Top it off with more burger and set in fridge..you can wait to do this until the fries and asparagus are almost finished as well. Whatever you prefer.

For Fries and Asparagus:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees with one rack on the lowest setting.

side note: Ryan helped with this meal by throwing together some Bloody Mary's and having us watch Blazing saddles while we prepared the potatoes.  You may Laugh of Loud at this and picture this ridiculous scene. I literally had the cutting board on the coffee table which was filled will spices. You will notice in the pictures the blanket we had covering us. Everyday we create a memory, this one was fun and made me realize the kitchen isn't always the only place amazing meals are created living rooms work too.

Back to the fries,

Slice some potatoes to make wedges: I usually cut them in half then make three wedges from each side.

When they are all cut place them in a large zip lock bag. I unfortunately only had small so we had to do a couple different batches.

Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil. (careful not to get on your blanket ;-) ) It is OK to go a little heavier on the olive oil it will help to keep the potatoes from sticking in the oven.

Now add your spices:  This can be as simple as salt and pepper. Depending on your taste and what you are feeling for that meal.

We were feeling Spicy so we went a little spice crazy:

We threw in:
Salt and Pepper
Dried Onion
Garlic salt
Cayenne
and pepper flakes.

Shake Away!

Place them on a baking sheet you will cook them on one side for 20-25 min then flip them and cook another 20-25 min.

Asparagus :

Place in a glass baking dish - drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper place these in the oven when you flip the potatoes they take about 20-25 min.

Grill the burgers to your liking....Remember to put some garlic salt on each side of the burger. Try to also just flip them once. It will help keep the burgers nice and juicy!


*I bought the buns from the bakery in our local grocery store. I find they are usually less expensive and taste much better and are fresh! I like to butter the buns then place them in a pan on the stove top to give them a nice gold brown layer. Makes the burger that much better.


Another easy summer-like meal, Enjoy!

1 Peter 5:7