Stuffed Burgers

The idea of a stuffed burger came to me when I was watching a burger challenge on the Food Network. One contestant did a burger stuffed with blue cheese and after watching that I figured I'd have to try the technique sometime. These burgers are stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and crumbled bacon making them unique and delicious.

1 pound ground chuck meat
1 tablespoon of worchestire sauce
1 Jalapeno pepper
salt and pepper
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
4 slices of bacon, cooked

1. Heat up a gas or charcoal grill and grease well with oil. In a bowl, mix the meat, worchestire, and salt and pepper to combine. Finely chop the jalapeno and add it to the meat mixture making sure the pieces are well distributed.

2. Crumple the bacon into little pieces and add to the grated cheese. Take 1/4 of the meat mixture and form into a ball like shape. Then take 1/4 of the cheese mixture and form into a small nugget with your hands. Insert this nugget into the meat and cover it with more meat so that the cheese mixture cannot be seen. Flatten out the meat into your desired thickness.

3. Form the rest of the burgers as demonstrated in above. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 5-7 minutes flipping occasionally. Serve on a bun and enjoy! No additional cheese or condiments required.

RC Smoothie

These raspberry cream smoothies are a great way to cool off in the summer heat. A perfect blend of fruits along with a couple of scoops of ice cream makes this drink a real crowd pleaser. Also, it's quite simple as all smoothies are; just throw everything into the blender et voila!

2 scoops of raspberry ice cream (Ben and Jerry's Black Raspberry Frozen Yogurt preferred, but you can also try it with other flavors for a different twist)

1 large banana

2 cups crushed ice

5 or 6 strawberries with with leaves removed

1/4 cup raspberries

Blend ingredients in a blender and serve. Chopping the banana and strawberry into pieces before hand makes it easier. Serve with a couple of fresh raspberries as a garnish.

Home Fries

These home fries are a great way to start off any morning. Just chop up all the ingredients and throw them in the oven; it's as simple as that. The pepper and the paprika give these fries a nice kick and the rosemary also adds great flavor to this dish. Enjoy!

1 pound of red new potatoes

1 small onion

Half of a red bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop your ingredients. The potatoes should be cut into bite sized pieces and the onions should be finely chopped. Cut the bell pepper into a brunoise, or a very fine dice. To do this first cut the pepper into thin strips or julienne. Then line the strips side by side and run your knife through creating small pieces (see below).

2. Put chopped ingredients into a medium bowl. Add rosemary, paprika and salt and pepper. Add the vegetable oil and toss to coat.

3. Put the potato mixture into a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until potatoes are tender; about 40 minutes. Serve with eggs and bacon to create the perfect breakfast!