I was excited to recently be challenged by the people at the Unilever Kitchen to create a new recipe and inject some Brazilian passion into my al fresco cooking in honour of the World Cup!  They sent me a lovely hamper to help me out.

  

It was filled with all sorts of goodies, even some Barbecue Tools to help me on my quest.

When I was in America a couple of years back we went to a lovely Brazilian Grill Restaurant where they served up beautiful grilled food.  Some a bit spicy and some not.  My favourite thing there was the Garlic Sirloin and so I wanted to create something along those lines and this is what I came up with . . .



Juicy cheese stuffed Spicy Garlic Sirloin Burgers!  Each burger consisting of two flavourful ground sirloin patties with a nice chunk of cheese sandwiched in the centre, wrapped with bacon and then grilled on the Barbecue until they are golden brown . . .  brushing them with some of that tasty Fiery BBQ Chili sauce as I was grilling them.



I used  one each of their garlic and mixed chili flavour pots with the meat for lots of flavour, as well as some grated cheese for moisture.  Sirloin can be a bit lean so I thought the cheese would help with that.  Served on toasted buns spread with some of that delicious Hellman's caramelized onion mayo and topped with sliced red onions and tomatoes.



Just look at that juicy burger, with all of that cheese oozing from the middle.  They went down a real treat!   We both really enjoyed these.   Lots of flavour, a bit of a bite, moist and juicy, they were fabulous!  I was going to try to name these after one of the England's team players, but I don't really know enough about them to do that with any sincerity.  So they are just Spicy Garlic Sirloin Burgers. Go England!



*Spicy Garlic Sirloin Burgers*

 

*Corn and Bean Salad*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Beautiful and colourful, this is one very tasty, and healthy salad! Try it out at your next barbeque!

For the dressing:
the juice of 3 limes
170g tub of Greek Yoghurt
(about 1 cup)
2 ounces olive oil (1/4 cup)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
a large handful of fresh coriander, chopped (cilantro)

For the salad:
1 (415g or 15 ounce) tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well
1 (415g or 15 ounce) tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, uncooked (can use one tin of niblets corn, drained)
1 medium courgette, washed, trimmed and cut into small cubes
1 red bell pepper, trimmed and cut into small cubes
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes
6 spring onions, thinly sliced  

 

Make the dressing by whisking together the lime juice, yoghurt, olive oil, garlic, salt and cayenne pepper. Fold in the chopped coriander.

In a large salad bowl, combine the beans, corn, chickpeas, red pepper, courgettes and spring onions. Pour the yoghurt lime dressing over top and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature.  

Many thanks to the people at the Unilever Kitchens and Arielle from Clarion Communications for challenging me to do something new!

With the World Cup coming up very soon now, I thought it would be fun over the next little while to do a few things that might come in very handy for those nights when you are all gathered around the radio or the telly watching or listening to the games!!



Generally speaking, Todd and I are not big footie fans, but when it comes to the World Cup, we are just like anyone else. We like to fly the flag and support our Country! You should see the neigbourhood around here. It seems everyone is flying the flag!! In fact some homes are so covered in England Flags, you can't see the actual house!!



All the shops are full of England Flag Merchandise. You can even get England Flag afro wigs and Cowboy Hats down at the local Wilkensons!!! Now that's what I call really getting into it!! I may spring for one or two for Todd and myself, and if I do, I'll be sure to show you a picture!!



Football match food is highly specialized. It needs to be somewhat portable, appealing to men and kids, and fun, fun, FUN to eat!!



That's exactly what these Lasagna Buns are!!! Easy and quick to make, and oh so very delicious!! You can eat them with your hands, if you really want to get down to earth . . . or you can be a bit more civilized and eat them on a plate with a fork and knife!!



At the Table . . . Or in front of the telly . . . No matter which way you cut, or eat them though, they are sure to be very popular with the footie fans in your household!

Crisp bread shells holding all the elements of a delicious meaty lasagna. Ohhh soooo cheesy and rich and scrumdiddlyummy!!!



Please Note - One does not have to be a football fan to enjoy these. You just have to like Lasagna, bread . . . and FUN!



*Crusty Lasagna Buns*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Crisp hollowed out crusty rolls filled with a mixture of a delicious meat sauce and a variety of cheeses, and then baked until the cheese is ooey gooey and scrumdiddlyumptious!!

8 round crusty rolls
350g of extra lean ground beef
1 small jar of pasta sauce
(your favourite kind. I like one with a gutsy flavour such as an
arrabatia or a puttanesca)
garlic powder to taste
2 tsp of dried oregano
2 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp onion powder
pinch of cloves
salt and black pepper to taste
250g packet of ricotta cheese
8 ounces strong cheddar cheese grated
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

Cut a thin slice off of the top of each bun. Hollow out the centres, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell. (Discard the centres and tops, or feed to birds, or make breadcrumbs with them and put them in the freezer.)

Brown the ground beef in a hot skillet, cooking and mashing with a fork until it is nicely browned. Stir in the garlic powder, oregano, basil, onion powder, cloves, salt, pepper and pasta sauce. Allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes over low heat until flavours meld.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4.

Mix together the ricotta cheese with half of the cheddar cheese and half of the Mozzarella cheese, and all of the Parmesan.. Stir together well.

Place the hollowed out buns on a shallow baking tray. Divide the meat sauce between them. Top with equal amounts of the cheese mixture. Cover loosely with foil and then pop into the heated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese and then bake for another 5 minutes or so, or pop under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes.

Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Delicious!

!!!WINNER winner WINNER winner WINNER winner WINNER!!!

I used a Random Number Generator at Random dot org to draw a winner of the Cookery Book celebrating my one year bloggiversary. It picked Number 9. Pat, you are my lucky winner!! So send me your details and I'll pop the cookbook into the post for you post haste. I wish I knew how to show you all the number generator so you know it's no fooling, but I am sadly lacking in technical saavy. If anyone can tell me how to do it, I'd appreciate it muchly so that next time I can show you the number in real time! I wish I could give everyone a cookbook, but alas . . . I am still waiting to win the lottery . . .