Home to Stay & a Recipe

Hello Everyone,

My Gentry's Mill quilt has been out traveling around the country for months and she's finally returned home to stay for a bit.

My Calico Cottages design is on display on the left, and Minglewood is in the crock on the right.  Gentry's Mill is draped over a very old sled.

Calico Cottages is pouring out of a mailbox I found at an antique store here in town. The Rocking Chair Lodge sign came with the mailbox.  Perfect right?

I also use a sled to display my Americana collectibles and patriotic quilt.  Mr. Joe had glass shelves made for the sled and it's quite the conversation piece.

I took a picture of a new recipe I made for our company the other night called Smoked Deep-Dish Burgers.  

These are SO GOOD and would be great to make for your 4th of July celebration.

Here's the recipe:

Wood chips for smoking

1 T. butter

1 (8 oz) pkg sliced white mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 C. chopped sweet onion

2 T. steak sauce

4 Thick-cut bacon strips, cooked crisp and crumbled

3-1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 Beer or soda can used to form the patties

12 Thick-cut bacon strips

Salt and pepper to taste

12 Slices of your favorite cheese

Soak a great big handful of wood chips in water for 30 minutes, then drain. In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion until softened.  Stir in the steak sauce and cooked bacon and set aside.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spritz with cooking spray.  Form the ground beef into six equal-sized balls and arrange them on the baking sheet.

Clean the outside of the beer or soda can and coat it with cooking spray.  Press the can firmly into a meatball to form a cup, pressing the edges of the meat to an even thickness and fixing any cracks; wrap each with two bacon strips and secure with toothpicks.  Remove the can and repeat with the remaining meatballs.  Season with salt and pepper and fill with the mushroom mixture.

Grease the grill grate and preheat the grill to 300 degrees for indirect cooking.  For a charcoal grill, toss a big handful of the soaked wood chips directly on the hot coals.  For a gas grill, place wood chips in a smoker box.

Set the stuffed burgers on the COOL side of the grill.  Close the grill lid and cook for 30 to 45 minutes.  Top each burger with a cheese slice and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. DO NOT FLIP THE BURGERS!  We rotated the burgers, so each side had a turn close to the heat, so the bacon was crisp.

These smelled so amazing that we couldn’t wait to dig in—I completely forgot to snap a pic of the finished dish! They were incredibly flavorful, and no bun required. I paired the burgers with Danish potato salad and fresh sliced melon. It is the perfect summer meal!

I hope you all have a delightful weekend!

Soon,

Lynn