If you read about me on this blog or talk to me in person, I tell you that my whole purpose in writing here is to share my faith, my family, and my food. I want to talk about the celebration and the struggle with any and all of those. I’ve been talking a lot lately about faith and family but have been greatly neglecting the food. At least the fun part of food. It took me a long time to find the balance between the blessing and the curse of food and to be able to eat with no shame. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and eat shamefully, but really on most days, I revel in the celebration of God’s bounty and love how food is fuel for my daily routine.
Yesterday afternoon Chuck and I were in a race to get our yard mowed before the next round of thunderstorms rolled in. We’ve had waves of storms and downpours all week and it seems it’s going to keep rolling for a few days. We had a window, however, that stayed open for several hour, and we decided to take advantage and cut through the jungle that was quickly growing. When we finished we were famished and I knew exactly what we needed. Burgers. Good, old fashioned burgers on the grill. Real beef, raised in Texas, put on a bun with a slice of real cheese…it makes my mouth water even now.
We don’t eat a lot of burgers anymore. Last year, when Chuck and I were both diagnosed with lots of health issues between us, we made a choice to change our diet. Okay, I made a choice. But I’m the cook in the house and he, along with the kids, are the consumers. They were all mostly on board though so it wasn’t a huge fight. We eat more chicken and fish and a lot more vegetables and fruit. I use Wildtree for all my cooking. All. My.Cooking. Not just because I sell it. Well, maybe because I sell it. But I sell it because it’s good and I believe in it. 
Anyway, I made great burgers last night and I wanted to share the yumminess today. I wish I had taken a picture because they were as gorgeous as they were tasty but alas, hunger is more powerful than thoughtful blog planning. So here’s what I did…
I had a tray of 6 hamburger patties in the fridge. You are certainly welcome to make and form your own patties out of 2 1/2 pounds of ground sirloin (that was the weight of what I used last night). Sometimes I do that. Mostly I don’t.
I drizzled Wildtree Jalapeno Pepper Grapeseed Oil over the burgers. I do this by placing my thumb over the opening of the bottle so the oil flows sparingly instead of like a river over the meat. I then rubbed it in on both sides of the burgers.
PSA – People, I need you to season both sides of your meat. I want all of my bites flavorful and you should, too. You deserve flavor in your whole mouth. Don’t let anyone tell you you don’t. Those people aren’t your friends.
After I rubbed in the Grapeseed Oil I sprinkled Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub liberally over the meat. Both sides. And rubbed it in. I then let the burgers rest about twenty minutes to make sure they were closer to room temperature and also so I could take a shower. My cooking is a science, friends.
Now here’s where I made my mistake. I’m only sharing because I want you to be warned and to never make this mistake yourself. Thankfully my family is full of grace and also were hungry but I will never, ever do this again. Never. Ever.
I grilled the burgers in my kitchen on a grill pan.
Folks, it was raining and I was desperate. But I kid you not, my kitchen stinks to high heaven this morning. Stinks with a great big S. I used my hood vent but still. It’s gross. And it was messy. It almost tainted my burger experience as a whole. Not quite, but almost.
I like my burgers cooked to medium, with pink in the middle, but my family likes them a little more done. I do not have the indoor cooking finesse to differentiate between burgers so they were all medium-well. We put them on buns with a slice of Colby-Jack cheese and…yum. The boy and I like ketchup and mustard but Chuck and the girl eat them plain. If I was fancy, and had planned ahead better, I would’ve had a thick slice of tomato, a piece of butter lettuce, and a few slices of avocado, but alas, I was hungry.
So there you have it…Friday Night Burgers. So basic. So yummy. And so good shared with my family.