Umami Hamburgers

Welcome back, my loves.  Let me start off by saying this one is really special.  There's a lot of love in this one.  I want you to do a favor for me.   I want you to sit there and conjure up the most delicious steak you've ever eaten.  The juicy savory taste as those flavors flood your mouth.  That savoriness is called Umami.  Its an effect between ribonucleotides and glutamate.  When foods rich in these two components are combined the resulting taste is more intense.  I love this because it's a chemical reaction in your mouth.  I even love the word.  Umami.  You can find umami in several foods you probably already love.  Tomatoes, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, some red wines, and steaks are all umami rich foods.  Knowing this gave me the courage to try this next recipe.  Umami Hamburgers.  Even my most pickiest eaters loved these.  They are not aware of the special ingrediant: Fish Sauce.  Yep, that's right.  I said FISH SAUCE.  I bought a bottle of Thai Kitchen's Premium Fish Sauce for less than $3.00 at my local HEB.  My mother has even gone so far as to add 2 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce to her meatloaf recipe.  Pure Heaven!

Ingrediants:

• 2 Lbs Ground Beef
• 2 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• ½ Tsp Sugar
• 1½  Tsp Worchestershire Pepper

Don't forget the Hamburger Buns, veggies, and condiments of your choice.

In bowl combine all ingrediants together. 
Gently form meat into balls, then flatten into patties.
Cook on skillet or grill.

We used a George Foreman grill set at 380°
Cooked patties for 4 minutes, flipped, then cooked for another 4 minutes.

Cooking technique, thickness of meat and heat temperature will affect cooking time.

I found this recipe at
http://www.whiteonricecouple.com/

And found out more about Umami at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami

And:
The Umami Information Center
http://www.umamiinfo.com/

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Before I made this I had never tried Quiche much less thought about making it.  My boyfriend on the other hand had tried Quiche and loved it.  After hearing him describe it and seeing how his eyes lit up when talking about it, I decided to give it a try.  I'm glad I did.  Great as a breakfast, lunch or dinner there is no bad time to make or eat Quiche.  Since there were so many variations on the recipe I decided to try one with spinach and mushrooms but without the ham or prosciutto (which I don't like).  In my search I found this little gem.

• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1 small onion
• 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 6oz tub of herb and garlic feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 8oz package of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 4.5oz Jar of Giorgio Sliced Mushrooms
• 4 Eggs Beaten
• 1 Cup of Milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°
In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. 
Saute garlic and onions in butter, until lightly browned (about 7 minutes).
Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta, and ½ cup of cheddar cheese. 
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for about 5 minutes.
Pour into pie dish and allow to cool, (you don't want your eggs to start cooking).

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk together.
Season with salt and pepper and stir again.
Pour into pie dish allowing the egg mixture to thoroughly combine with the spinach mixture.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes.
Take it out and sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top. This creates a delicious crust.
Put it back into the oven and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes or until it's set in the center.

Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy, my dears!

A little side note:
I had trouble finding the Feta Cheese at my local HEB.  But after searching the store I found it where they keep their gourmet cheese which is seperated from the other cheese.   The tub I found didn't match the measurement for this recipe so I put the whole tub of feta in the quiche.  No remorse, it came out perfect.

Taco Seasoning

Everybody loves tacos, right?  There may be some night you want to make tacos but *gasp* no taco seasoning packet!  What do you do!?  No worries.  I found the best Taco Seasoning recipe that tastes just like the store bought kind.  As long as you have this recipe you will never again have to buy another taco seasoning packet ever again.  Now, Go!  Enjoy your newfound freedom from the tyranny of premade taco seasoning.

• 1  Tbsp Chili Powder
• ¼  Tsp Garlic Powder
• ¼  Tsp Onion Powder
• ¼  Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• ¼  Tsp Dried Oregano
• ½  Tsp Paprika
• 1½ Tsp Ground Cumin (aka Comino)
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper