Bacon Egg and Cheeseburger on a Tater Tot Waffle Bun

I was looking for a picture today and ran across this one. I know what some people will say, but I don't make this one often. My hubby loved it and would love one every week! I dusted off the waffle maker and used tater tots to make a waffle bun**. Thus the Bacon, Egg and Cheeseburger on a Tater Tot Bun was born... at my house at least! Here's a good, but different burger mix to incorporate some sausage into your burger.

Beef and Pork Burger Patties

1lb Italian Sausage, de-cased
1lb ground beef

Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder
16 small slider buns, dinner rolls or Tater Tot Waffle Bun

Onion, diced very small

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

In a large bowl, combine sausage and beef. Using your hands, blend the two meats together.* Spread the onions on a heavy duty cookie or baking sheet. Using your hands, crumble and spread the meat mixture over the onion and press down. If you try to spread it by pushing the meat, the onions move and gather on the ends. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minute. Cooking time will vary according to your preferred doneness. Internal temperature should be 160˚F for medium. Remove from the oven and pour off the excess grease. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven long enough to melt the cheese. Let rest for a minute, then slice into squares using a pizza cutter or knife. Slice the rolls and top the sliders with your favorite condiments. 

*Or form into patties and cook or grill. Use the burgers as the base on a tater tot waffle and top with bacon and egg.

** For the waffle bun...
Defrost some tater tots a bit. Preheat your waffle maker. Spray down top and bottom with cooking spray. Place tater tots on the cooking surface on the bottom. Close tightly and lock. Cook until golden brown as pictured above.

Cheeseburger Slider Casserole

• We have been having a rough time in the South/Southeast after Hurricane Matthew. North Carolina is continuing to have flooding issues. Here in South Carolina, many people remain in the dark with no power. I am lucky. I have my power back on, but just 2 miles down the road they are still without power. It is possible that they will be without power for a few more days! With that being said, we got a little tired of the grill. I have never missed my stove more! You might think casseroles are boring, but when you even have to grill water, you may understand why a new casserole recipe brings me so much joy!

• 
  
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 cups diced onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 12 slices cheese (your choice)*
• 12 dinner rolls**

Topping

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons minced Garlic
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Place hamburger in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onions are cooked. Drain off fat. Stir in drained tomatoes and cook until heated through. Season with salt, pepper.

Place bottom half of buns in prepared pan. Top with beef mixture & sliced cheese. Finish off with the top half of the bun.

Mix all the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan over medium heat until melted, smooth and combined. Pour over the buns.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

* I used American Cheese.

** Use Plain Dinner Rolls and not sweet dinner rolls.

Soups, Stews, Bread and Cornbreads... Oh My!

In this crazy Polar Vortex of a winter, I think we all need a little something to warm up our bones. Yesterday/last night, our temperatures dropped 34 degrees. Not dropped to 34 degrees, but the temp dropped BY 34 degrees back into the 20s. That's a shocker down in the deep South in March with "Spring" arriving in about 15 days! I've put together a group of my bone warming recipes in this post. Choose what looks good to you and click the link below the picture...

15 Beans Soup with Ham

Tuscan Soup with Italian Sausage

Baked Potato Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

 Beef Stew

Mama's Catfish Stew

Hush Puppies

 Vidalia Cornbread

Cornbread Recipes

Italian Herb and Cheddar Bread Loaf

Red Lobster Biscuits

Cheeseburger Deluxe Soup

Here on Southern With A Twist, you know that I don't always follow recipes to the letter. I don't even make the same recipe the same way each time. I like to experiment and see if I can make a good recipe better. Well, last night, I got a thumbs up on the recipe I came up with last year... Cheeseburger Soup! I not only got a thumbs up, but I got "I like this one better!" So I decided to give you the updated version...

2 T butter

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups beef stock
1 cup milk
16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb hamburger
2-3 T flour
lettuce & tomato, largely chopped

Saute the onions in butter until translucent. Add 2 cups beef stock and 1 cup milk. Add cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. Cook hamburger. Add about 2 - 3 tablespoons of flour to the hamburger. (This will make a slurry when the flour combines with the fat off of the hamburger.) Add the hamburger mixture to the soup. Bring soup up to a high simmer. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock. When ready to serve, throw a handful of lettuce and tomato in a bowl and top with several spoonfuls of soup. Cheeseburger in a bowl!

Reuben Passion

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE a good Reuben Sandwich! I have been so aggravated that all the deli shops in Sumter have stopped carrying Corned Beef! I've even been tempted (when money is available) to purchase an entire Deli Corned Beef (about 6 -8 pounds)! I do have my own meat slicer, so why not?!?! Right? I guess I need to go to Sam's or some wholesale store and buy gallon jugs of Bavarian Sauerkraut and German Mustard! Not to mention several loaves of Jewish Rye and a couple of pounds of Swiss Cheese! Are you getting that I love, love, love Reubens?!?!?!

Well, I received a picture from a follower on Facebook of a Reuben, Green Chili Cheeseburger and Green Chili Fries from the High Desert Brewing Co. and Speck's Wine and Liquids! This looks so good that I had to share it with you... and if I ever get to Las Cruces NM... I'm going straight to High Desert Brewing Co!!! I'll tell them Gigi sent me :-)

Bad Weather Food... Soups On!

Tornado and Severe Weather Warnings out today... It has been unseasonably warm, but with the bad weather comes cold rain and wind! These soups are wonderful to have on the stove staying warm until you're ready to eat.


Baked Potato Soup

3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream, sour cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.




Cheeseburger Soup

2 T butter

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups beef stock
1 cup milk
16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb hamburger
2-3 T flour
lettuce & tomato, largely chopped

Saute the onions in butter until translucent. Add 2 cups beef stock and 1 cup milk. Add cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. Cook hamburger. Add about 2 - 3 tablespoons of flour to the hamburger. (This will make a slurry when the flour combines with the fat off of the hamburger.) Add the hamburger mixture to the soup. Bring soup up to a high simmer. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock. When ready to serve, throw a handful of lettuce and tomato in a bowl and top with several spoonfuls of soup. Cheeseburger in a bowl!

Tuscan Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
3 (3.5 ounce) links spicy Italian sausage
3 large potatoes, cubed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1/4 cup evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste


Remove skin from sausage and crumble into frying pan. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Place meat in a large pot; add stock and potatoes. Boil until potato is cooked.
Add spinach. Continue boiling until spinach is lightly cooked. Remove soup from heat, stir in evaporated milk, and season to taste.


Reuben Soup
Could you get anymore twisted than Reuben Soup? This sounds so weird, but the flavor is outstanding! Unique and delicious!

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups water
4 cubes beef bouillon
8 ounces shredded corned beef
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
3 cups half-and-half cream
3 cups shredded Swiss cheese
8 slices rye bread, toasted and cut into triangles


In a large saucepan, cook onion and celery in butter until tender; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in water and bouillon, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in corned beef, sauerkraut, cream, and 1 cup of the cheese. Cook and stir for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 ovenproof bowls. Top each serving with a slice of bread and sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese on top of each slice of bread. Place in oven under broiler until the cheese melts and lightly browns.

Cheeseburger Soup

I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and saw Guy Fieri ask the owner/cook at Grover's Bar and Grill in East Amherst, N.Y. to show him how they make their Cheeseburger Soup. Of course, they walk you though it very quickly and don't give you all the measurements. I'm not even sure they give you the entire recipe. I was determined to try and replicate the dish and see if it is as Guy said, "Liquid Cheeseburger in a Bowl"!

This is the note I quickly scribbled
while watching the show...

It is so easy and so simple. I thought, "This can't taste THAT good!" Boy, oh boy! It really is "liquid cheeseburger in a bowl"! So, here's the recipe!

2 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups beef stock
16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb hamburger, cooked and drained
lettuce & tomato, largely chopped

Saute the onions in butter until translucent. Add 2 cups beef stock. Add cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. Add hamburger. When ready to serve, throw a handful of lettuce and tomato in a bowl and top with several spoonfuls of soup. Cheeseburger in a bowl!