Greek Stuffed Burgers

In an effort to connect with more bloggers, last year I asked to join the Secret Recipe Club.  I was finally accepted in June (9 months later!) and here we are.

The premise of the Club is quite similar to my FAVORITE blog event, Taste & Create, in that participants are assigned a blog from which to prepare a recipe.  The main difference is that this one is a "secret."

In Taste & Create, participants are partners, fully aware of who is paired with whom, and tasked with creating recipes from each other's blogs.  This has the benefit of being able to communicate and get to know your partner in advance of making the recipe, and also you can directly ask your partner questions about methods or ingredients.  We've formed quite a tight-knit community this way, and lasting friendships.

By contrast, The Secret Recipe Club is a secret assignment, where you are set off into the blog alone, and no one else is supposed to know.  Someone else all together gets to peruse your blog.  We'll all find out who had which blog on the same day and time, if it all comes together.  There are so many different members, it makes me wonder about feeling part of any sort of community at all...Since this is my very first month of participation in this club, I will let you know later how that goes.

If any of you would like to join either blog event, please follow the links above.  I think Secret Recipe Club still has a waiting list.  For Taste & Create, you will be welcomed immediately with open arms, and to sign up you can actually just leave me a comment or even email me at cowgirlmin07[at]gmail[dot]com.



Without further ado, my assignment for the Secret Recipe Club this month was:

Angela's Kitchen.

Angela's Kitchen is Gluten Free and Dairy Free, in case any of you require some recipes like that.

After some debating over Angela's Fish Tacos,  Steak and Potato Salad (still a contender for a later date), or one of her many recipes for the slow cooker, I ultimately chose one of her three Stuffed Burgers:  Greek Stuffed Burgers.  And I actually had absolutely every ingredient in my pantry, except for the beef!  (which doesn't make much sense, living on a ranch, but there you go)  Make sure you check out her other burger variations as well, there is bound to be one that calls your name!  We may end up trying every one...

 

These burgers are soooo flavorful!  We had a little debate about what to put on the burgers, and I opted for only mayonnaise.  As luck would have it, we were out of lettuce on the night we made them, otherwise I would have used some.  My husband also thought feta in the filling would have been good, and I think we'll try that next time.  (I also had an issue with my husband's choice of bun, but beggars can't be choosers when someone else goes to the store for you!)

We made our burgers bigger, because after dividing the meat into 16 pieces, we couldn't fathom putting 2 tablespoons of filling on each minuscule patty--it just wouldn't fit, and the patties looked so so small.  We combined the 16 pieces into 8, then felt like there was enough meat to support the filling.  We ended up with four stuffed burgers...what can I say, as cattle ranchers, we like a big burger!  ;-)

Greek Stuffed Burgers 
Adapted from Angela's Kitchen
Serves 8 (or 4 cattle ranchers)


2 pounds ground beef, turkey, chicken, pork (or a mixture)
1 clove minced garlic   (I used 2 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper  (I omitted this)

Greek filling:
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar (I forgot to add this)
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh).

Gently mix garlic and pepper into meat.  Divide meat into 16 pieces.  Flatten 8 portions of meat into thin patties.  Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each patty.  Flatten the 8 remaining pieces into thin patties, and carefully place each patty on top of the patty with the filling.  Seal the edges of the patties, sealing the filling into the patty.

Grill over low heat until done, about 20 minutes for our burgers!