Ultimate BBQ Burger with Chipotle-Ranch Sauce.

After Shayne ate these burgers, he said, "This is probably the best burger I have ever had. Ever." Not bad coming from a chick who's only cooked meat a handful of times in the last year and a half. On the other hand - you may say that Shayne's opinion is scewed because he's a plant-based man now... but I've got family and friends that will back these babies up too!

It's a Rachael Ray... I saw it on a rerun from her show... have made and tasted them in my mouth many, many times. And just waited for the perfect time to try them. Enter Memorial Day, 4th of July and for the first dinner guests in our new house (I'm typing this up in mid-September).

They get better and better each time... I've made them 6 times now. And each time I can't believe that I made something so good.

I get more convinced, each time, that I'm going to turn them into a bean burger the next time I try them - I've already veganized the sauce.... so stay tuned.

I've always entertained with them, so I always forget to get a picture. The picture above is when we had them a couple days later as leftovers. I cute them in half, side-to-side, and broiled them to warm them up and they were just as good. Yum.

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon steak seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 pounds lean ground sirloin
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 slices cheddar cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (eyeball it)

2 tablespoons chopped dill

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced into rings
Deli-size pickles, sliced lengthwise

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, steak seasoning, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin and allspice. Add the ground meat to the bowl and give everything a good mix with your hands. Press the meat down in the bowl and score it into four portions using the side of your hand. Scoop out one of the portions and shape it into a burger that's about an inch thick. Press down into the center of it with your thumb while you're shaping it to keep the burger from expanding during cooking. Shape the remaining portions to give you a total of four burgers.

Grill them or place a large skillet over medium high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Cook the burgers in the pan for 3-4 minutes on one side. When you flip them over, lay 2 slices of cheese on each burger and let it melt while the other side cooks for another 3-4 minutes (if you want to cook these guys on a grill, go right ahead! Just preheat your grill on medium-high heat, cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip them and cook them 3-4 minutes on the other side with 2 slices of cheese laid down over each burger).

While the burgers are cooking, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, chipotle, adobo sauce, dill, parsley and chives in a small mixing bowl. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and reserve.

When the burgers are ready, load them up onto the toasted Kaiser buns with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and a big dollop of the chipotle-ranch sauce.

Spanish Frittata.

I loved this as a regular meat-eater... so after I had to buy some eggs for a craft I was doing for Nolan's preschool - I decided to use up the eggs and halfway fit this recipe back into our food lifestyle. The real deal Rachael Ray recipe is here. It was soooo good. And all was well until I was reminded just why I don't eat eggs. Eggzeronious!

1/2 pound soyrizo {sprouts}
1 jar whole roasted red peppers, drained
1 medium to large onion, chopped
2 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes, defrosted
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
A few dashes hot sauce (add more if you like it spicy!)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (about a small handful) parsley, chopped
1 cup Manchego cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Place a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the soyrizo in the hot pan until cooked, 5-6 minutes.

While the soyrizo is cooking, prepare a pie plate by lining it with the roasted peppers -- if they're not already broken open, run a knife down the side of them to open up the pocket, just like you're butterflying a chicken breast. Slightly overlap the edges of the peppers so you don't see the bottom or sides of the pan. Put your pie plate onto a baking sheet so it's easier to move later on.

When the soyrizo is cooked, transfer it to the pepper-lined pie plate, spreading it out to evenly cover the bottom. Sprinkle the chopped onion and potatoes over the soyrizo spreading everything out evenly.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the parsley into the egg mixture at the last minute, give it a quick stir, then pour the mixture slowly into the pie plate (it may take a second for the liquid to settle into all the nooks and crannies of everything already in the pie plate, so wait for it to settle before adding the rest of your egg mixture). Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top.

Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the frittata until the eggs are slightly wobbly in the middle and the cheese is golden brown, 30-35 minutes.

Cut the finished frittata into 8 wedges and serve.

Peach Almond Coffee Cake

This is one of Shayne's favorites from the Betty Crocker’s Diabetes Cookbook. The very first cookbook I bought when we learned Shayne was borderline diabetic 7 years ago. It's got some gems in it that I all too often forget about. That is until one of them is requested... and I wonder why I don't make them anymore. It's not vegan, and it doesn't fit into our new diet... but it was Father's Day and I was all about getting the man what he wants. I'll experiment some other time... This is SO yummy...

2/3 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups reduced fat Bisquick
1/3 cup sugar/Splenda
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) peaches
½ cup artificially sweetened vanilla low-fat yogurt
¼ cup packed brown sugar (I use way less then this, like a tablespoon or so)
¼ cup sliced almonds

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray round pan, 8 x 1 ½ inches, with cooking spray. Mix milk, egg, oil and almond extract in large bowl until smooth. Stir in Bisquick and sugar until Bisquick is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Spread batter in pan.

2. Mix peaches and yogurt; spoon onto batter. Swirl lightly with knife. Sprinkle with brown sugar and almonds.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake near center comes out clean (it will be a little wet because of the yogurt – I just look for brown around the edges). Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.