So I guess I'll share some of what we've been eating this past weekend.
Friday, I was able to take off work early (and then end up working at the dining table from like eight to nine thirty or so), and go to the apartment to clean up and cook (housewife, right?). So being the lazy person that I really am, I decided pizza was our best option. I mean, seriously, we had an extra crust in the fridge and it was a Friday.
In comes the Cheeseburger pizza, delicious and easy.
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| just pretend this is my actual pizza, and not stolen from Pinterest |
Cheeseburger Pizza
- Philadelphia Garlic and Herb Cooking cream (really any variety will work, just depends on your taste), enough to coat the bottom of the crust
- Hamburger meat (I used deer meat because it's what I had on hand and it is in fact leaner than beef so woohoo!)
- Ketchup, about 3 tbsps
- Mustard, about 2 tbsps
- Sharp Chedder cheese, around 2 cups shredded or more, depending on your level of cheese love (mine is very high)
- Green onions, for garnish and color :)
First, start off by cooking the deer/hamburger meat. I used a variety of spices to flavor it, but really all you want to achieve is ground beef crumbles that taste like a burger, so mainly just salt, pepper, Tony's, garlic powder (I added cumin because I love it, so truly do whatever the heck you want). Once the meat is cooked, drain it and set it aside to focus on the rest of the pizza.
So take your crust and spread as much cooking cream as you want to act as your sauce. I personally don't like sauce, so I didn't use much, but again, it's whatever you want. Then go ahead and put your drained meat on the crust, spreading it as evenly as possible. Now comes the fun part! Take your ketchup bottle (well shaken, no one likes that tomato water that comes out of an unshaken bottle), and make a line design across your pizza crust. Then do the same with the mustard. Once you've acted like a five year old making a pretty design, cover it in the cheese then pop it into a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then wait patiently by pouring yourself a glass of wine and telling your husband about your day.
After the crust is golden brown, take that bad boy out, sprinkle with chopped green onions and let it rest on the counter (or be like Justin and inhale it while it's smoking hot) before enjoying.
Told you it was that easy. It'll definitely be a go to meal in the Lewis household (especially since Justin ate like four pieces and loved it).
Saturday was also a food fest as well. Our close friend decided that he couldn't stay away and decided to move to our apartment complex so we decided to have people over to have a pool party/relaxing afternoon. And Justin made his stuffed pork loin. Yummo (and highly fattening so please, try this at home, just not all the time).
Justin's Stuffed Pork
- One large pork loin (roughly four to five pounds), trimmed and butterflied
- 1-2 blocks of cream cheese (we kid ourselves and used fat free, like that helped), softened
- Jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (the number depends on how spicy you want it. Left up to Justin, it would have been like ten)
- Mushrooms, washed and diced
- Sausage (we used some mild country sausage brand that was on sale), probably about six to eight ounces
- Bacon, enough to wrap the pork loin
- Various spices
- Worcestershire sauce
- Cooking twine
Preheat your oven to about 350 degrees. So start off by trimming some of the fat off the meat (because this meal is fatty enough already). Once that's complete and you feel better about yourself, go ahead and butterfly it, being careful that you leave enough meat on one end to act as a stable hinge (hope that makes sense). Then put the meat aside, wash your hands extremely well, and focus on your cream cheese mixture.
Go ahead and place your softened cream cheese in your bowl and add your spices. This is really the only chance you have to use spices (besides salt and pepper on your meat), so just go crazy. Add Worcestershire sauce to make it a little less thick and add your jalapenos and mushrooms. Once that's all well combined, go ahead and slap that on the bottom part of your meat. After you've spread it as evenly as possible, add your sausage. It might be easier to try and flatten your sausage on a plate then transfer that blanket of goodness to the pork loin (which would require two people most likely).
Once that's finished, you're done with the easy part. Now go ahead and try to close the top part of the pork loin over the stuffing, making sure all that squeezes out is pushed back in. Now wrap the thing in bacon (and if you're Justin, make a basket weave out of bacon that would please any chef) and the contain the beast with cooking twine so it stays together. Place it carefully in a roasting pan and leave it in the oven for about two and half to three hours. Once it's done (please use a meat thermometer), let it rest for around twenty to thirty minutes.
Then eat. And eat. And eat.
This is pretty much our go to entree when it comes to having people over. It's always a winner and very customizable (sorry that's not a word, but you catch my drift).
We were pretty much in a food coma for the rest of the weekend, and made a pact to not cook (or do dishes) all day Sunday, and then diet this entire week.
Hope you try at least one of these, they're totally worth the calories.
