Liz’s 30 minute meal was just what we needed on a busy night. Having her make it for us was even better.
A year or so ago, my mom passed along to us a stack of Cook’s Country cooking magazines that my aunt had passed along to her first. I looked through them all, and saw some great recipes throughout, but overall, I did not do much with them at the time.
Our daughter Elizabeth however, was totally obsessed with them. She loved the recipes, the product reviews and the section of 30 Minute Meal recipe cards. She poured through them often, and was always coming out to show us what she was reading or finding at the time, and what recipes she thought we’d like and ought to try.
This past weekend, she was at it again with the 30 Minute Meals recipes.
“Can we make this one? Do we have the stuff for that one? Do you think we’d like this one,” she’d ask.
I hate to say no when they’re enthused about something, especially when it means I’m off the hook for cooking and planning a meal, but each recipe seemed to call for something we didn’t have. Finally, I spotted one for Meatloaf Burgers. I quickly scanned it and realized we had everything it called for.
“We can make that one tomorrow night. We have all the ingredients,” I told her.
Her eyes lit up. She was thrilled. She continued to pour through the magazines and began pulling out all the sections of recipe cards so she’d have all the 30 minute meals together in a pile.
A new binder of recipes all ready to go. I even gave her a shopping list pad to stick inside the front pocket so she could choose her meals and tell us the ingredients needed, insuring that we’d have them on hand.
I’m a huge fan of binders. If it’s important, I binderize it. I create a cute cover and spine for it. I take a picture of it. I love binders. I inherited a huge box of binders from my brother and sister in law from all her grad school classes, so I have my own supply at my fingertips whenever I need one. I saw a binderizing opportunity here, and when Liz went to bed, I brought up a binder, printed out a cover sheet and she now had a place to store all her recipe card pages for her 30 minute meals. The next morning we punched the holes and she set up her cookbook for the evening.
At 4:30 I told her to be ready for 5:00 to start her meal, and she was ready! The recipe was meant to be quick and easy, and it was. She could do the whole thing herself for the most part, other than cooking the burgers. I had her form them and place them on a baking sheet so they could be cooked.
When they were done, she had one smaller one that she’d made with the final portion of meatloaf mixture, and she cut it into five sample pieces, put them on little cocktail forks and let everyone try a bite before we ate, to make sure everyone liked them.
Cute little tasting samples were a great way to determine if anyone didn’t like the burgers without wasting one.
Everyone did! That’s so rare. We almost never have a meal that all five people like. She was thrilled. We dug in.
There were just two burgers leftover at the end of the night. They both made delicious lunches the next day.
This recipe was deemed “a keeper” and Liz will definitely be making it again. This weekend we do our “big shopping,” and she’ll be handing us her shopping list, I’m sure, with some 30 minute meals on the menu for the next two weeks.
Liz was so proud of herself for choosing and making such a great, meal and I’m glad I was able to say yes this time around. It’s a great life skill for kids to be able to research a meal, plan it and make it, but it’s even better when everyone loves it.
Here is the recipe Liz used from the Cook’s Country magazine 30 Minute Meals.
Grilled Meatloaf Burgers from Cook’s Country
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (we used 2 one-pound packages of ground turkey)
1 large egg
(we sprinkled in some bread crumbs as an extra ingredient)
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (we used 1/4 tsp. dry thyme)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
hamburger buns
DIRECTIONS
1) Combine meatloaf mix, egg, Worcestershire Sauce, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Shape mixture into four 3/4 inch thick patties. Whisk ketchup, sugar, and vinegar together until combined. Reserve 5 tablespoons glaze for serving.
2) Grill burgers of medium-hot fire until well-browned on first side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip burgers and brush with remaining glaze. Cook until meat registers 160 degrees, about 7 minutes. Transfer burgers to plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil; let rest for 5 minutes. Serve burgers on buns with reserved glaze.
A very, very tasty dinner, thanks to Liz!
The Whole bag of Chips 
These do sound really good, and what a great project for your daughter!