Burgers and Spice and Everything Nice...

It probably won't surprise you to find out that I love hamburgers.

Something about a juicy beef patty on the grill....

throw in a toasted sesame bun, some cheese (maybe), some mustard & mayo and I'm ready to chow down.

I have discovered a couple of short cuts for spicing up my burgers. I like to rotate them to keep burgers from being boring.

This week it was the Lipton Onion Soup Mix short cut, topped with gouda cheese.

Wanna see? 

Makes your mouth water doesn't it???
Here's another angle of burger goodness.

My mouth is watering looking at the pics all over again!

I'll share couple of my other favorite not-so-super-secret short cuts:

• Ranch dip mix (the dried stuff)
• Chimmichurri spices, with a bit of olive oil & vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce (with a dash of salt and pepper)
• Taco mix (the dried packet stuff) - top this with pico and monterey jack cheese, mmm mm!
• The simple mix: salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder 

I prefer gouda, swiss or monterey jack or colby jack as my cheese toppings. I'm not all that partial to cheddar or American.

Speaking of cumin... I ducked into our local Indian grocery store in search of garam masala. A friend gave me a recipe that sounds delish (yes, yes, I'll try it and post it, have no fear!).

Not only did I find the garam masala

I found this honkin jar of cumin too.

Yeah, I know!!!

Wanna know the best part?
Each of those humongous tubs of spices were all of $4.50 for the entire thing.
UNDER 5 BUCKS!

So you may want to check out your local ethnic food store for some delish spices at a bargain price.

Ok friends: what's your favorite burger recipe?? I've shared mine, now it's your turn!

It's a new day!