Bacon Cheeseburgers

We love to make our own burgers. The process is easy and you can buy a large quantity of meat, form the patties and freeze them if you'd prefer. 3 patties per pound of meat is about right.

Use 85% lean beef, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and smoked paprika. Use ample amounts (more pepper than salt). Carefully use your hands to combine. Form patties to desired size and freeze or cook. If it was grilling weather I would cook these outside.
First, fry up some bacon for topping.
Drain the fat and rinse the (cast iron) skillet out and wipe it dry.
Preheat the pan over high heat.
Generally, cook 3 minutes on each side. Do not press down on them with a spatula (you'll press out the juices!) Soon before they are done, put a slice of cheese on top.
Did I mention this recipe will also stink up the kitchen?
Top with lettuce, onion, tomato, bacon and pickle slices (they are out of order in photo).
Toast a sesame-seed hamburger bun briefly. I like to use mayo, mustard and ketchup on my bun halves. Alex sticks to just mayo. Andrew doesn't usually care for mustard (but he ate it here and said he liked it!)

Taster approved! He preferred to eat the bun and patty, separately, but with none of the toppings.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked Paprika
1 pound stew beef
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
3 carrots, cut on a diagonal into bite size pieces
3 ribs celery, chopped in 1/2" segments
10 fingerling (small) potatoes, cut in half if larger than 1"
1 cup frozen peas

Combine flour, paprika and garlic powder in a bowl. Cut excess fat from beef if necessary.
Use tongs to assist seasoning with salt & pepper and toss to coat in the flour bowl, shaking off excess and put pieces on a plate.
Heat oil in a dutch oven pot over medium high and brown beef on all sides. Beware, this will stink up the kitchen so ventilate as much as you can.
Transfer to the slow cooker.
Deglaze pot with the chicken broth and once browned bits are scraped up, pour into the slow cooker.
Add the remaining ingredients except for peas.
Cook on high for 4 hours, until vegetables are tender. About 30 minutes before serving, add peas to the pot.
Serves 3 to 4.