UrbnSpice

"A Taste Of Heart & Home"

Urbnspice Ultimate Recipe Series

The Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Egg Free, & Refined Sugar Free

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The very reason that these Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars were created was due entirely to another recipe I was updating for Nut Butter and No-Nut Butter Cookies. I had been experiment making Sunflower Seed Butter – let’s just say that resulted in an interesting reaction. You can read my Funny Sunflower seed butter story in this post.

The moral of the story is: good things happen to those who are determined. I was very pleased with the outcome with my recipe for Sunflower Butter and also my bonus sunflower butter crumbles that resulted from trial and repeat.  In addition to these Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars, stay tuned for Coconut Orange Pudding with Sunflower Butter Crumble garnish – another Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Egg free, Nut free and Refined Sugar-Free dessert.

Sunflower Butter Bars | urbnspice.com

Sunflower Butter Bars

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Best Ever Banana Muffins

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Kids in the Kitchen Series

I have been making these Best Ever Banana Muffins for so many years now that I know the recipe by heart.  What does this tell you?  It tells you that this Best Ever Banana Muffin recipe will become a family favourite in your household, too!

My little daughters helped make these often…(sometimes with surprising results).  Like the time the baking soda perhaps found its way into the mixing bowl a few too many times and our muffins tasted mighty soapy.  Or the time that we forgot the baking powder and they ended up a little on the flat side.

Baking with children is always an adventure and one that I would not have missed for the world.  We look back on those times with fond memories and now have carried it into another generation with grand kiddies.  They enjoy it just as much as their mommas did.

Banana Muffins | urbnspice.com
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The Ultimate French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup with Smoked Sea Salt

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Urbnspice Ultimate Recipe Series

While spring is fast approaching, the evenings are cool and comfort food is still very much a part of the daily menu. This recipe for Ultimate French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup is one of my childhood favourites. Every Friday night was pea soup night.  Mom and Dad would typically do their weekly grocery shopping on the way home from work and always buy a fresh loaf of unsliced bread to go with our soup.  Hot bowls of fragrant soup with thick slices of fresh bread slathered with butter – yum! Oh, how I looked forward to that meal every week.

French Canadian Pea Soup | urbnspice.com

French Canadian Pea Soup 

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The Ultimate Burger – Really!

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UrbnSpice Ultimate Recipe Series

The Wats-On Burger

It is time to share an amazing recipe with you:  The Ultimate Burger (known as the Wats-on Burger) is actually the creation of my husband. No one has ever been able to match it.  It does have fresh ingredients, mixed with a light hand and grilled to perfection.  What it does not have is fancy ingredients like BBQ sauce or truffle bits.  It is a simple burger – that is all…..and everything.  If you want to try to recreate this burger, you will need a few things.

The Ultimate Burger | urbnspice.com

The Ultimate Burger 

THE WATS-ON BURGER

INGREDIENTS:

For 6 – 8 large burgers or 12 – 14 sliders:

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 2 green onions, sliced thinly
  • 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 10 crushed crackers of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or onion powder

METHOD:

  1. Combine the ground meat, green onion, garlic, egg, cracker crumbs and seasoning, and mix to combine.  Take care not to over mix.
  2. Test a small meatball size portion, flattened,  by frying until cooked through.  Taste and adjust the seasonings accordingly.  This is an important step!
  3. Separate the mixture into patties and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  4. Grill the patties until done.  Just prior to finishing, place slices of cheese on top of the cooked burger and let the cheese soften before removing the burger from the pan or grill and placing them onto a toasted burger bun.

GARNISHES:

The garnishes that we typically top this burger with are quite simple:

  • sliced dill pickles
  • sliced fresh tomatoes
  • shredded or leaves of lettuce
  • Gruyere or old Cheddar cheese, sliced
  • Rings of freshly sliced red onion
  • A fresh grind of black pepper and a sprinkle of salt on the tomato slices, seasoned to taste

Feel free to add your own garnish.  Other garnishes we have tried and loved are:

  • Caramelized Onion – I show you How to Caramelize Onions in this post
  • Sliced mushrooms, sautéed in butter
  • Crispy Bacon slices

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

  • Tweaking
  • Basic Tools:  Scoops for Portioning
    _________

Enjoy!

This is truly the best burger you will ever have!

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

Denise Pare-Watson

The UrbnSpice Chef

 

 

More Urbnspice Ultimate Recipes:

Urbnspice’s Ultimate Soup Recipe 

Urbnspice’s Ultimate Apple Crisp

Urbnspice’s Ultimate Chocolate Desserts

Urbnspice’s Ultimate Veggie Burger

 

Urbnspice Ultimate Apple Crisp

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The Ultimate Recipes Series

I want to share with you my recipe for Urbnspice Ultimate Apple Crisp because the first crisp evenings of autumn are upon us. The leaves are starting to turn crimson, gold and yellow and the crickets are chirping – a sure sign that fall is approaching. When I think of autumn, I think of fall fruits.  A favourite of mine is apples.

It is just as exciting waiting for the first fresh crop of apples as it is the first strawberries or potatoes or corn. Apples will be the focus of this article, particularly because we have just returned from Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. We enjoyed a number of delicious varieties along our route. For example, Gravenstein apples, which are known by the locals as “Gravs.”

Did you know that certain varieties are more suited for certain recipes than others? A softer apple, such as McIntosh is more suited for a baked apple, while a Mutzu or Granny Smith hold their shape when baked, making it ideal for apple pie or crisps. I came across an excellent Apple Reference Chart that can help you decide which apple will be best for your particular baking needs.

Urbnspice Ultimate Apple Crisp with the addition of mixed berries is a wonderful variation | urbnspice.com

Urbnspice Ultimate Apple Crisp with the addition of mixed berries is a wonderful variation 

I used a combination of apples for this crisp: tart Granny Smith and sweet Crisp Pinks. You can use any combination of apples, even those apples hidden in the bottom of crisper that have seen better days. Adjust the sweetness of the apples based on their tartness. The recipe for the crisp topping is listed below; however, I prefer doubling the amount of topping to make a very generous layer of crisp topping….

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