2 "The best burger I've ever eaten!"

Hey y'all! Thanks for coming back to see what The Paisley Texan has created today.  Let me just start with saying, I didn't physically create today's inspiration for my blog post, but what I'm about to share with you had to be passed along!!!  You have to tell your friends, your friends friends, and your friends friends friends!  It's that good!  {Obviously it's that good by all of the exclamation points used in the last 5 sentences, worth every single one of them!!}
So, Mr. Texan has raved about this amazing burger.  This burger that he says is, "The best burger I've ever eaten!"  That made me curious. Living in Texas, we eat a lot of burgers, and I have to say I don't think I've ever had one that I could call, "The best burger I've ever eaten!"  I mean, my daddy can make a mean burger, Mr. Texan makes a pretty darn good burger, but I can't say that I could pick my favorite out of all of the burger's I've had in my life.  The curiosity was too much to handle.  I knew I was going to have to experience Mr. Texan's "The best burger I've ever eaten!"
Now, I know you are dying to know where Mr. Texan's, "The best burger I've ever eaten!", happens to come from.  Ever heard of Bernie's Burger Bus?  Yeah, me neither, until Mr. Texan came home raving about it, complete with bumper sticker on his car and all.  Yes, to answer your question, because this was my first question, it's actually in an old "yellow dog" {aka yellow school bus}.  

Bernie's Burger Bus at the U of H Campus

  Now, playing up on the whole school bus vibe, the menu items all have school related names.  For instance, my husband's favorite burger is the Detention burger.  This burger consists of, "Two applewood smoked bacon grill cheeses used  as the bun, two signature beef patties topped with Texas cheddar, tipsy onions, and  all the fixings." {description taken straight from the website}  Doesn't that just sound like a heart attack on a plate, 2 grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns for the burger, then 2 patties, more cheese and fixins'?  There is no way I would be able to handle that much goodness on a plate.  So, I opted for The Principal, "traditional approach to the classic American burger with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, pickle, thin sliced onions, shredded lettuce, and slow roasted garlic tomatoes." {description taken straight from the website} That first bite started off sweet because of that delicious homemade bun, then I got that moist hamburger patty that you could tell was no frozen patty, and then all those fixins' hit you.  It was definitely a burger I'd eat again!  

The Principal

  I also tried the Truffle Laced Hand-Cut Fries with Parmesan and Green Onions.  Oh man, those were delicious too.  I couldn't sit there and eat all of them at once, but there were definitely enough to share with Mr. Texan.    

Truffle Laced Hand-Cut Fries

  Mr. Texan, by the way, branched out this visit and tried the fries with chopped BBQ, Cheddar, chives, and BBQ sauce.  {I couldn't find it on the menu, I think it's new, so I could have left something out.}  These were to die for and served as a meal all on their own.  The meat was perfectly cooked and the fries were perfectly fried.  I have to say, everything from Bernie's was perfectly, perfect.   

Those Perfectly Perfect Fries

I know you're wondering, where is Bernie's Burger Bus?  Well one never knows.  The bus is in different places each day.  There is a schedule on their website.  Also, you can follow them on Facebook, or Twitter.  
I know I've got you curious now.  Are you wondering if I could call my Bernie's experience "The best burger I've ever eaten!"?  Well, even though I can be an indecisive person, {That's an entirely different blog post, ask Mr. Texan.  Don't ask me where I want to go eat, that could take longer than getting there, eating, and getting out the door.} I'd have to say that Bernie's Burger Bus is probably one of "The best burgers I've ever eaten!"  {Daddy, I still love your hamburgers, yours ranks up there with Bernie's, I promise ;)}  What helped sell me was the fact that the majority of their ingredients are home made.  From their patties to their buns to their fries.  It's all made from "scratch", so you know you are getting good, quality food, that is oh so delicious and fresh.  We will go back again, I'd love to try a little bit of everything on their menu.     Now, do yourself a favor, go out and find Bernie's Burger Bus today and give them a try.  You will not walk away disappointed, that is a Paisley Texan promise!!!  {And no, Bernie's has not compensated me in any way to write this post.  I wish I could be that lucky ;)}
I'll leave you with some pictures of the beautiful scenery we had to look at while we ate our amazing food.  We decided to "picnic" at Discovery Green and let the girls play some.  {You don't see our oldest much, because she was all over the place and never stood still long enough for me to get a good shot in.}  Enjoy and stay tuned for what The Paisley Texan Creates next!  

Loves and hugs!

2 Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Sweet or Savory?

Howdy! The Paisley Texan is back with another creation.  Today, I've got 2 recipes for some amazing pumpkin seeds.  If you read my last post, it was all about carving pumpkins.  Well, I saved the gooey mess Mr. Texan dug out of those suckers, determined to roast some good seeds.

I picked apart the strings and chunks of pumpkin, leaving me with the seeds.  There were still some strings left, so I soaked them in water and let them sit while we carved our pumpkins.  When we finished carving, I went back to cleaning the seeds.  A tip from the website that I found the recipes at, said that if you rub the seeds between your hands under the water, that helps to wash off the excess strings. When finished cleaning them, I spread them out on cookie sheets to dry out.  Another tip said you can dry them with a blow dryer, or in a low heat oven.  I opted to just let them air dry over a few days. 

Seeds Drying

After a few days, when the seeds were nice and dry, I decided on the 2 recipes I wanted to try.  I found them here.  I opted for a savory recipe {which, by the way, tastes EXACTLY like homemade chex mix!!!}  I also went for a sweet recipe.  The savory was definitely my favorite, but they are both delicious!  

Ingredients for the savory recipe:  4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.

Savory Seeds Ingredients

Ingredients for the sweet recipe:  4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt,  and 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice.  {I used in place of the allspice and ginger, Chinese 5 Spice (next time I'll stick to the recipe, I wasn't impressed with the 5 Spice), and I added Nutmeg. Next time I will also add some sugar for a little added sweetness.}

Sweet Seeds Ingredients

Set your oven to 275 degrees.  Divide your seeds into two separate bowls if you are choosing to do both recipes.

Yep, I love pink!

Savory Recipe:  Add the melted butter to the seeds and mix thoroughly.

Paula Deen would be proud.

Then add 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.

2 t of Worcestershire Sauce

When you've mixed in the Worcestershire sauce, add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt.

1/2 t of Garlic Salt

After mixing in the garlic salt, mix very well.  Then pour onto a cookie sheet {if using a metal cookie sheet cover it with foil, easy clean up!}, I used one of my Pampered Chef stones.  Spread them out as evenly as you can, to make sure you have enough room for all of your seeds. 

Savory seeds ready to roast.

Bake them in your preheated 275 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  Depending on how hot your oven gets, it might take a shorter or longer amount of time.  Stir the seeds around every 5 minutes.  You will want to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.  For my oven, they took 20 minutes to roast.  

Set your oven to 275 degrees, stir every 5 minutes.

At the 20 minute mark, I tasted one to see if it was crunchy enough for my taste.  I could have let it cook another 5 minutes, but I jumped the gun and pulled them out.  They smelled delicious, looked delicious, and tasted {you guessed it} delicious!  

If only we had smell-a-vision capabilities!

Savory Pumpkin Seeds

Sweet Recipe:  Add the melted butter to the seeds and mix thoroughly.

Butter!

Then add a teaspoon of cinnamon.

1 t of Cinnamon

Next, if you are following the original recipe, you would add the ginger and allspice.  Since I changed it up a bit, I added 1/2 a teaspoon of Chinese 5 Spice.  {Next time, I won't use Chinese 5 Spice.  I wasn't impressed by it.  I'll stick to the original recipe and add some sugar.}

1/2 t Chinese 5 Spice

Here is a picture of the Chinese 5 Spice, with the ingredient list.  Just in case you're curious...

Chinese 5 Spice: Ginger, Cloves, Allspice, Star Anise, and others

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  I think, if you add sugar, the salt will be a nice balance.  If you choose to leave out the sugar, like I did this recipe round, the salt was a little too prevalent.  If you don't add sugar, I'd lower the salt to a 1/4 teaspoon.  

1/2 t of Salt

The last ingredient is the 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg I added for a little more fallish addition.   

1/2 t of Nutmeg

When you've added all of your ingredients, mix well.  Since this recipe is a sweet one, I decided to coat the pan with cooking spray {especially if you use sugar, so it doesn't stick}.  

Coat the pan.

Spread the seeds out as evenly as possible, just like you did with the savory recipe.

Sweet seeds are ready to roast!

Stir the seeds around every 5 minutes, especially watch this recipe, it can burn faster.  This recipe was cooked perfectly after 15 minutes.  

Roasted, yummy goodness!

Sweet Pumpkin Seeds

Now, you are all set to carve your pumpkins and save that slimy mess and make something totally yummylicious from it.  Let me know if you give one of the recipes a try.  There are a few other ideas on the website.  I think when I make these again, I'll do a savory batch with an addition of Tony Cachere's spice!  Savory with a little spice, yummmm.  Y'all enjoy!

  
Printable recipe for the Savory Pumpkin Seeds.
Printable recipe for the Sweet Pumpkin Seeds.

Thanks so much for clicking on my blog <3  Hang around and see what The Paisley Texan Creates next.

 
Loves and hugs! 

       

0 Pumpkin Carving

Howdy! Paisley Texan here and excited to share our pumpkins we carved this year.  Yes, we actually bought AND carved our pumpkins BEFORE  Halloween this year.  {That is a big feat for us it seems ;)}  So, Tuesday morning Mr. Texan asked me if I'd like to go to the local farmers market, Di Iorio Farms, and buy our pumpkins for this year.  I was surprised and couldn't believe that I didn't think of it first {actually I'm not surprised, he is really good about thinking of those little things that tend to slip my mind in the blessed chaos that is my day to day}.  And off to Di Iorio's we head.  I have to add, there is something about pulling into the farmer's market, it's almost like going to a thrift store to me, can't wait to see what good deal I'm going to find today. 

So, the pumpkins we picked out were the ones on the 2 for $4.99 table {I think, I know the number was around there somewhere}.  We got all 4 of our pumpkins for no more than $10 give or take a buck or two.  Much better price than what you might find at the local grocery store, so if you have a farmer's market close, take advantage.  Before we left, I of course had to swing by the dollar table.  There was a lot on the table, but nothing I was interested in that day.  {That's probably my favorite part of our farmer's market.  I'm a sucker for a deal.}

Here is a gorgeous shot of the sunset on our drive home.

Look at that Sunset!

The next day we prepared to carve our pumpkins around lunchtime.  Last year, after Halloween, I found some pumpkin carving tools on major clearance at a kitchen store in the mall in College Station.  When I say major clearance, they were marked down to .88 cents from $10.99.  Like I said, a sucker for a deal.  We were so pleased with that purchase this year.  They are heavy duty and not the plastic tools they sell in the grocery store for too much money.  They worked like a charm!

These things mean business!

Mr. Texan got the pumpkins cut open, and he enlisted our oldest daughter to help clean out the "innards".  She actually enjoyed it, our little tomboy.  While he got them all prepared, I went in search of the perfect carving template for the girls and for myself.  I'm a little {okay a lot} more picky than they are, so that became a too long ordeal.  Our oldest picked this Super Cute Spider, and I picked out this Totally Cute Cat for the baby.  I must say, both turned out beautifully. 

Totally Cute Cat

Super Cute Spider

After we got the pumpkins carved for the girls, it was nap time for them and then Mr. Texan and I planned our attack for our pumpkins.  We both love carving our pumpkins.  I think a lot of it is the nostalgia behind it and the other is seeing what you can create with you own two hands.  I finally found the perfect template for me, I bet you can't guess what I picked...I found the perfect paisley template on Better Homes & Gardens website {I was super giddy, excited when I found it}, they have some other great non-halloweenish templates too, so take some time to browse. 

Paisley for The Paisley Texan

So, Mr. Texan disappeared for a while {a long while}, during the time I decided to separate the guts of the pumpkin from the seeds.  I'd like to attempt roasting the seeds this year {last year didn't go as planned}.  This could potentially be a future blog post...Anyway, Mr. Texan comes in after his long while and is holding an amazing piece of art, I have no idea where he found the template, but it was amazing!  Here is his awesome pumpkin, bet you can't guess who we root for in these here parts.

Gig 'em!

So, now that you've seen our awesome pumpkins, I'll leave you with a few more pictures of them all lit up at night.  Hope you all enjoy your pumpkin carving festivities this year, and let me know if you need any ideas or help with templates.  I'd be happy to help you search for your perfect one :)

Y'all stay tuned and see what The Paisley Texan Creates next...

Loves and Hugs!