These burgers resemble a delicious breakfast, only in the form of a juicy burger for lunch or dinner, or breakfast, if you dare.  The bacon adds a smoky flavor to the burger with every bite and the rich, creamy egg yolk soaks into the toasted English muffin, making a perfect combo.  Processing the bacon and the ground beef in the Marinade Express helps to reduce the fat content and free radicals, and creates a succulent burger.

 Beef, Bacon, and Egg Burgers

Adapted from Real Simple Magazine

Hands-on Time 20 minutes; Total Time 30 Minutes

Serves 4

 Ingredients:

2 packets of unflavored Marinade Express Seasoning Mix
2 teaspoons grape seed oil
1 ¼ pounds ground beef chuck
4 slices bacon, prepped in the Marinade Express, then chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 English muffins, split
4 large eggs
1 large tomato, sliced 

Directions:

1. Prep the bacon in the Marinade Express with the Unflavored Seasoning Mix for 10 minutes. Remove bacon, chop and set aside, and rinse drum.

2. Prep the ground beef in the Marinade Express with the Unflavored Seasoning Mix for 4 minutes. Use a cheese cloth or a mesh laundry wash bag (sounds strange but it really helps the ground beef to not fall apart during the rotations). Squeeze out the excess water, remove from cheese cloth or mesh bag.

3. Gently mix together the beef, bacon, and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper with your hands until mixed well. Form the beef mixture into four ¾ inch-thick patties. Use your finger to make a shallow well in the top of each patty (this will prevent over-plumping during cooking).

4. Grill the burgers on medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes on each side. Grill the split English muffins, split-side down, until toasted, 10 to 20 seconds.

5. Meanwhile, while burgers are grilling heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet on the stove top over medium-low heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and cook, covered for 2 to 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Stack the tomato slices, burgers, and eggs between the muffins. Enjoy! 

This lemony chicken has a satisfyingly tangy taste to it. It’s great for big crowds because you can make as much chicken as you want without adding more time. The original recipe requires 6 to 24 hours of marinade time for the chicken.  By using the Marinade Express, you can have the same results in just 30 minutes. Plus, an added bonus is it kills up to 99.5% of bacteria that may be present on the chicken when an all-natural, specially-formulated Marinade Express seasoning mix is used in the appliance!

Grilled Lemon-Herb Chicken

Adapted from Nordstrom Family Table Cookbook   by:  Michael Northern

Prep time: 10 minutes

This Chili-Crusted Flank Steak was surprisingly tender and juicy on the inside because it was processed in the Marinade Express. The spices on the outside created a fabulous crust of flavor. The sweetness of the mango salsa added a perfect note of sweetness to the chili- crusted flank steak. This recipe is a must-try.

Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking. 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 beef flank steak (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 Tb. ground dried ancho chili peppers, or chili powder
2 Tb. cracked black peppercorns
1 1/2 Tb. ground cumin
1 1/2 Tb. coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Prep the steak in Marinade Express for 20-40 minutes, using your choice of the Signature Steak or Fajita or unflavored Express MX Marinade. Remove the steak and pat dry.
2. Combine the 4 seasonings in a small bowl and rub the entire surface of the steak with the spice mixture.
3. Grill or broil 3 1/2- 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Make a small incision and check the center; it should be slightly less done than desired; it will continue to cook somewhat off the heat. Remember that meat and fish prepped in the Marinade Express usually cook 20 % faster than normal because of the increased juiciness.
4. Remove the steak from the heat and let stand for about 5 minutes. Thinly slice it across the grain. Serve immediately, topped with Mango Salsa.

Mango Salsa

Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients: (About 6 cups). Note: Cut this recipe in half unless you are planning to use the salsa with several menu items in the course of two or three days.

1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 c. fresh lime juice (squeezed from about 6-7 small limes after prepping in Marinade Express)
2-3 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and chopped (about 4 c.)
1 large red bell pepper, chopped after prepping in Marinade Express
3/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (prep first in Marinade Express, before chopping)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. fresh orange juice
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, finely chopped after prepping in Marinade Express
Salt and cracked black peppercorns to taste

Directions:

1. Prep the limes, peppers and cilantro in Marinade Express, using the unflavored Express Marinade for fruits and vegetables. This will eliminate most surface bacteria and pesticide residue. This was especially important since we used a citrus squeezer that causes the juice to wash over the lime rinds in the squeezing process. Limes and peppers can be prepped together, using both divider ribs, placing limes on one side of the divider and peppers on the other. Prep the more fragile cilantro in a second batch (but you can put lettuce or other greens needed for another use on the other side of the divider ribs for the sake of efficiency.) Rotate for about 4 minutes.

Pat dry the limes, peppers, and cilantro before juicing or chopping for this recipe. Thoroughly dry any extra fruits, vegetables, or greens before storing them in the refrigerator, and they will keep longer than normal, because Marinade Express eliminates nearly all the spoilage-bacteria that was present.

2. In a large bowl, combine the chopped onion and lime juice. Peel and chop the mangoes and other ingredients (see hint below about cilantro), setting them aside, then add all together to the onion mixture and stir well.

3. Serve immediately. Salsa will keep, covered and refrigerated, for one day. Hint: if you only add as much cilantro as needed for the serving size immediately required, the salsa keeps longer. Just put in fresh cilantro each time you serve the salsa; we did that and were enjoying the salsa for 4 days with various menu items.

The sauce for these Asian Steak kabobs packs a big punch of flavor. With one bite they lead your taste buds on a roller coaster of ginger, garlic, lemongrass, curry, with a slight kick of spice. It is the perfect medley of flavors. I used MX Seasoning, Sesame Ginger, to kick-start the Asian flavors within the meat. Ever since the snow melted in Iowa we have been using our grill whenever possible, trying to urge Mother Nature into warmer spring days. These kabobs could easily be cooked in your oven if you don’t have the option of a grill. Either way you won’t want to miss out on these Asian-inspired kabobs!

Asian Steak Kabobs, adapted from Epicurious.com , 4 servings:

Ingredients:

Sesame Ginger MX Seasoning
2 tablespoons of chopped lemongrass (I used the Gourmet Garden lemongrass in a tube; it’s easier to work with and still tastes great!)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 large shallot, minced
2 fresh jalapenos, minced (adjust to preference of spicy heat)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 1/2 pounds steak of choice cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions:

1. Prep steak in Marinade Express for 20 minutes with the MX Seasoning.

2. Mix all ingredients except steak, bell peppers, and onion into a medium bowl.

3. Measure 1/4 cup of spice mixture*, toss with steak cubes to coat. 

4. Assemble vegetables and steak onto skewers, alternating vegetables with the steak. 

5. Grill or bake in oven (350 degrees) for approximately 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and steak is browned.

6. Serve kabobs with the remaining spice mixture on the side.

*Note: Next time I make this recipe I plan to run the 1/4 cup spice mixture through a food processor before mixing it with the steak. This way it becomes more of a paste and adheres to the meat better during the cooking process.