Om-nom-nom! That’s the sound of me devouring these sweet, savory, indulgent, and super easy Pineapple Pork Hawaiian Burgers. Seriously, this is the type of meal that makes you unconsciously make noises of glee while you’re eating. They’ll make you do that happy chair wiggle, you know the one (see the Shaq shimmy).

Ground pork is an awesome budget-friendly sub for ground beef (and just happened to also be on sale this week!). Its mild flavor makes it really flexible and because it’s usually a bit higher in fat, it’s always going to make a super rich and juicy burger. To keep things light and summery, I used sweet pineapple, tangy teriyaki sauce, and savory green onions to flavor these Hawaiian Burgers, plus a little Monterey Jack to make them even more rich. ;) But there are a LOT of options with these amazing burgers, so check out some ideas for substitutions and add-ins below.

Hawaiian Burgers

Substitutions and Add-Ins

While ground pork goes along with the Hawaiian theme the best, you can definitely go with a leaner ground turkey or chicken, if preferred. Beef will also work, but I feel like the flavor might slightly over power the other ingredients.

I made a half batch of my Homemade Teriyaki Sauce to use in and on these burgers, but there are a lot of other options. In addition to just using a bottle teriyaki sauce instead of homemade, you can substitute BBQ sauce, or even hoisin sauce in its place.

My options for buns at the grocery store were a bit limited, but I think the best options to go along with the Hawaiian theme are Hawaiian King rolls (obvi), brioche rolls, or sweet onion rolls (which is what I used).

I kept my Hawaiian Burgers pretty simple, but there are a LOT of fun options for add-ins or add-ons, if you happen to have these items on hand: bacon, avocado, jalapeño, French fried onions (or jalapeños), or even coleslaw.

Step by Step Photos

Take one pineapple ring out of a 20 oz. can of pineapple slices in juice, and chop it into very fine pieces. Slice two green onions, and shred about 2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese.

Place one pound ground pork in a large bowl and add the chopped pineapple, sliced green onion, shredded Monterey jack, and 2 Tbsp of teriyaki sauce. Mix these ingredients together by hand until evenly incorporated.

Divide and shape this mixture into four burger patties. Shaping them larger and thinner than you’d like your finished burger to be is key. This helps them cook quickly and evenly. The burgers will contract and shrink inward as they cook, so you don’t have to worry about the finished burger being really thin. Set the shaped burgers aside.

Thinly slice half of a red onion. Heat 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet and oil are very hot, add the sliced onions. Let them cook until browned and caramelized on the bottom before stirring. Stir and let them caramelize again. The key to getting this nice browning action is to make sure the skillet is nice and hot before adding the onions, make sure you use a large enough skillet so they’re not over crowded, and don’t stir too often. Once browned, transfer the onions to a bowl and set them aside.

Turn the heat down to medium, add another 1/2 Tbsp oil to the skillet, swirl to coat, then add the burger patties. Cook the patties on each side until browned and cooked through (about 5 minutes each side, although this can vary based on your cookware, the subtle differences in your range top, or the size and shape of your burgers). Transfer the cooked burgers to a clean plate or cutting board.

Pat four more of the pineapple slices dry with paper towel, then add them to the hot skillet. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes each side until they’re hot and some of the browned bits from the burger have dissolved off the pan and onto the pineapple.

While the onions, burgers, or pineapple are cooking, mix together 4 Tbsp mayonnaise and 1 Tbsp sriracha.

To build your burgers, spread a tablespoon or so of the sriracha mayo on a bun, add a cooked burger patty, and top the patty with a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce.

Next, add one of the cooked pineapple rings and some of the caramelized red onions. 

And finally, DIG IN! 🤤

The post Pineapple Pork Hawaiian Burgers appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Key lime pies are fantastic summertime desserts because they are always served cold, making the sweet-tart filling both delicious and refreshing. Most key lime pies, however, are baked and require that you turn your oven on to bake one. This Key Lime Pie Icebox Cake just might be a perfect summer dessert, capturing the creamy and tart flavor of a classic key lime pie in a frozen, no-bake form!

The icebox cake is extremely easy to make. Like most icebox cake, it involves layering a creamy filling with pre-baked cookies, then allowing the layered dessert to set up in the freezer. This recipe uses graham crackers – which are a nod to the graham cracker crusts typically used with key lime pies – and a filling that combines sweetened condensed milk with lime juice. It is topped with a generous layer of whipped cream that is lightly sweetened with lime and vanilla, and provides a nice contrast to the slightly richer key lime layers below.

Start by lining an 8-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap, then placing a single layer of graham crackers over the base of the pan. It is ok if there are small gaps between the crackers. Next, spoon some of the filling mixture on top of the crackers, ensuring that each has about the same amount on top. The layers are thin, but the filling has a lot of flavor. This layering process is repeated a few times before the final layer of graham crackers and whipped cream are added.

As with all key lime desserts, this one will be especially good if you are using fresh key limes. Key limes are smaller than their regular cousins (persian limes, the variety usually seen in markets) and have a brighter acidity to them that really makes them pop in desserts, including key lime pie. You can absolutely use regular limes if you don’t have access to key limes, however, and the icebox cake will still be wonderful. Regardless of which variety of limes you use, please use fresh juice for best results!

The cake will take several hours to set up in the freezer and I generally recommend making it the night before (or at least 6 hours) before you intend to serve it. While it freezes, the layers meld together and the flavors really develop nicely. The cake will be easy to slice when it is frozen and can be served immediately, or allowed to come a bit closer to room temperature if you prefer the whipped cream topping to be a bit softer.

Key Lime Pie Icebox Cake
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (pref. from key limes)
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
18 graham crackers (rectangular/full crackers)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice and sweetened condensed milk until well-combined. Set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture in a small bowl.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan generously with plastic wrap.
Place a single layer (4 sheets + 1 square) of graham crackers over the base of the baking pan. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining lime mixture over the graham crackers.
Place a second layer of graham crackers on top of the lime filling, then top with another 1/3 of the lime mixture. Repeat the layering process one more time, then top the final layer of lime mixture with a last layer of graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Beat in vanilla extract and reserved 1/4 cup of lime mixture. Spread whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake.
Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until firm. Serve cold.

Serves 9-12

The post Key Lime Pie Icebox Cake appeared first on Baking Bites.

The itinerary for our European vacation to Italy, Spain, and Croatia: a brief overview where we went, what we did, and why travel is good for the soul.

Why travel is good for the soul

Are you ready for an adventure? What’s stopping you? After launching our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking, Alex and I were ready for a change of scenery. And we’ve found that in our line of work (developing recipes), sometimes the most productive thing is to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. So we decided to take a plunge: 3 weeks travelling around Europe, with a toddler in tow. It would be part vacation, part researching new flavors, and part adventuring and soul-searching for the next phase of A Couple Cooks. And what we found is that not only is travel exhilarating and beautiful and stretching—travel is good for the soul.

There are so many excuses for not travelling. Travel is expensive. Staycations are cheaper and more practical. Travel is risky. Travel with kids is hard. We’re not here to convince you to take a vacation outside of your comfort zone or budget. However, travel to another culture can be beautiful thing to help you to appreciate fellow humans in a new way. It can force you to slow down and notice the small things. Travel can help you reassess alternative paths instead of the same old. If you stay with friends, travel can help you appreciate the incredible gift of hospitality. If you meet locals and seek to understand the culture, travel can endear you to a place like no other. And of course, travel can introduce you to new flavors and customs to bring back to your table!

Below are some brief highlights of our European vacation to whet your appetite for travel. Our itinerary was very specific based around friends and family. We don’t recommend that you follow our specific path, but perhaps you’ll find some destinations here that pique your interest! This post is an overview: we’ll share more specific information in separate posts to come! Examples:

• How to Take a Toddler on Vacation to Europe
• How to Plan a Perfect Capsule Wardrobe for European Travel
• Tellaro: Italy’s Best Kept Secret
• Healthy Snacks to Pack When Travelling with Kids
• How To Take Gorgeous Vacation Photos
• How We Found Three Stunning Hidden Beaches in Europe
• And more!

A big family Italian vacation: the Mediterranean & historic Rome

Tellaro, Italy

Why Italy? Italy holds a soft spot for Alex and me. It’s where we honeymooned (Rome and the Amalfi Coast), and then returned to 7 years later because we love it so. The way we view food has been indelibly shaped by the country of Italy. It’s here that we first fell in love with artisan pizza, discovered the delectable simplicity of Cacio e Pepe, and ate our weight in gelato.

Since we’d been to the Amalfi Coast, we decided to try the coast on the opposite side of Rome, near Cinque Terre. I had been to Cinque Terre 15 years ago, but since then it’s become incredibly full of tourists. Tellaro was the perfect unspoiled Italian fishing village for us to visit. Heard of it? We hadn’t either. However, we had heard that it was similar to Cinque Terre without the crowds. We found an incredible Airbnb right on the Mediterranean and decided to try it out.

For the Italy portion of our trip we were a party of 8: us and Larson, Alex’s mom, brother, sister-in-law and our 8 and 5 year old niece and nephew. The kids did fabulously. We had lots of beach time, pizza, gelato, and sunset meals on our patio. We also did several day trips from Tellaro, which I’ll share in another post. Overall, Tellaro was MAGIC.

Rome, Italy

Next on the European vacation itinerary was Rome. Rome is one of Alex and my favorite cities on the planet. The layers upon layers of history is simply awe inspiring. One moment you’re in a cute street of salmon and sunny yellow narrow buildings, and the next you’re in a mess of Roman ruins dating back 2000 years.

In Rome we stayed an Airbnb built in 1685, ate our weight in gelato (again!), had some incredible authentic and modern Italian meals, saw the Sistene Chapel, and strolled by the Pantheon as many times as possible. This was my fourth time to Rome, and it just keeps getting better.  The Italians say if you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain you’ll return to Rome: and I can vouch that it’s been incredibly effective!

Visiting Sibenik: a seaside town on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast

Sibenik, Croatia

Two of our dearest friends live in Vienna, and we wanted to do a weekend trip on the Mediterranean with them that we could all drive to. We settled on Sibenik, Croatia, a Medieval fishing village about an hour north of Split. Our roundabout way of getting here was flying from Rome to Vienna (on super cheap Wizz Air), then driving to Sibenik. Fun fact: several Game of Thrones episodes were filmed in Sibenik (Braavos anyone?)! After spending a few days there, we realized why. This town is straight up gorgeous in a mysterious sort of way. The more time we spent there, the more we fell in love.

Krka National Park

There’s a national park nearby, Krka National Park, where we got to swim in a waterfall. The blue green water was crystal clear and just the right temperature.  INCREDIBLE.

And, somehow we magically ended up being in Croatia for the final game of the World Cup, which Croatia was playing in! What luck. Even though they lost, seeing Croatians celebrate with pride that their tiny country got second place was incredibly special.

A Spanish road trip on the Mediterranean coast

Málaga, Spain

On to Spain! This was the final leg of our travel. I studied in Madrid in university and minored in Spanish, so Spain is near and dear to my heart. I’d been talking Alex’s ear off about Spain for 15 years, so the ability to share this beautiful country with him—and Larson—was very meaningful.

How did we end up in Málaga? A cheap flight from Vienna to Málaga on Wizz Air (again!). Alex, Larson and I as “The Three Amigos” decided to take 6 days and road trip from Málaga to Barcelona, stopping at various destinations in between. While we enjoyed Málaga and staying steps from the beach (!), what we loved most were the day trips. Highlights were Granada and the Alhambra, an old Moorish castle that is an incredibly beautiful and mysterious spot, and Frigiliana, a sweet white village (pueblo blanco) in the hills near Málaga. Separate post on Frigiliana coming soon! (Below: Frigiliana, the Alhambra, Granada view)

Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena was a wildcard destination for us. We needed somewhere to stay on our Spanish road trip and its location fit the bill. I was pleasantly surprised when our Airbnb balcony opened right onto a Roman theater built in 5 BC! Alex’s Airbnb skills win yet again! The city was cute, filled with some tourists but not too many. We found some interesting local foods, like huge round crespillo crackers that tasted like a grown-up version of gold fish! And the highlight was this secret beach that Alex found after extensive Google research: with only a few locals that had discovered it, we had it mainly to ourselves! Separate post on Cartagena coming soon!

Valencia, Spain

We were in Valencia for a hot second as a place to lay our heads between Cartagena and Barcelona. And our experience surprised us! We stayed in the cutest little Airbnb the El Cabanyal neighborhood, an up and coming neighborhood that was once quite rough. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but it’s filled with beautiful Spanish tile homes from the early 20th century! I got a little obsessed and did a photoshoot throughout the neighborhood. Also on our road trip up to Valencia: the most authentic paella we’ve ever had in restaurant filled with local families, and another hidden beach. More on Valencia coming soon!

Barcelona, Spain

And Barcelona. It’s my other favorite city in the world, and I hadn’t been back in 15 years. Luckily: Barcelona still has got it going on. We stayed with Ali and Barclay of Gimme Some Oven, who have been living in the city for a year. They were the most INCREDIBLE hosts and generously showed us the best things this city had to offer. They even watched Larson so Alex and I could have a date night! Highlights were La Sagrada Familia, the incredible church by Gaudi that’s been under construction for 100 years, lots of tapas, lots of wine, beachside paella and lots of time spent savoring people around the table. The way the Catalonians enjoy food and relish time lingering around the table left a mark on us. More on Barcleona to come!

And why travel?

By the end of our three weeks overseas, we realized: we came for the food, but what we found was more intangible. The value of time spent around the table relishing dear people. Mental space. Appreciation of the rugged beauty of this world. Treasuring new customs and foods. The exhilaration of going off the beaten path. A fresh look at the world through the curiosity of an adventuring 1 year old. You don’t need a European vacation or even to fly across the ocean to do it, but getting out of your comfort zone can be refreshing, fulfilling, and yes: good for the soul.

How about you? Where do you dream of traveling? What have been some of your most impactful trips? Any other questions?

A few past European vacation spots

Here are a couple of our favorite European vacation spots from a trip we took 4 years sago:

• Santorini, Greece | Travel Guide
• Rome & Naples, Italy | Travel Guide
• Amalfi Coast & Capri | Travel Guide

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