I have said it before and I will say it again. I am all
about eating delicious food without the trauma associated with intensive
cooking. Shortcuts are absolutely allowed if it means I can serve a healthy,
balanced but scrumptious family meal in minutes. So when BritMums challenged us
to the Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge, it sounded just the sort of thing for
me. If I can serve the perfect weekend family meal without spending all day in
the kitchen, it has to count as a win.
I picked up a couple of Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken
Burger Twin Packs from Tesco as part of my weekly shop. We are a family of
three, so four burgers would suffice by my estimate. Oh, yes! Rustlers burgers
are not just for kids and there was no way M and I were going to miss out on
this experience. Anyway, we don’t conform to the idea of separate meals for
different age-groups in our house. Everyone eats the same food as a rule. Spice
levels and sides get altered to suit taste-buds, but there is no compromise on
the mains. Again, this fits in with my mantra of a simplified kitchen
experience and my six year old son J gets to explore different food textures
and flavours.
Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken burgers are made of quality
chicken marinated with a southern fried breadcrumb and all they need is a
minute and half in the microwave before you can tuck in. This is perfect if you
are in a hurry and need to rustle up a meal in minutes. If however, you have
more time on your hands, you can dress up a Rustlers chicken burger any way you
like. Add a few fillings or toppings, a couple of favourite sides and a drink,
and you have a delicious, well-balanced meal.
Our Sundays are generally chaotic with taekwon-do and homework
to contend with. But Sunday lunches are a time for laid-back family meals. So
we decided to convert our Rustlers burgers into a gastronomic family dining
experience. My son may be only 6, but he is all about good food and relishes
fine dining.
We decided to serve our Rustlers burgers with a crisp,
crunchy coleslaw with a cider vinegar dressing and homemade sweet potato fries
on the side. We would have lettuce, tomato and sliced cheese as fillings and
serve it as a deconstructed burger meal. While I got busy with some of the prep,
I got J to tear up gem lettuce and chop a red pepper into slices.
Here is how I hacked the BritMums Rustlers Burger Challenge.
Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burger Served Deconstructed
- I started by cutting open the twin pack and easing out one of the burgers onto a microwaveable plate. As I mentioned before, I could have just popped the whole thing into the microwave for a quick fix meal.
- Instead, I chose to separate the chicken patty from the bun. The patty went into the microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds at 800W (as per the instructions on the packet). In the meantime, I popped the two halves of the seeded bun into the toaster.
- Once the buns were toasted, I placed a portion of sliced cheese on one half of the bun. It went into the microwave for 10 seconds – just enough to melt the cheese.
- Next it was time to plate up. I served the Rustlers burger patty on a cabbage leaf (leftover from the coleslaw) and with a lettuce leaf tucked underneath it. I squiggled a fancy pattern on it with the pack of lightly peppered mayo that came in the twinpack.
- The seeded top half of the bun went on one side while the melted cheesy one went on the other, with a slice of tomato on top.
- I piled sweet potato fries on one side of the plate, the chunky coleslaw on the other with a dollop of ketchup in the middle.
- My deconstructed Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burgers were good to go.
Only, J had other ideas. He insisted on eating his burger
his way – the traditional way! So once the patty came out of the microwave and
the cheese had melted on the toasted buns, he assembled it with slices of
tomato and squirts of peppered mayo. He piled his plate high with fries and
slaw, with copious dollops of mayo and ketchup on the side.
It took all of two
minutes for the plate to be licked clean!
That’s the thing with these delicious Rustlers burgers. You
can eat them any way you like. Deconstructed gourmet style or piled up high in
a more traditional way. With toppings and sides or without. They are versatile
and easy to prep, making them perfect for a family meal when you are hard
pressed for time.
With a colourful and varied array of toppings and sides, you can create a well-balanced, sumptuous family meal. Like the one we did.
Protein – Chicken in the burger patty, cheese slice
Carbohydrates – burger bun, sweet potato fries
Fats – Mayonnaise side, olive oil used for the fries
Chunky coleslaw, lettuce and tomato slices count towards 5-a-day
You can now pick up Rustlers burgers at Tesco stores and
have a go cooking up your own delicious burger hacks. What will you serve them
with?
This post is an entry for BritMums Rustlers Burger Hacking
Challenge, sponsored by Rustlers.
You've managed to make these seem so much more appetising! I haven't had a Rustlers burger for years!
ReplyDeleteIt was our first time eating these, and we did enjoy the prep and eating them too. It took my son all of 2 minutes to chomp down one of these :)
Deletelove the look of the sweet potato fries too, I always forget how good they are!
ReplyDeleteReally good to see how you got on and feeling quite ravenous now. Commenting for myself and on behalf of BritMums and thanking you for taking part
ReplyDelete