All American Progressive Dinner: Jalapeno Pimento Cheeseburgers

Summer is just around the corner, which means Memorial Day is upon us. Can you believe it? And Memorial Day means picnics, swimming, grilling, fireworks, and relaxing. Those are pretty much all of the best summer activities all rolled into one day!

If you're trying to plan a Memorial Day menu (or haven't even thought about it yet), we are here to save the day! I've teamed up with Jaelan from Making Mrs. M and Olivia from Snyders Tell All to bring you an All American Progressive Dinner! So get your pen and paper ready for your grocery list, and prepare for a major drool-fest...

My leg of the progressive dinner was the entree. There are so many options out there that would be wonderful, but really, what says "AMERICA" more than a classic cheeseburger?

To pump it up a notch, I decided to make some jalapeno pimento cheese for a kick. And let me assure you, it did not disappoint! 

Let's get started by making the pimento cheese.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups extra sharp Cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (trust me, use Duke's)
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 4 oz. diced pimentos (drained)
• 1 small (seeded) minced jalapeno
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Put all ingredients, except the salt and pepper, into a large bowl and blend with a mixer or by hand. If mixing by hand, be sure to press down on the cream cheese to be certain it gets incorporated evenly.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• That's it. Seriously.

The rest of the recipe is simple - just grill your burgers using your favorite seasonings (we went with salt, pepper, and garlic powder so we didn't steal the pimento cheese's thunder), and add toppings as you like. Lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard, ketchup...get creative and add some bacon, sauteed mushrooms, potato chips, whatever you want! The world (burger) is your oyster.

Here is how mine turned out. It was really messy to eat, but aren't all of the yummiest things? It was husband, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law approved.

What do you think? Do you have any Memorial Day recipes that you love?


Be sure to hop over to see Jaelan's homemade vanilla ice cream and apple crumble pie (droooool) and Olivia's Red, White, & Blue drink AND a bonus second drink recipe, a Beerita!!



Until next time - -