Mushrooms cooked in butter, salt and garlic are a simple topper for grilled chicken. | All photos courtesy of Bethany Linnenkohl

When I cook a meal with just vegetables and a starch, especially with men around, the usual comment I get is “Where’s the meat?” At barbecues, the staple dish is usually the meat — chicken, burgers, seafood or steak. Without meat, the meal feels incomplete. Although you can simply throw on a steak or a couple pieces of chicken, there are so many various flavors that you can add to your meat.

Chicken

I love experimenting with different seasonings to concoct exceptional flavors, but for a simple and easy, but still savory dish, use fresh garlic, basil or rosemary. To save on dishes and a larger mess, pour one tablespoon olive oil per chicken breast, or per two chicken thighs or drumsticks, in a gallon-size plastic bag. Add in salt and pepper as desired. Finely mince or press the garlic using a garlic press and chop the basil. Add garlic, basil and rosemary, or any combination of those, in the bag along with the pieces of chicken. Zip the bag tightly and massage the chicken until the meat is completely coated by the seasonings. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for one hour. These can even be prepared a day prior to grilling. Place the pieces of chicken on the grill 20 to 25 minutes prior to serving time. Grill the chicken until the entire outside of the chicken is white, grill marks are present on the chicken and the chicken is no longer pink in its center.

The everything burger

At home, when there is ground beef in the fridge, my siblings always beg me to make burgers for them. Their reasoning is understandable. Usually, burgers simply contain ground beef — but not my burgers! I like to stuff my burgers with all sorts of things in order to ensure every bite is flavor-filled and juicy. Who came up with the idea of putting condiments on top of the burger and not inside?

When choosing ground beef to make your patties, keep in mind the higher the fat content the juicier your burgers will be and the more they will shrink when they’re grilled. Combine any or all of the mentioned ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands or a spatula, gently combine all of the ingredients until incorporated. Form the meat mixture into disc-shaped patties and grill until done. Be sure to lightly toast the buns until they turn golden brown … and don’t forget the mushrooms!

The basics:

-Ketchup
-Worcestershire sauce
-Salt
-Pepper
-Basil
-Oregano

Possible additions:

-Thyme
-Garlic
-Onion
-Mustard
-Chilies
-Bacon, crumbled
-Barbecue sauce
-Cheese (such as Beecher’s Flagship Cheese or cheddar)

Mushrooms are a perfect addition to most meals. Some people don’t like mushrooms and I understand — I was once there, too. But my response is that usually most people have not had mushrooms that have been cooked well. My favorite way to cook mushrooms is simply with butter, salt and garlic. Pick out about a pound or so of white button mushrooms for four people. Lightly wash the mushrooms to rid them of any dirt and slice them a quarter-inch thick. Place the sliced mushrooms on a sheet of foil with three tablespoons of butter and a sprinkling of salt. Fold up the edges of the foil and form the foil into a small package. Place the mushrooms packaged in the foil on the grill and cook, turning the package occasionally, until the mushrooms become soft and are no longer vibrantly white in color.