One of our family’s favorite past times is boating. We live near ‘da river as we like to call it and nearly every weekend you can find “Our Xcape” (the name of the boat) on a Saturday afternoon roaring down the river and settling in at the sandbar where most of the locals congregate…(our every own “Redneck Yacht Club” if you will)!
On this sandbar you can find pontoon boats, little fishing boats, ski boats (which is what we have), jet skis’, and even the occasional kayak or two. It’s a time to relax, reconnect with friends, take the kids tubing, knee boarding, and skiing and swimming in the warm water discharge. In addition to the relaxing part, my best friend and I often talk and brainstorm about both serious and silly things while we are standing hip deep in the water and it occurred to me this past weekend how many rituals we’ve created over the years.
One of my favorite rituals that has evolved over the last couple of years is having dinner out on the river. We generally take turns with one of us bringing the main dish and sides and the other bringing the dessert and wine (it’s a good ritual!!).
We’ve learned that Tex-Mex works pretty well, Chinese does not (hard to cook rice on the grill…lol!). We each try to be creative and vary the dishes from the same old burger and dogs, but I have to tell you that “river” burgers are the absolute best! “River” burgers are my homemade burgers and I’ve been tweaking the recipe the last 2 summers…I think I have it down pretty darn good at this point!
The word “ritual” is a word that you will hear often in personal development. A ritual becomes a sacred habit that is important to you and helps keep you grounded. This is different from a routine, which is doing the same thing over and over again without really thinking about it. A ritual should give you a sense of peace, a feeling of well-being and it’s a way of creating meaningful connections between you and what you find important to you.
Rituals are important because they help you connect with positive habits and give you the nudge to keep moving forward. Rituals can be as simple as positive affirmations that you say to yourself when you wake up in the morning, a hot bath, lighting a candle when you get home from work or while you’re working, listening to personal development audios while driving, etc. Rituals make YOU feel good and put you in a state of well-being.
Dinners on the river are a ritual that makes me feel connected with the people I care about, and all of the actions that surround it (preparing the food, packing it, etc.) are a part of that satisfaction and well-being. It’s a time to relax and connect with my inner spirit and draw upon that energy to motivate myself.
This is my recipe for the perfect “river” burger. Since we like “everything” on our burgers, I tinkered with this recipe by trying to include as many toppings as I could without having to take all of them out separately. We love them and I hope you enjoy them too!
Please feel free to tinker with this recipe based on your personal preferences. Sometimes I use blue cheese or some other type of cheese, etc.
River Burgers
2 lbs ground beef (I use lean)
2 Tbs worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs smoke flavoring
2 Tbs olive oil
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I use portabellos)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup bacon bits (the REAL bacon bits not imitation)
Mix all ingredients together and form into patties. Grill 5-7 minutes until done how you like ’em.
What are some of your rituals? How do you reconnect with YOU? If you don’t have any, hopefully this post will inspire you as you’re enjoying a yummy burger!
Would love to hear about your rituals and let me know how the burgers turn out!
Leave a Reply