Tex Mex Burgers

Tex-Mex Burgers adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Ingredients for burgers: 

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup fine bread crumbs

1 tbsp milk

1/4 cup grated onion

1 1/2 tbsp dry taco seasoning

Using your hands mix all ingredients together well. Form into 4 burger patties.

Ingredients for Pico de Gallo: 

3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup diced yellow and red pepper, combined

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1 small seeded jalapeno pepper, dice very small

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley

2-3 grinds fresh pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

juice of one fresh lime (do not use bottled lime juice)

Add all ingredients together in a non metallic bowl. This can be made earlier in the day, covered and refrigerated. 

Ingredients for spicy mayo and other toppings: 

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp Sambal Oelek, which is ground fresh chili paste. You could substitute with hot sauce, or if you don't like it hot use ketchup.

2 avocados, sliced

Tex Mex cheese

4 kaiser buns

 

Method: Once you have all your toppings ready, fire up the barbecue. The last few minutes the burgers are on the grill top with cheese. Build your burger and enjoy!

 

Here's what you'll need for the pico de gallo:

 

I made this earlier in the day and refrigerated until dinner.

 

Chop up the tomatoes.

Chop up the peppers.

Chop up the onion.

Chop up the jalapeno.

 

Chop up the cilantro, sprinkle with salt and the lime juice and

here's what you'll end up with: 

Here's what you'll need for the burgers:

Mix all of the ingredients together:

Pad out into burgers.

Grill the burgers.

Top with cheese.

Top with pico de gallo and any other toppings you choose

here's what you'll end up with: 

  Our Thoughts:

I was worried about this dish because once I saw that bread crumbs, egg, and milk were added to the ground beef I was afraid that it would be too much like a meatloaf.  It was a little heartier than a normal burger but the taco seasoning added was really a great addition.

We don't normally put mayo on our burgers so I didn't make the spicy mayo but I wish I would have.  This burger was missing a little creaminess.  I added avocados to the pico and it did add a little smooth texture but Scott mentioned that he thought it would have been better by putting the pico/avocado in the food processor and I think I agree it might have made it seem more like that ketchup, mustard, mayo liquidyness (is that a word?) that we normally put on burgers.

Overall, I think this dish was a success and had good flavor.

Hope you enjoy!

April 

Andrea's Veggie-Filled Burgers

I got tonight's recipe from my friend, Andrea.  I loved that it packed in a few extra veggies and since it was a warmer day, burgers was a great dinner.

Andrea's Veggie-Filled Burgers
1 med sweet potato

1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 med onion
1lb or so diet lean hamburger
Steak seasoning to taste (probably 1.5 TBSP)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp onion powder
2 TBSP steak marinade (I get this at the best of Missouri so I am not sure you can find it in the store)

Directions: Peel all 4 vegetables and shred. Mix shredded vegtables with rest of ingredients. Let sit in fridge at least 1 hour and up to 24.

Press patties into whatever size you like. I made 9 last night. Warm up non stick skillet with 1tsp of olive oil. Cook burgers 4-5 min each side or until finished. I covered the skillet with a lid for at least the last minute just to make sure they are done.


Modifications:
-I used Worcestershire sauce instead of a steak marinade.
-I did not use bread crumbs.

Here's what you'll need:

Peel the squash, sweet potatoes, and zucchini.

Grate the veggies



Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Refrigerate the mixture for an hour+.  I scored the mixture into quarters and then shaped them into patties.

Swirl a little olive oil into the pan and cook until finished.

Here's what you'll end up with:  (if you want cheeseburgers)

Our Thoughts:

These burgers were really good.  I loved that I was able to sneak in some extra veggies and it really got my mind whirling wondering what else I could have snuck in there.

Since I did not use the bread crumbs, the mixture was really watery.  Those bread crumbs would have soaked up the water from the veggies and I actually put a paper towel down in the bowl to soak some of the water up.  I think because I also used a grater that had holes really close together, that created more water, too.  I think next time I will just put the veggies in the food processor.

This burger really hit the spot and we all loved it!  I served this with Roasted Acorn Squash.

Hope you enjoy!

April



Nacho Slide-Size Burgers

Nacho Slide-Size Burgers from Rachel Ray
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 15-ounce can lard-free spicy refried beans
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1/4 cup grated onion
2 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 tablespoon ancho or other medium-heat chile powder (about a palmful)
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (about 1/2 palmful)
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander (about 1/2 palmful)
1/2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika or sweet paprika (about 1/2 palmful)
Salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) or vegetable oil, for drizzling
24 tortilla chips
2 cups shredded yellow sharp cheddar, smoked cheddar or pepper jack cheese
1 heart romaine lettuce or 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Pickled sliced jalapeño chile rings, drained, for serving

Directions: In a medium saucepan, bring about 1/2 cup water to a boil. In a small cup, mix the tomato paste with a few spoonfuls of the boiling water to thin the paste. Add the refried beans to the pan, stirring with the water in the pan to thin out a bit while they heat through. Lower the heat and keep the beans warm.

Place the beef in a bowl and add the reconstituted tomato paste, onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander and paprika; season with salt and pepper. Form the meat into 8 small patties (thinner at the center than at the edges). Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle the patties with EVOO, add to the griddle and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler. Place the burgers on a rack-covered baking sheet and top each with about 2 tablespoons beans. Spread 3 chips with some of the remaining refried beans and pile on a burger (the beans are the glue between the chips). Repeat with the remaining chips, beans and sliders. Top the chips with the cheese and broil for a minute to melt.

Scatter the lettuce on plates or a platter and top with the sliders, tomatoes and pickled jalapeños.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 Measured out some tomato paste.  I put 1/2 cup of water on to boil.  Once it was boiling, I then put a few spoonfuls of hot water into the tomato paste.

I then put some refried beans in with the remainder of the boiling water.

#2 I put 1 1/2lbs of ground sirloin into a bowl and then grated 2 garlic cloves in with the meat.

#3 1/4 cup of onion

#4 the reconstituted tomato paste

#5 and all of the spices.

#6 I shaped the burgers and put them into a medium-high cast-iron skillet.

#7 I turned on the broiler.

#8 I pulled the burgers out of the skillet and put them on a baking sheet.  The burgers did fall apart a bit.

#9 Next came a couple of tablespoons of the refried beans onto the burgers with some tortilla chips and cheese.

#10 They went into the broiler for a couple of minutes.

The Finished Product:

Review:

These little burgers had such good flavor.  They did fall apart a bit while in the skillet but I was able to form them back together on the baking sheet and then "glue" them together with the refried beans.  The actual ground sirloin and herbs could definitely be used in tacos and would taste great!  I think that I will start using this recipe instead of the little taco packages.

I served them on a bed of lettuce with some tomatoes, jalapenos, sour cream and salsa on the side.  I ended up just tearing my burger all apart and basically made a "nacho/taco" salad out of mine but Scott kept his as a burger. 

Hope you enjoy!

April

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Chicken Parmesan Burgers from Cooking Light
10 1/2 inch sliced  French bread
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4T minced fresh basil, plus 12 large basil leaves
3/4 cup marinar sauce
12 oz ground chicken
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 T grated onion
1/4 t salt
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:  Blend diced bread and parmesan cheese in food processor to fine crumbs. Place in pie plate and add 2 T basil.

Mix marinara and 2 T basil in small saucepan. Transfer 1 1/2 T sauce in a large bowl. Add chicken, 1/2 T oil, onion, and 1/4 t salt. Sprinkle with pepper; blend. Shape into 4 patties; coat with crumbs. Heat sauce over low heat.

Heat 1 1/2 T oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook patties till bottoms are crusty, about 4 minutes. Turn patties over; add slice of mozzarella to each. Cook 3 minutes. Cover and cook 1 more minute or until cheese melts and patties are done.

Serve with basil and marinara sauce on toasted French bread.

Modifications:
-I was a little confused with this recipe.  The ingredients didn't say anything about diced bread and I really didn't want to pull out a food processor so I just used Italian bread crumbs to use as a binding.


Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I grated some onion into 1lb of ground chicken.

#2 I chopped up some fresh basil.   

#3 I poured some bread crumbs into the mixture as a binder.

#4 I poured some marinara sauce in a pan and let it heat up a bit.

#5 I added the Parmesan cheese and a little bit of the sauce to the chicken and then mixed it up.

#6 I scored the chicken into 4 parts and formed them into patties.

#7 I sliced up some French bread and threw it into a 375 degree oven to toast.

#8 I cooked the burgers in a wrought iron skillet with some olive oil.

#9 Once they were cooked, I put some mozzarella cheese on them to melt.

#10 Once the cheese melted, I put the burgers on the French bread with some of the marinara sauce and a couple of basil leaves.

The Finished Product:

Review:

These burgers were great.  I, personally, didn't really care for the basil leaves.  I'm not crazy about their flavor.  I also ended up taking the burger off of the bun (watching the carbs) and it was still good but not nearly as good as the one bite I took with the bread.

If you have ever worked with ground chicken in a burger you know that it is kind of difficult.  They are so soft and fall apart easily.  I think I should have added just a bit more Parmesan cheese or bread crumbs.

Scott loved these sandwiches and said that they reminded him of a meatball sandwich.

Hope you enjoy!
April