A Better Burger

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons tomato paste or finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Four 3-inch potato rolls, split
1/2 head romaine lettuce, shredded
2 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
3 dill pickles, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat a grill to medium. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms; season with pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and cook, turning the mushrooms once, until the water is evaporated. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool; reserve the skillet. Finely chop the mushrooms and transfer to a bowl.

2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and the onion to the reserved skillet. Season with pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is tender and golden, about 3 minutes; let cool. Add half of the onion and the ground beef to the mushrooms; season with salt and mix well. Form the mixture into a ball, transfer to a board and cut into 8 portions. Form each into 3- to 4-inch patties.

3. Transfer the remaining onion to a small bowl, then stir in the mayonnaise and tomato paste. Spread the sauce on both faces of the rolls and arrange open-faced on each of 4 plates. Divide half of the lettuce among the roll bottoms.

4. Add the patties to the grill and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip, divide the cheese among the patties, cover with foil and cook until melted, about 1 minute. Stack 2 patties on each roll bottom, top with the pickle slices and remaining lettuce and set the roll tops in place.

Comments:
First off, two burger patties is way too much for one sandwich. Both Adam and I had to take one off in order to even fit it in our mouths. Secondly, the burgers fall apart on the grill really easily. Other than those two issues, this was pretty good. We skipped the lettuce, but otherwise kept things according to the plan. Yes, even the mushroom part.

Roadside Diner Cheeseburger Quiche

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
3/4 pound ground beef
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup dill pickle relish
1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon
5 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Unroll pastry into a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; flute edges and set aside. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, onion, relish and bacon. Transfer to prepared pastry.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, milk, mustard, pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Pour over beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Comments:
Doesn't look so great, does it? I can't for the life of me get quiche to come out of the pan decently. So annoying. Despite its not-so-great appearance, this is very good. There's a lot of stuff going on inside so there are plenty of flavor notes hit. Not sure I'd make this again since it takes so long, I had issues with overflow, and don't look at the nutrition information if you're on a diet. Even though I used half elk meat and all skim milk, I'm sure it still packed a caloric-laden, fatty punch.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

From Everyday With Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 red onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1/2 cup bread-and-butter pickle chips, chopped
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/3-inch cubes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, bread crumbs, eggs and pickles; mix in the onion. Crumble in the beef, add the cheese and mix together. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a 4-by-12-inch loaf. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°, about 35 minutes.

3. Let the meatloaf rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Comments:
This was pretty simple. I skipped the cooking of the onions step, and they still had a nice crunch when the meatloaf was done. All in all, a great combination of things. Of course, Adam noted it could be even better if it was BACON cheeseburger meatloaf. *sigh* That man and his bacon obsession... The picture is kind of gross, but I think that's because I didn't wait 5 minutes to slice it and the new light in the kitchen is messing with the camera and I can't get a good picture of anything in there.