The Better Burger

There are three things that make a good burger - quality beef, flavorful cheese and a cold beer.

Or hard cider as the case might be but all the while still necessary after a day when a certain toddler wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Twice. And then does it again the next day.

My friends at Laura's Lean Beef agree - at least on the beef part. As you break out the grill this summer, they advise using lean beef to reduce cooking time; avoiding excessive amounts of sodium by using healthy seasonings; and using whole-grain bread, as whole-grains are absorbed slower by the body and help you to eat less, yet feel full.

Feeling inspired (and hungry), I built a better burger that combines the bright, fresh flavors of summer with a hint of guilt-free indulgence.

Laughing Cow Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil wedges are sandwiched between two thin patties of Laura's Lean Beef, and a layer of thinly sliced part skim mozzarella tops the cooked burger. Serve on a whole wheat sandwich thin or bread with fresh tomato and arugula. And if you're feeling saucy - which I always am - a simple aioli with roasted red peppers, garlic and low-fat mayonnaise is a wonderful complement.

Laugh & Lean Double Cheese Stuffed Burgers

For the burgers:
1.5 pounds Laura's Lean Beef ground beef, or other lean ground meat
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste
4 wedges Laughing Cow Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil
4 slices mozzarella cheese or mini Babybel Mozzarella rounds, sliced
Vine ripe tomato, sliced
Pre-washed baby arugula
4 sandwich thins
For the aioli:
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, draind
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

For the burgers: Season ground beef with garlic and pepper, gently combining. Form meat into eight thin patties. Place Laughing Cow wedge on a patty and top with another, crimping the edges. Repeat with remaining beef. Cook burgers on a grill 5 to 6 minutes; flip. Top the burgers with mozzarella cheese and cook until medium well; about five more minutes.

For the aioli: Put all ingredients in food processor; pulse until smooth. Refrigerate sauce until ready to use.

Assembly: On the bottom of sandwich thin, add arugula and tomato. Place patty on top and drizzle aioli over burger. Then eat it. You will like it.

Feeling green? Laura’s Lean Beef and Big Green Egg are once again hosting their Summer Grilling Sweepstakes. From May 27 through Sept. 2, 2013, one winner will be randomly selected each week to receive a summer grilling prize package including a Big Green Egg ceramic outdoor cooker, Laura’s Lean Beef products and an assortment of grilling accessories. You can enter by “liking” the Laura’s Facebook page, by scanning an on-package QR code or by registering at www.LaurasLeanBeef.com.

Disclaimer: While I have previously received free product from both Laura's Lean Beef and Laughing Cow, all ingredients for this recipe were purchased by me because I buy them regularly. I was not compensated to write this post or eat the cheeseburger, which was effing fantastic by the way. I wrote everything myself, too. Except for the part about the contest because I'm lazy. Mark did buy the hard cider for me but it was probably to take the edge off since Miles slapped me in the face 300 times this weekend.

Skinny bitching

I was perusing Pinterest for slow cooker recipes while I was eating my lunch. You know, as any office worker does. And I was supremely surprised by just how many called themselves "skinny" and/or "healthy."

The designation, obviously, is to generate more traffic and not necessarily an indication of whether a recipe is actually healthy or skinny. Because how can a recipe really be skinny? Are you just pounding out your chicken breast ala picatta so that it's so skinny, thickness-wise, that it cooks in a matter of seconds? Or, by some miracle of the universe, will I become magically skinny (whatever that means) by eating it.

As I had this internal dialogue, which happened to be far funnier within the confines of my skull, I realized that I am far too guilty of this. I made "Skinny" Taco Soup and the clever "Lighter" Chicken Parmesan, posting each on this here blog, and I label the things I eat as healthy.

Enough is enough. I barely can decide what's healthy anymore (low calorie or clean eating, sugar or no sugar or stevia) much less tell someone else what it is. So I'm not calling anything healthy or skinny. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have even seen quite the opposite.

Yes, I'm going to call recipes things like that for my own amusement. But probably just this once. Because it's only clever the first time.

This fajita burger, clever or not, was actually supposed to be meatloaf but I was too busy (read: perusing my Kindle in the tub) to prep it Tuesday morning. Thankfully, my husband is "up" for a burger about 99.943 percent of the time and happily enabled my idea/laziness.

Conventional wisdom might lead people to believe that this fajita burger might have sauteed green peppers and onions, maybe even some mushrooms, on top but conventional wisdom doesn't often go hand in hand with parenting a toddler. Rather, this burger has finely chopped veggies mixed in with ground meat, along with homemade fajita seasoning, as to disguise things son (and father) might pick around.

Note: For the seasoning mix, I cut the cayenne in half as to make it more palatable to sensitive mouths. Like mine ... OK Miles'.

To keep it authentic, especially as I am sure you can fajita burgers at any open air cart in Mexico City, we served them with cheddar cheese, guacamole (I like to have a pouch in the freezer at all times) and, gasp, sour cream. As these are fat ass fajita burgers, the patty was served on a white bun - also courtesy of my freezer.

Of course, since all of us don't have the magic Mark metabolism, the burger can be made slightly less fat ass by serving on a bed of lettuce and adding a bit of salsa. Aldi salsa if you are feeling sassy. Either way, your mouth - and your ass - will be happy.

Fat Ass Fajita Burgers

1 pound ground beef (for a less fat ass version use lean ground beef, such as Laura's Lean Beef)
2 tablespoons homemade fajita seasoning
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg white, optional
Cheddar cheese (for a less fat ass version use 2% shredded cheddar, such as Kraft)
Guacamole
Sour cream (for a, well, you get it by now version, plain Greek yogurt)
Salsa or fresh pico de gallo
Buns or mixed greens

Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. In a mixing bowl, gently combine beef, seasoning, chopped veggies and egg white. (These burgers held together just fine without the white but it could be helpful.) Pat the meat into an even round while still in the bowl and, using your hand, score into four even sections. Form each section into a burger patty. Put the patties in the skillet and allow to cook 2 minutes; press down with spatula. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more; flip. Top burgers with cheese as the other side cooks for an additional four minutes. Remove patties from skillet, onto a towel-lined plate. In the hot skillet, put buns cut-side down and toast for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve burger with guacamole, sour cream or yogurt and salsa or pico de gallo. To save about 100-150 calories, ditch the bun and enjoy on a bed of mixed greens.

Makes 4 servings.