Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Burgers

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Okay, so I have a confession to make…

Pizza burgers hold a special place in my heart. 

There, I said it…

who would have guessed?

There was a little diner, in a little town,

that we would go to

after dentist appointments

and for some reason I was so intrigued by the pizza burger.

I'm pretty sure it was because there was cheese on the INSIDE!!!!

Totally novel, even for a small-town Wisconsin girl.  

Sausage and beef patty, stuffed with cheese and topped with pepperoni and sauce. 

So, recently, I decided that I would treat my family to one of my childhood favorites. 

A favorite that is up on an childhood pedestal,

that I don't really want to eat just anywhere because I don't want to be disappointed

that it won't taste as good as it does in my memory of my childhood.

After just a bit of dreaming and collaborating, 

a Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Burger

was created which did not disappoint my childhood memory. 

(Success in itself!)

For starters, 1# of ground beef and 1# of bulk Italian sausage were combined

along with 1 tsp of Italian seasoning and 1 tsp seasoning salt. 

Once well mixed, the meat was scored

(if you can see that vague X through the middle)

which just helps to divide the burgers into similar sizes. 

Let the burger making commence!

The first patty was spread out thin on a cutting mat

and about 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella was placed in the middle. 

Then, the sides were folded up to seal in the cheese. 

The first 4 burgers were added to the grill pan over medium heat. 

Since these are thicker burgers, 

lower heat and longer times are required to ensure they are fully cooked. 

Some cheese might start to melt out…

but believe me, 

it did not affect how exquisite these burgers tasted. 

Once the burgers were done, 

they were placed upon a layer of pizza sauce on a toasted bun

and topped with more sauce, pepperoni and cheese!

OHMIGOSH!

The flavors and textures were so juicy and delicious…

My youngest decided to make it a pizza burger salad with some ranch!

Another, outstanding idea!

RECIPE:

Time: 30 minutes

Makes: 6-8 burgers

Ingredients:

1# ground beef

1# bulk Italian sausage

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

3-4 cups shredded mozzarella, separated

Pizza sauce

Toasted Bun

Pepperoni

Directions:

• Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, seasoning and salt. 
• Form burger by flattening 1/4 # meat and filling 1/4 cup cheese in middle. 
• Fold up sides and seal well. 
• Grill over medium heat for 10+ minutes/side until cooked through. 
• Serve with toasted bun, pizza sauce, pepperoni and more cheese. 

Potsticker Burger and Asian Slaw

Being the huge fans of potstickers that my family is, I wanted to try to come up with a recipe so that we could enjoy all, well, at least most, of the flavors and textures of these Chinese delights, without the gluten...

After a little brainstorming and research, came up with all of the ingredients to put together a burger reminiscent of the delicious filling of a potsticker, which turned out to be a nice little Asian meal.

I'm thankful for the way that kitchen staples can be assembled with different combinations to come up with so many varieties of flavor profiles. 

The possibilities are endless!

The burger started with 1# of ground pork, added to it was 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 inch of fresh grated ginger, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 sliced green onion, which was about 3 tbsp, 1 egg, 1 cup of shredded cabbage and topped with salt, to taste. 

All those goodies were combined by hand and roughly quartered for the patty-making process. 

Four burgers of approximately the same size were placed in a pre-heated grill pan 

for cooking over medium heat. 

When grilling or cooking most meats, 
I always error on the side of turning less often rather than more often. 

That helps to get those nice, caramelized, grill marks which are great texture.
And, helps trap the juices inside!

These were grilled for at least 5 minutes on each side before flipping.

  

Flip as often as necessary to cook fully, just not too soon.  

While the burgers were cooking, a nice little Asian slaw was whipped up. 

This started with 3 cup of shredded cabbage, 2 tsp of minced garlic were added as well as another 1/2 in of freshly grated ginger, another green onion and seasoned with salt to taste.

The dressing consisted of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp sesame oil finished with 1/4 cup sliced almonds for added texture.

**Just can't get enough texture!**

Top these potsticker burgers with some of this Asian slaw, serve with your favorite potsticker sauce

and you won't even miss the wontons!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

Burger:

1# of ground pork

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 inch of fresh grated ginger

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 sliced green onion (which was about 3 tbsp)

1 egg

1 cup of shredded cabbage 

Salt, to taste

Asian Slaw:

3 cup of shredded cabbage

2 tsp of minced garlic

1/2 in of freshly grated ginger

Green Onion - sliced

Salt -  to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp on sesame oil

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Combine burger ingredients well and divide into 4 even patties. 

Grill over medium heat for at least 5 minutes/side before flipping. 

While burgers are cooking, combine the slaw ingredients. 

Serve burgers with slaw and your favorite potsticker sauce. 

Bacon Bleu Burgers topped with Herb and Carmelized Onion Mayo

Ok, fine, the cat is out of the bag.

We don't always eat healthy...

But, when we do indulge, we are sure to save it for ourselves, uh, protect our children from it. Yeah, right, that's what we do.

Truth be told, it was a rare occasion when all three kids were gone and when I asked Jerry what he wanted for dinner he said steaks or burgers.

No brainer for me...Burgers it is!

I enjoy a good steak, when someone else prepares it for me, but I'm no connoisseur of selecting or preparing a good steak, so I'd rather leave that to the professionals.

Besides, there are so many good fun things to do with burgers!

And a steak wouldn't leave me with much to share with y'all.

It didn't take long to scan my mental burger wish list and come up with these amazing babies...Bacon Bleu Burgers.

And, here Jerry just thought he was getting plain-Jane burgers…boy was he wrong! 

Starting with the most obvious AND delicious ingredient

fried up 4 slices of heaven, uh, I mean bacon. 

Crumbled the bacon into a bowl with the 1# ground beef and about a cup of crumbled bleu cheese. 

Also added 1 tsp of seasoning salt, which was completely unnecessary.  

Combine all of that deliciousness. 

Divide into 4 patties and throw on to grill (or grill pan, as the case may be). 

While the burgers were cooking, sliced up some leftover onion. 

Thought that some caramelized onions would be a nice topper. 

I was right!!! 

They cooked down and browned right up! 

Another fabulous topping could be some herbed mayo.  

Snipped some fresh basil and parsley from my deck,

Gave them a rough chop and mixed them into about a cup of mayo.  

Nice fresh condiment to compliment the burger. 

(The left over onions were mixed in for an even better sauce!)

Here is my burger, with the onions mixed right in the mayo…

(See how Jerry gets the fancy plate too!)

So fabulous!  

RECIPE:

Yield: 4 - .25 lb burgers

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon

1# ground beef 

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

Half of an onion - sliced

1 cup mayo

handful of fresh herbs (basil and parsley)

Directions:

Cook and crumble bacon. 

Combine bacon, bleu cheese and ground beef. 

Divide into 4 burgers and grill until done. 

Brown the onion for a burger topper or mayo ingredient. 

Chop up fresh herbs and stir into mayo. 

Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers

How do you define a burger?

This was called into question tonight when I announced what was on the menu for dinner.

I got at least two questions wondering whether or not there was meat in those burgers. And, the muffled responses were less than thrilled.  Even from my husband, who knows that my meal failures are few and far between.

This debate took me to the Merriam Webster on-line dictionary where their definition of burger is a food that is like a hamburger but is not made from beef.

Ahhh, I felt vindicated.  I wasn't lying or trying to trick my family.  I just wanted to try something different.

There are lots of different kinds of burgers...hamburgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, which is the avenue I took for tonight's dinner.

All of these doubts, before I even started the meal, made the process even more daunting, causing procrastination to set in.  But, finally dinner was started, served and ENJOYED!

Alayna's response after her first bite was "This is amazing!"

And, Jerry was reluctant to admit that it was really good and he did go back for seconds.

So, let me share how we got this party started.

One cup of dried quinoa was cooked in water, but broth or bouillon is always an option. (I always buy the pre-soaked quinoa to save on my prep time).

While the quinoa was cooking, the mini food processor was put to work.  Not to mention that this mini food processor is 14 years old and, did I mention mini?  A new food processor is definitely on the list as a future investment.

The mini-factor made this process a little more tedious as I had to work in small batches, but the same deliciousness resulted.

Two cans of black beans, rinsed with a half cup set aside, one medium sweet potato (with skin-on cooked in the microwave), 2 tbsp of minced garlic, 1 onion, chopped, one half cup of jarred roasted red peppers, one half tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of salt and a pinch of pepper were all puréed in the processor and poured into a mixing bowl.

Then, then quinoa and reserved black beans were added to the vegetable purée and stirred well before forming into patties, using about a 1/2 cup of the mix yielded 7 patties.

These patties were baked for 20 minutes at 400 F before topping with shredded cheese, Libby's Chunky Guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

In an effort to reward my family for being good sports on this adventurous meal, I also served their favorite fruits and veggies…edamame (cooked, I might add!) and strawberries.

When I revisit this adventure, I might opt for some more sweet potatoes, could hard tell they were in there other than an occasional piece of skin and, I think I'd add some corn, for texture and visual appeal. 

Overall, it was a hit, but more importantly, I just can't say enough about how much it means to have my whole family around the dinner table, talking about our day and sharing a meal.  I'm sure it won't last forever, as the kids schedules get busier, but I will certainly cherish it while it lasts.


 RECIPE

Ingredients
One cup of dried quinoa
Two cans of black beans, rinsed with 1/2 cup set aside, 
One medium sweet potato (with skin on cooked in the microwave)
2 tbsp of minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 half cup of jarred roasted red peppers
1/2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of salt
a pinch of pepper 

For topping
Shredded cheddar cheese
Libby's Chunky Guacamole
Salsa
Sour cream

Directions
Cook quinoa according to directions.
Puree together beans, sweet potato, garlic, onion, red peppers, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.
Add the cooked quinoa and reserved black beans.
Stir until mixed well.
1/2 cup of the veggie mix makes 7 burgers.
Baked at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Top with cheese, guac, salsa and sour cream as you please and enjoy!