Happy Thursday!
I really love to cook and bake. I never made a full meal until I was married and I honestly thought I would hate this part of being a wife. Turns out, it's one of my favorite things to do! Luckily for me, my mom is an incredible cook and Ethan's aunt is an amazing baker so I've learned a lot and have people I can call when I have questions at the grocery store or in the middle of a recipe.
So, on Thursdays I will share either a tried and true recipe that I fall back on, a new recipe that I'm trying, or some cooking/baking tips and info.
Ethan and I try to eat pretty healthy, but we really enjoy a good meal so we try not to fully deprive ourselves of things we really like. Case in point, cheeseburgers. My favorite food.
I really love the
Pioneer Woman. I think she's hilarious and down to earth and her recipes are amazing. You'll find I use a lot of them. Here's a recipe from her website:
I have made this recipe 2 times now. Once, I made it the way listed, the second time I changed things up a little bit to make it a bit more healthy. I'll share the changes throughout the recipe in italics.
Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce
Ingredients
■1/3 cup Mayonnaise
■2 Tablespoons Ketchup
■1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (less If You're Sensitive To Spice!)
■4 Tablespoons Butter (Extra Virgin Olive Oil works just fine)
■1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
■8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Chopped Finely
■1/2 cup White Or Red Wine (optional) (Did not use either time)
■4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
■Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
■2 pounds Ground Beef (You can use any kind you want, but we used 80/20. Not the healthiest, but definitely the tastiest)
■4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream (Used whole milk)
■4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
■1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
■Freshly Ground Black Pepper
■4 slices Swiss Cheese, Cut Into Four Squares (Forgot swiss the 2nd time and just used cheddar. Just as good)
■8 whole Dinner (or Slider) Rolls, Split (Used 100% whole wheat, multi-grain rolls)
Preparation Instructions
1. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, ketchup, and cayenne. Stir together until totally combined. Set aside. (This is the spicy fry sauce.)
(Skipped this step the second time and just used plain ketchup or BBQ sauce.)
2. Melt butter in a large skillet.
(I used my Le Creuset, which I am obsessed with, and it worked great!) Add onions and cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine (if using), Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minute over medium heat, or until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.
3.Mix ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients.
(I mixed while the veggies were cooking) Form 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook.
(I used 1/4 cup both times. Perfect size) In the same skillet as the one used to cook the mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat
(I did use butter for this, but the Smart Balance kind). Add four patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip. Spoon generous portion of mushroom mixture on each patty, then top with one or two squares of Swiss, depending on your preference. Place lid on skillet and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until burgers are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove to a place and keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.
4.Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with spicy fry sauce. Place patties between buns and serve immediately with fried onion strings.
(We ate this with sweet potato fries and fresh sliced pineapple this week. Delicious!)
Yum!!
Enjoy!
