Quick Dinner: Greek Burgers

A pound of ground beef.  That's how many of my meals as a kid started out.  Hamburger helper, meatloaf, goulash, Spanish rice, Chinese noodle casserole, lasagna, burgers... Aha!  Burgers!  I can have those!

When I came home to a defrosted pound of ground beef after work, I wasn't quite sure what to do, but a burger sounded like a great idea!

What you'll need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 t dried dill
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper 
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta (optional)
• 2 T ghee, divided (or cooking oil of your choice)
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• Ketchup
• Smitten Kitchen's Easiest Fridge Dill Pickles 

Mix the beef, dill, oregano,  feta and salt and pepper together, incorporating the spices throughout. Form into 3 patties and set aside.  Bring your frying pan to medium heat and add your ghee and onion.  Once the onion is translucent, add your mushrooms.  Fry until they begin to carmelize (you can also add 1 T balsamic vinegar, if you'd like to help the carmelization process along).  Remove from the pan and add your second tablespoon of ghee and then place your burgers in the pan.  Leave them for about 4 minutes on each side, then take them out of the pan and let them rest while you prepare your plate (in this case, greens with faux ranch).  Plate your burger and top with ketchup and pickles and put the onions and mushrooms on the side.  Then enjoy! 

Side note:  I threw the feta in, mostly because I wanted to see if I had any kind of reaction to the dairy.  It was good, but not necessary!  The burgers will still be delicious if you decide to omit it!

Whole30 Turkey burgers with BUNS!

 

I love a good burger, and when you get excellent, locally sourced ground turkey, all the better.  Now these cauliflower buns were a great addition to my repertoire as well, gluten and grain free, they really held up pretty well.  One of the drawbacks of most gluten-free buns is that they disintegrate before you've finished your burger, but these were not too shabby, especially slathered with my homemade ketchup and mayo!

Exact ingredients for the ketchup I made can be found here.  I did the quick and easy version listed, and though it is delicious, it wasn't quite right.  I've continued to tweak this recipe, starting with thinning it out with an additional tablespoon of vinegar and even some water to make it more consistent with store-bought ketchup.  It's a work in progress. 

All I did was throw everything in a bowl and whisk it together.

And voila!

Now the mayonnaise was like magic!  All you do is put an egg yolk, 1T of vinegar, 1T of water, 1t of mustard and 1 cup of oil into a narrow vessel.  I think it being like a glass, rather than a bowl is important to the emulsification process.  Let the ingredients settle, then place your hand blender all the way down to the bottom, start with it flat against the bottom, and it will begin to emulsify the oil and other ingredients together to create the creamy, white mayonnaise we all know and love.  Once your process is going, tilt the head of the blender to the side and slowly raise it to incorporate the oil at the top. Add salt and pepper to taste at the end.

I felt a little like a sorcerer.

Put both into containers and into the fridge

Now onto your burgers!  I had a pound of turkey, about half a cup of chopped onion, 1t each of chili powder, cumin and paprika.  Then salt and pepper to taste. Form into patties.

I did two patties, but in hindsight, probably should have done 3, these were a little big.

Making the buns was actually pretty fun.  I couldn't find the attachment for my food processor, so I just grated the cauliflower on the small side of my box grater and had about 2-3 cups, so I decided to halve the recipe. I added about 6T of almond flour, garlic powder, salt and 2 eggs.  I found the mixture to be really wet, but what do I know?  I decided to go for it.  I formed them into buns and stuck them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes and then under the broiler for a minute or two until brown.  I made one mistake...

You should really grease your pan before you put these bad boys in the oven, don't be like me!

I fried up my turkey patties in a bit of ghee, and then served them all together with roasted garnet yam.

Now, there is a Whole30 concept called SWYPO (it stands for Sex With Your Pants On) that states you should avoid "paleo-izing" junk foods that are off the plan, for example a Whole30 pancake is frowned upon.  Now, I agree that we should not be trying to fit our old eating habits into a new format, but I also think it's great to find creative ways to use the foods you do have.  So, because I'm the boss of me, I'll allow it.  I know that white potatoes, though newly added to the Whole30 plan, are a bad idea for me.  So I'll continue to stay away while the 30 days last. It's about knowing yourself and examining your motivations.
Things like Whole30 buns are a fun and creative way for me to use up the cauliflower in my fridge!  But if you are really trying to break out of old, unhealthy habits, and this will trigger cravings, or make you unhappy about the food choices you're making, skip the bun (or the potato, as the case may be)!

See, the burgers were a little too big, but I'm not complaining!