Fridays are my favorite day of the week. The whole weekend is front of you, and it feels like you can finally let your guard down. I was happy to be asked to cook on Channel 5’s Talk of the Town last Friday (Click to View) and equally happy to make easy fun food, perfect for a Super Bowl Party or just a weeknight treat. The menu was Corn Dog Chili Toppers (click for recipe) and we made corn dogs in muffin pans – no frying! Cooking with Lelan is always a treat!
Somehow my family got the idea that if the weekend started with corn dogs, cheeseburgers should be next in the line progression. Clearly virtuous eating is does not play a huge part in the weekend agenda, but I do try and toss in a few foods that are good for us when I can get away with it. This time it worked beautifully with absolutely no complaining, and you won’t believe what we had – Cheeseburger Salad!
I’m not kidding, - my guys loved it. Here’s the idea: start with all the stuff you like on a cheeseburger, onions, tomatoes, pickles, and then throw in some interesting lettuce, like romaine, even spinach or arugula. Make or use any dressing you like. I created a sweet and tangy vinaigrette, with Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and seasonings and shook it all up in a jar.
My husband doesn’t know that there are salad dressings beyond blue cheese – even if his burger already had cheese on top of it, blue chees dressing was going on as well. But why argue – at least he ate lettuce. You could even whip up a batch of McDonald’s Special Sauce, mayo, ketchup, and pickle relish to really impress your crowd. The next step is to pat out burgers; use lean ground beef to keep it healthy and add in some extra pizzazz with steak seasonings. We made large thin burgers because – as my son pointed out, it covered more of the lettuce. Burgers went on the grill, but a nice iron skillet would do the trick as well. The finished product was topped with Swiss cheese because it was in the fridge! The final step is to pile plates with lettuce, tomato and onion mix, add pickles if desired and mix in a little dressing. Top with a nice hot juicy burger and dig in! It was so good I didn’t even miss the fries and that says a lot. Try Cheeseburger Salad and feel good and happy about a fun dinner!
Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 Tbsp steak seasoning (we like Montreal)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Lettuce of choice (this salad had romaine, spinach and arugula) chopped or torn in bite size pieces
1 onion sliced in rings
1 cup cherry tomatoes chopped in half (or any chopped tomato)
Optional toppings - pickles, croutons, avocado, green onion, jalapenos, bacon bits
Sliced cheese
Dressing of choice – my recipe follows the directions
Directions
Light grill if you plan to grill the burgers.
Mix lettuce, onions, and tomatoes in a large bowl.
Mix steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce into the ground beef and pat out thin burgers.
Grill or pan fry burgers to desired doneness and top with cheese.
Fill dinner plates with lettuce mixture, add dressing of choice, and top with a burger. Add a little more onion on top, maybe a pickle, and any optional topping.
Optional toppings include: croutons, avocado, green onions, jalapenos, bacon bits – let your imagination run wild!
Balsamic Dressing
To a small jar with a lid add 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, 2 Tbsp olive oil, one minced clove garlic, a tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt. I also added 1 tsp of lemon pepper and ½ tsp of oregano. Shake it up!
