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Use good cheese, seasonings, sauteed mushrooms (canned sliced work in a pinch if fresh are expensive...a few minutes sauteeing in garlic and butter, and it really doesn't matter that they're canned). Oh, and good bread, or toast mediocre bread.
On a big dinner plate:
A bed of wild greens and baby spinach covering half the plate, topped with shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese, and a big spoonful of fresh pico de gallo.
A single burger cut into strips on the unadorned side of the plate, smothered in butter-sauteed mushrooms and jalapeno pepper slices, and sprinkled *lightly* with cumin. Drizzle over the sliced meat a zigzag line of queso sauce, made with warmed sour cream and powdered chili pepper. Add a slice of avocado if you like it, just to the side of the meat.
In the remaining unadorned section, add some unsalted tortilla chips.
Edited to clarify the "cheap" part of this: To make all these things - you need only:
A visit to the supermarket salad bar to acquire the baby spinach and wild greens, slices of raw red onion, and uncooked mushrooms - approximately $1.00 for this portion of the meal (meal for 2 by the way).
1 small regular tomato (not the beefsteak, they're too big - you want maybe one of those vine-ripes that come on the cluster, just one).
1 bunch of cilantro or if you have no morals, you can steal just a couple of pinches - that's all you need.
The smallest container of sour cream you can find, or just skip if it you don't want the expense.
The onion, half the tomato, and the cilantro you chop up to small bits, and add a squeeze of lemon juice (you can splurge for a fresh lime, usually only around 25 cents each). I'm assuming you have a jar of pickled jalapeno slices in your fridge (doesn't everyone???).
Total extra expense, in addition to the meat itself, shouldn't be more than $2.00 per person.
Last edited by AnonChick; 07-26-2012 at 07:01 AM..
Use good cheese, seasonings, sauteed mushrooms (canned sliced work in a pinch if fresh are expensive...a few minutes sauteeing in garlic and butter, and it really doesn't matter that they're canned). Oh, and good bread, or toast mediocre bread.
The bread can make a HUGE difference!! Kaiser rolls are great, or I make onion rolls out of the frozen bread dough....just mix onion soup mix in with the dough and shape them into buns........
I'm thinking a slice of medium sharp cheddar cheese, some avacodo slices, and some BBQ sauce. Maybe some canned fried onions.
You know, any one of those might make the cut for a change of pace in my house, but all together at the same time? No thanks.
As a matter of fact, I so much enjoy a hamburger all by itself that I usually dress it fairly simply, with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
But what I do to elevate a "burger meal" is to upgrade the sides. Maybe a smoky grilled corn salad. Sauteed green beans with crushed garlic. Wilted sweet and sour lettuce with bacon. Fire roasted tomato slices. Oven roasted potato wedges with olive oil and rosemary.
Carmelize onions in a mix of olive oil and butter. I do this and add a nice brown gravy. I love Kaiser rolls but I like really good quality, like we have in Philly, and not those in a bag.
I'm thinking a slice of medium sharp cheddar cheese, some avacodo slices, and some BBQ sauce. Maybe some canned fried onions.
sounds like a winner, but if you put the cheese on before the meat is finished, don't let it melt too much, it will end up being nothing more than useless calories. I try to put the cheese on just about 30 seconds before we take the meat off or in many cases, as much as we love cheese, we just simply do not use it on burgers period.
Not sure how you currently cook your burger, but what about elevating the patty itself, and keeping the topping minimal? Go to a butcher, grind grade-prime quality meats on the spot (skirt, ribeye, etc), forming 1/2 pound patties, cooking medium rare, toasted roll, sauteed onions.
I use 80-20 ground chuck, I cook the burgers (medium-well) in red wine, little butter, worchestershire sauce and a little soy sauce with small amounts granulated garlic and granulated onion. I also add the sauted mushrooms cooked in the same ingredients mentioned above. I then toast the bun/roll and place the burger on the bun and put sauted red onions and a piece of good mild cheddar cheese and tomato and lettuce.
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The bread can make a HUGE difference!! Kaiser rolls are great, or I make onion rolls out of the frozen bread dough....just mix onion soup mix in with the dough and shape them into buns........
