Bake Me More

Sliders are popping up everywhere. On the internet, in cooking magazine, on cooking shows… There are also many variations on how to prepare them. Well, while surfing the net this morning I came across this post on Trim The Fat and decided that this would be a quick, easy and satisfying choice for dinner tonight. I decided on the bake in pan version which consists of preparing the ground beef, but instead of rolling a bunch of individual burgers, you flatten it into a pan. As you can see, it creates a thin burger – almost, “White Castle or Krystal’s” like. It went over great for dinner and I look forward to trying some other variations as well.

*I prepared the yeast rolls and baked them prior to working on the burgers.

**I used simple seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, but did not measure them

“Hamburger” Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• Seasonings (use your burger preferences)**
• 18 (at least) yeast rolls or dinner rolls*
• Cheese
• Lettuce, tomato, onion, condiments (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare ground beef as desired and flatten into a lightly greased jelly roll pan (11 x 17″). I used gloved hands to press across the pan, but you could use a rolling pin etc…

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. The beef should be browned, but have a little pink to them – they will finish cooking in the next step. Remove and let stand a couple of minutes. There was some grease in the pan. I poured it out, then patted the ground beef with a towel to reduce the grease. Slice the burger into squares. Adjust the size according to the size of your rolls. Slice each roll in the center, keep one side attached. Place a square on each roll, but do not top (or close) the burger. If desired, place a piece of cheese on top of the beef. Place the entire roll, cut sides up, on a large baking sheet and place in oven to brown bread and melt the cheese. Remove, top and serve with desired condiments.

For the side item, I took leftover baked potatoes from Sunday and diced into squares and place in one layer on a large flat pan. I sprayed them lightly with olive oil and sprinkled them with seasoned salt. I baked them at 400 for about 10 minutes…till they were warm and beginning to crisp.

These pictures give you an “idea” of what size the sliders are.

Burger Pie

This is by far the biggest cheeseburger I have ever made… ok, it’s not a beef patty with a bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and bacon – but it sure tastes like one. It could be called “lazy burger”, or “redneck burger”. Today, I didn’t care. I was tired, fighting a head cold and listening to hungry people complain. Better, I had all seven ingredients to make a hearty lunch. Thank you Bisquick for the recipe…I adapted it slightly, if you want the original recipe, go here. I served a home tossed Caesar salad for the side. (There was not a drop left of either!)

Bacon Cheeseburger Pie

(aka Impossibly easy Cheeseburger Pie from Bisquick)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2% milk)
• 1/2 cup Bisquick Heart Smart Mix
• 1 cup milk (skim)
• 2 eggs
• Bacon Pieces (I used Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits)
• Ketchup (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9″ pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Brown the ground beef with the soup mix in a skillet. Layer in bottom of pie pan and top with cheese. Stir the Bisquick, Milk and eggs until blended and pour into the pie pan. Sprinkle bacon pieces over top of pie and swirl ketchup over the top. Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and set in the middle. Remove and let stand about two minutes then slice and serve.

Note: I didn’t have regular Bisquick or an onion, so I compromised. No one knew – it was still great. I also thought the bacon and ketchup made a “prettier top”.