What's for Dinner?

So Friday I promised the boy we would have a good dinner at home. We had some ground beef, but I wanted to do something a little bit more interesting then the standard burger so I decided to make Patty Melts. And let me tell you, they were deeeelicious! Full of flavor, hearty in size and made without a lot of butter or oil. I am not the best cook, but I know the basics and I really like to see what I can do with ingredients we already have in our pantry.

You will need:

Hamburger Meat (we used Fresh & Easy BBQ Bacon Patties)

Rye Bread (in our case we used Honey Wheat since it was all we had)

Provolone Cheese

1 Large Onion

Butter

Brown Sugar

Olive Oil

And, if you want to make your own 1000 Island dressing like I did you will need:

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Chili Pepper

Garlic Salt

Sweet Pickles (we didn't have these but I wish we did)

Start by slicing your onion into fine pieces and grilling in a small pan with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a little drizzle of olive oil. Remember to return and mix occasionally or your onion will start to burn.

Move on to your bread. Butter the bread like you would butter it for a grilled cheese. Liberally on one side, and just a hint on the other. The darker, crunchier side will be your outer piece. Get another flat skillet ready to grill the bread but don't do it yet.

At this point, I would start your meat so you can get your desired result around the same time the onions will be done so they don't get cold and soggy. Since Geoff was home, he was actually grilling the meat outside in the dark so he took care of that, and I missed that kodak moment (whoops!)

Now I have never made 1000 Island before but I went ahead and just tried my best and it turned out to be really, really good! Start with mayo as your base and add ketchup until you get the desired color. Then sprinkle and stir in the chili pepper and garlic salt to taste. If you want, I would also dice a sweet pickle and add the little slices in. Easy!

Once the burgers are a minute or two from being done, begin to grill your bread on either side.

Take your toasted bread, place the meat on top, melt your cheese over that and add your onions.

Now, add that delicious sauce on the other slice and you are nearly done...

Fold, press, cut, and enjoy! Incase you are wondering how I made those fries well... it was easy. Open bag, pour on baking sheet and cook! WOO!