Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Burgers and Fries -- Light

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On Saturday night, College Boy was home with Peach and I -- the other guys and dad were at a hockey game, so it was just the three of us for dinner. I had been at the grocery store earlier in the day and Slider Burgers sounded good to me. Most grocery store bakeries sell the little buns for Sliders, making them extra yummy.

There is actually very little meat on a Slider, so it probably wasn't really necessary to use chicken to try to stay low-cholesterol, but I thought it was a good place to test the waters. I don't normally use chicken or turkey to sub for beef in burgers -- the gang just doesn't go for it, but they loved these chicken Sliders. I'm not sure they would be as excited with chicken burgers on the grill -- the method for cooking the Sliders doesn't dry them the way the grill does, but these are wonderful to eat during the winter when you don't really want to brave the cold to light the grill. With a little dab of ketchup and mustard, I really didn't miss the beef at all. The chicken was quite a bit more expensive, however -- I think I paid $3.69 for one pound of Perdue ground chicken at Giant Eagle. It's a good thing they were tiny burgers! You could cook these in a pan with some onions, but I just add onion powder to the mix so the kids don't bellyache.

They were all over the Sweet Potato Fries, too (College Boy said he could eat those burgers and fries every day of his life -- although that's not saying much coming from a college student). I admit they were head and shoulders better than white potato fries. They look a little over-cooked in the picture, but that color is caramelization and that's where the yummy comes from. They were a cinch to make.



Chicken Sliders
serves four

1 lb. ground chicken
2 T. water
1/2 t. onion powder
1 t. Worchestershire
salt and pepper

ketchup
mustard
mayo
pickles

Add water, onion powder, and Worchestershire to ground chicken and mix thoroughly with your hands. Heat a griddle over medium high heat until water drops bounce; lightly oil griddle with vegetable oil (if you are cooking onions with your burgers, add a little more oil to the griddle and throw a handful or minced onions to the deck -- saute until soft before adding your burgers).
Form about a tablespoon (maybe a heaping tablespoon) of chicken into a patty in the palm of your hand -- it's stickier than beef, so wet your hands first. Place the patty on the griddle and repeat with the rest of the meat until your griddle is full. Salt and pepper the top sides, flip and salt and pepper the other side. It only takes a couple minutes for them to cook through. Remove done burgers to a plate and keep warm (cover with foil and place on the stove top to catch some warmth from the oven) while you cook the rest.
When all the burgers are cooked and staying warm, lightly oil the griddle again and toast the buns.
Serve with mustard, ketchup, mayo and pickles.




Sweet Potato Fries
serves four

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled
3 T. vegetable oil
salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut sweet potatoes in 1/2-inch fries. Place fries in a bowl and toss with oil.
Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, spreading the extra oil from the bowl around the pan to coat. Salt lightly (you'll salt them again when they are done) and bake on the bottom rack for 20 minutes. Turn and bake for another five minutes or so, until they are golden brown all over. Salt and serve.




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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't you hate how eating right is actually so expensive??? No wonder Americans are so fat. Who can afford to eat right?

These look so yummy! I have been wanting to try sweet potato fries. Can't wait to try these, thank you!

Katy said...

I have some sweet potatoes so I think I'll try these fries tonight!

Shelly said...

i make SP fries - i use paprika, olive oil and salt and bake. I got it from a South Beach Diet cookbook. they are so yummy, and the kids all love them! i'll have to try that chicken!