Megan

This is NOT a healthy meal!

My intentions were good all day. I set out lean ground beef to make a healthy taco salad for dinner. Thanks to rain that never went away, I had to get creative in the kitchen. My taco salad turned into a combination of two recipes I found online, Julia Child's Pan Fried Thin Burger and a Juicy Lucy . I mean, if I am going to be bad and eat a cheeseburger for dinner, I may as well go all the way.





Start off by preheating your cast iron skillet in your oven at 500 degrees. My best friend in the kitchen is my cast iron skillet. If you don't have one, invest in one.





. I chopped up half of a small shallot, giving me a little more than a tablespoon prior to sauteing. After 5 minutes in the pan, it shrank down to a tablespoon. I spread the shallots on the ground beef along with some salt and pepper, then folded it together. Saute some shallots in butter. Julia says 1 tablespoon of shallots to 1 tablespoon of either butter or olive oil. Normally I would have gone the route of olive oil but my ground beef was lean and I felt the need to fatten it up some, so I used butter. I chopped up half of a small shallot, giving me a little more than a tablespoon prior to sauteing. After 5 minutes in the pan, it shrank down to a tablespoon. I spread the shallots on the ground beef along with some salt and pepper, then folded it together.

Next, make 4 patties and top two with some shredded cheese. Take the two patties without cheese, place on top and secure it so no cheese can escape. Indent the top of the patties with your thumb and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Take your cast iron skillet out of the oven and place on your large burner on high.

Saute for 4-5 minutes each side on a high temp. You will most likely get some smoke in the kitchen so it will be a good idea to open up a door or window. I toasted the buns and kept the burger toppings super simple. Just a little cheese on top, some mustard and ketchup. I usually like to fancy up my burgers up but the flavor this burger packs is great on it's own. Do you see the nice char the burger gets from the cast iron skillet? No, the burger is not burnt, that is the sear from the skillet (it's the best)!! Oh and the cheese. The cheese.........

And in the words of my favorite chef & wino, BON APPETITE!







