Week #6: Pizza Burgers

Well, we're at week 6 in our 52 meals project. I am working on 52 more meals along with making the site easier to find past recipes. Here is this weeks menu:

spaghetti with meatballs
Pizza Burgers
Taco Pie
Beef Sandwiches
Pork Carnitas
Pork Chops

Pizza burgers are a favorite at our house. They are so easy to make, and can use your favorite ground meat product (turkey, chicken, pork etc). You could even use a veggie burger. If you purchase Texas Toast Garlic Bread, use that, or if you use a garlic spread, you're good to go also. You can grill the burgers and then put them together, but for the winter months, I prefer to pan fry the burgers. If you have an indoor grill, use it and they would be just as good. You won't use the whole jar of spaghetti sauce, save leftovers and use during the week for pizza bagels (bagel, sauce, toppings, etc.)

Pizza Burgers Makes 8 burgers

2# ground beef
1 package onion soup mix, dry
1/2 c. water
2 T. ketchup (or to taste)
2 T. steak sauce (or to taste)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
6 slices mozzarella cheese (you can use shredded, but it's harder to keep on the burger)
6 slices Texas toast
5 T. butter, softened
1 t. garlic salt

1. Mix ground beef with onion soup mix and water. Mix thoroughly. Add ketchup and steak sauce. Divide meat mixture into 8 equal parts. Patty burgers, set aside while pan heats.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place Texas toast slices (or garlic bread slices) on a baking sheet. If you're using Texas toast, combine butter and garlic salt, spread some butter onto one side of the bread, put that side down onto pan. Set pan to the side while cooking burgers.

3. Heat pan (I use my large skillet), place burgers into pan. Cook to your desired internal temperature. Once burgers are cooked, remove from pan and place one burger onto a piece of Texas Toast, continue until all burgers are used.

4. Place a small amount of spaghetti sauce onto each burger, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Place pan with burgers / toast into the oven. Cook until cheese is melted.

These are "open faced" burgers. We don't use another piece of bread on top. If you want another piece of bread, just toast a piece before you assemble. That way, when you're finished with the melting cheese, your top piece of toast is toasted.

You can add pizza toppings, if you want, but we like just cheese on ours. Mushrooms and onions would be a nice addition, especially if you cooked them down to soft.