Ultimate Mexican Burger

Okay you guys.  If you know me, you may have followed my travels (and eats) throughout my stay in San Miguel de Allende.  If you did that, you know that there was a street food cart that served up life altering hot dogs and hamburgers.  I may not be able to crack the mystery of the taco cart (mmmmm, bistec, al pastor  . . . . tacos y gringas. . . . drool. . . . ), but the burgers, I have recreated (light shines and angels sing).

If you have ever read any of my other posts here, you know I tend to go with healthy, South Beach type recipes quite frequently.  This is NOT one of those recipes.  This recipe is covered in delicious, awesome, drippy, flavorful bacon fat.


Mexican Street Cart Burger
1 lb ground beef
6 or so strips of bacon (or more!); cut into bite sized pieces
American cheese
buns
sliced ham (Oscar Mayer is just fine)
pickled jalapenos
white onion - diced
Roma tomatoes - diced
ketchup
mustard
crema - optional
egg
breadcrumbs
garlic powder
(tater tots with melty cheese sauce optional Fat American add-on)

Make your patties - crack in the egg, add 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs or so (depending on how wet the meat is - you want it to stick together into patties; if it's not, add a bit more bread), a tbsp or so of garlic powder and mix.  Form four patties and set aside.
In a large skillet (or on a nice big griddle if you have one), cook up the bacon til crispy then remove to a plate.  Pour off the bacon fat, but keep it!!!  You want to leave a little bit in the pan to keep the burgers from sticking, and may need to add more as you go.
Depending on the size of your skillet, add a patty or two (your griddle might fit all four burgers you lucky duck).  After a few minutes when the first side is cooked, flip the burgers.  Top with a slice of American cheese and a piece of ham.  In Mexico, they put the ham and then the cheese on, and somehow manage to flip the burger again and sort of crisp up the cheese or something - I was not capable of this.  My cheese just went all liquidy goopey and turned into a big mess so I didn't even try.
When the burgers are almost done, nestle the buns into that yummy bacon grease too to heat up and get a nice little bacony crust (adding more bacon fat bit by bit if you need it).  Plate the burgers onto the buns, and cover with the bacon pieces, ketchup, mustard (crema if you like it), the diced onions and tomatoes, and the jalapenos.
Repeat with remaining patties serving to your new faithful servants who will do just about anything you ever ask of them as long as you promise to make them these burgers again.

Quiche crazy!

As I was looking for the real recipe for those little South Beach quiches, I stumbled across a forum where Ami from Ohio unleashed on the quiche. She had several good suggestions that I'd like to try out. I have tweaked them a little to my own tastes, but you can check the forum for the originals if you don't trust me as much as you trust Ami. She IS from Ohio after all.

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche - Phase 1
(She adapted this one from lowcarbluxury.com)

1 lb. very lean hamburger or ground turkey
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked turkey bacon
3 eggs
1/2 cup fat free half-n-half
8 oz. low-fat shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
garlic powder to taste (optional)
pepper
(Ami's recipe called for mayo which I took right the hell out. I haven't made these yet to see if I need to sub the mayo with something else, but I usually go with plain yogurt that I've drained the excess moisture out of; I'd guess 1/4 cup would be sufficient)

Brown hamburger in skillet with onion.
Remove and mix in bowl with bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry
mixer until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and press into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well.
Pour mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40-45 minutes until top is browned and "set".
Cool 15-20 minutes before slicing.
This can be packaged in Ziplocs or plastic containers for quick reheatable meals over the next 3-5 days though it does not freeze well.

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Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese
Source: (c) Cooking Light Magazine
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Bake these bite-sized frittatas in a muffin pan. They taste great hot or at room temperature, so you can make them in advance.

Cooking spray
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces), chopped
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 large egg whites
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until set.

Nutrition Facts
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Facts per Serving
Calories: 39
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 2g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Sodium: 121mg
Protein: 4g
Fiber: 0g

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Spinach and Feta Quiche (mmm, Spanikopita-y)
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and very well drained
1/2 c onions, diced
1/4 eggbeaters OR 1 egg
1/2 c fat free Half and Half
6 oz low fat crumbled feta cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp minced garlic

Place spinach in greased pie plate. Beat eggbeaters. Mix in cheese, half and half, and seasonings. Pour over spinach in pie plate.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Eat 1/4 for breakfast each morning.