Summer burgers

I constantly work to keep my iron levels up, so I try to eat red meat once a week or so. The problem is that I wasn't really raised on much meat, and I draw blanks on what to do with it. I'm drawn to veggies and beans because they play well together and I like one dish meals. Meat is an attention hog, and it usually requires a side dish.

Last night I spent a little bit of time musing about finding some amazing dish and then I just gave up and made what I will now call summer burgers. I worked with what I had on hand.


Grilled red onions, chopped fresh basil and some sundried tomatoes

I added a big dollop of my favorite mustard, salt and pepper and then mixed everything together with some 96% lean ground beef and formed patties.

D obliged by grilling them for us (and photographing the charcoal - credit goes to him for this one and I love how you can see off the edge of our balcony).


Charcoal chimney - the only way to grill!

We didn't have any buns, so we ate them on TJs cracked wheat sourdough bread, which I actually like better.



The picture isn't ideal, because it was dark by the time we ate (makes me dread winter and the lack of photo ops), but you get the idea. I always use the 96% lean beef, which makes these very healthy, but I'm sure they would be delicious with any meat. If you do decide to use the extra lean, make sure you watch it as it cooks. It dries out very quickly. Luckily, D is an expert at this point.

They were nice and very summery with all that basil. I think it's a keeper. And now I don't have to worry about what to do with meat for at least another week.