Mini Burgers

I've been wanting to make mini burgers for a long time. They are all over the place in restaurants, and I figured I could make them better, and of course cheaper, at home. I started by making homemade rolls to use as buns. I really liked this looks of this recipe, over at Baking Bites. I like how the recipe uses yogurt. (I had full-fat on hand, so I used that). I used my Kitchenaid to mix up and knead the dough and it was so easy. The dough was super soft and silky, and a pleasure to work with. I loved it. I made most of the dough into dinner-size rolls, and I made the rest of the dough into tiny rolls, since I was unsure about how big my burgers would end up. The rolls baked up beautifully, and were soft, and a little bit chewy, and they held up perfectly as hamburger buns. There is a slight honey flavor too, which I love. I used one cup of white whole wheat flour for some added nutrition.

I had a package of ground beef that was between 1 pound and 1.5 pounds. I mixed it up with my hands and added about a teaspoon of salt, and then formed it into mini patties. I cooked them up on my big family-sized griddle (so they would all be done at the same time) and melted a little piece of Colby-jack cheese on each one. We served them up simple, with just mayo and ketchup. They were so good, and I enjoyed every bite!! My husband was totally raving, and my daughter loved them as well. (I won't admit just how many I ate- lol).

We had fresh pineapple and strawberry kabobs with dinner. I think the kids loved these even more than the tiny burgers!

I thought baked potato wedges would be great with the burgers, so I made some herb-lime ones. I used these cool new-to-me potatoes I found at the grocery store, Klondike Rose. They have red skins and a deep yellow flesh. I used 4 in my recipe, and mine were a little smaller than your average Russet, but oval-shaped just like a Russet. Feel free to use any potato you have on hand!

Herb-Lime Potato Wedges

3 tablespoons butter, melted

juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

4 Klondike Rose potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large micro-wave safe bowl, melt butter. Add lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and herbs. Slice potatoes lengthwise into wedges (I made 8 wedges out of each potato), and add to the bowl with the butter mixture; toss to coat. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish; shake dish to distribute potatoes evenly. Roast for 20 minutes, flip over with spatula. Roast another 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and browned.