The All American Food!

Burgers!  It’s the all American food!  When I was teaching in Europe, I would ask my students to tell me about things that make them think of the United States. A common answer was Hamburger, French Fries, and Coca-Cola! “Really, this is what you think of when you hear America?” I would ask. I tried not to take offense to this but it makes sense - On average Americans eat 150 million tons of burger every year!  That is 100 burgers per person!

I grew up eating burgers.  They were a staple in our house!  My dad would stand out in his garage - rain, snow, or shine and cook up this American icon!  They were always delicious and the only thing you needed to make them even better was some ketchup and mustard.  When I entered high school I started to steer away from red meat, not really sure why, but by the time I entered college I had swore off red meat for good!  It wasn’t until I met my husband that I had to reacquaint myself with this food.

Jake’s family lives on a farm and raises cattle. Do you see a problem here?  After a few months of dating Jake invited me to make the three-hour trek to his home to meet his family.  Jake was very aware of the lack of red meat in my diet and knowing this we had a very “serious” conversation on the way home about how to “impress” his family.  I remember sitting down to dinner and watching as the red meat hit the table…Oh the things you do for love!  I rediscovered a fondness for red meat.  I try to keep it to a minimum but I do enjoy a nice steak or a great burger every once in a while!  So tonight in honor of red meat I share with you a recipe for Hawaiian Burgers! 

Hawaiian Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb. burger

Dashes of Teriyaki sauce

4 slices fresh pineapple

4 slices cheddar cheese

1 jalapeno sliced (optional)

1 tomato slice

1/2 cup French fried onions

4 sandwich thins

Preparation

1.  Patty burger and flavor with teriyaki sauce.

2.  Grill burgers according to liking then add cheese and allow to melt.
3.  Place pineapple on grill and grill each side 2 - 3 minutes

4.  Assemble burger:  Bun, tomato, fried onions, burger, pineapple, jalapeno, bun.
5.  Dip into BBQ sauce if desired.

And now for the real kicker – we used venison meat(cut with 10% beef).  Much leaner than beef!