Chipotle Herbed Burgers. Welcome Spring!

It is almost spring, a few short weeks away. I am super excited. It's starting to warm up here in Arizona. It is hitting the 70s a lot more and sunny and perfect outside. This garden fresh burger fits the bill perfectly. The fragrant herbs were an easy, no fuss addition. It made for a carefree dinner along with some simple homemade fries. The freshness of the herbs, the slight kick from the chipotle, upgraded it from just "another burger recipe". Feel free to add more chipotle to make it even more spicy. I cook for a little guy so I have to moderate. Wahoo. Another enjoyable meal in less than 30 minutes. Face it, its the weekend, time to eat, play, and enjoy life. Sometimes I want to spend hours in the kitchen but when the weather is this nice, I want to spend more time outside. Even a beginner cook would feel at ease whipping these burgers up for a skillet or bbq this spring. 

Chipotle Herbed Burgers

Serves 3 or 4  

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray Feb 2008 Magazine Everyday

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp dried dill (I couldn't find fresh at the store) 

1 1/2 Tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

1 large shallot finely diced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 chipotle & some adobe sauce, finely chopped

1 Tbs olive oil

Hamburger buns ( I used this recipe to make some buns - was great!)

Mustard, Ketchup, and whatever toppings you like

2 slices cheese - I cut the cheese (Colby) into triangles and put 2 triangles on each burger

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (usually add this to all my burgers to bring out the meaty taste)

Homemade bread makes a kitchen smell amazing. I made these one day in advance.
See the link above for recipe for these delightful things! 

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix meat, salt, pepper, herbs, sauce and chipotle

2. Heat the oil on an indoor grill, outdoor grill, or skillet 

3. Grill burgers approx 5-7 minutes on each side over medium - or medium low

(don't move around in the pan - let them sit and get a bit caramelized on the bottom) 

4. Flip burgers only once and when a few minutes before cooking time is done, check temp to make sure it is to the doneness that you prefer, and add the cheese. 

The cheese needs at least a minute - two minutes to get melty. Meat will continoue cooking a minute or so on the plate so take that into consideration if you are wanting it medium or rarer. 

5. Heat the buns and serve with desired toppings and sides

Optional sides that would go great with this: Corn on the cob, fries, chips, watermelon, tater tots, potato salad, green salad, any sort of fresh spring time veggie, lemonade, or sweet tea

Hope you are enjoying the last little bit of winter. I know some areas just were hit with a lot of snow. So keep making soups, stews, and yummy hardy casseroles  if you are in that predicament. If not pull out the sunglasses and get ready for Easter because 

Spring is coming! 

Cheers for getting ready for spring food

From my kitchen to yours