Wednesday: Friendly little cheeseburgers

Little note to the chef: This makes a lot of burger! :) In our family, it actually counts for three meals and I just freeze the burgers we don't use that night and reheat them in the microwave another night. (FREEZER MEAL! WAHOO!) These are delicious. The wheat germ is added to punch in a little extra fiber into each burger. I think you will be very glad you tried this recipe. Enjoy!















Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup wheat germ
2 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half (we used milk because it is what we had)
2 Tbs. minced onion
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram or oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
8 hamburger buns













In a large bowl, combine ground beef, wheat germ, eggs, half-and-half, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, marjoram and thyme. Shape into 8 patties. (I usually make 12)














Grill for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Place a slice of cheese on top during the last 2 minutes of cooking, if desired.

I had this groovy idea to cut a smiley face with a toothpick out of the slice of cheese and serve the burger open face so the kids see that the burger is friendly. :0) Seemed like a good idea anyway. I zapped it for a few seconds in the microwave, though, and I think I let the cheese melt a little too much, until it was a scary, droopy face. I made a heart for my darling husband and wrote I love you in ketchup on his.

My new idea is to let the kids (if they are old enough) cut their own faces out and then it doesn't matter if it looks scary or not, because it is their creation. Another idea (again, if your kids are old enough) would be to give each child a toothpick, and ask your kids to make a face out of their cheese that represents how they are feeling that day, opening up the discussion, with the follow up question, "and why did you choose that face today?"

There will be a giveaway coming up shortly that will also open up conversations at you dinner table. Stay tuned for that one.

Side note: I used my leftover cheese on my cheeseburger, since I don't care what mine looks like. (Just an idea to use up that extra cheese)

For a recipe to make your own mini sliders, go here.