Burger for One

Burgers are so tasty and versatile. You can top them with anything or nothing and they will probably be great. If you want a unique burger, go try out Zombie Burger in Des Moines. It's very popular and for a good reason. They have great service and crazy, fun food. However if you like a lively atmosphere, forget it;) My favorite is the Undead Elvis which includes...are you ready?...cheese, fried egg, bacon, peanut butter, fried bananas, and mayo. Oh goodness. It's just so good! I was leary at first too but everything really goes together perfectly on it. I do get it without the mayo to avoid the chemical, preservative heavy part. 

Today though, I just picked what I had in the fridge to top mine. I'm moving Monday and trying to clean out the fridge so I have less to transport.  

Luke 11 gives a dialogue between Jesus and the disciples about prayer. Jesus gives them a structure for how to pray and then talks about being persistent in it. 

The opportunity to talk to God is a huge blessing that I don't take advantage of enough. Persistent, eternal focused prayer is what I want to make a consistent practice.

My enemy the mandolin.

So, I really wanted to have an entry yesterday and thought "oh, I have lots of carrots and I've seen people make carrot chips. Can't be too hard to make, I'll do that". Right, so carrot chips are not simple.

My first snag was cutting my thumb. I love and hate my mandolin. It comes with this guard/holder thing. It's meant to be used but I wanted to cut the carrots in a way that the guard would make harder, so I went without. I cut my knuckle on it about a month ago so I knew I needed to be careful. No matter how careful I aim to be, I just can't win. No blood on the mandolin though!

 My second struggle was to get them the same thickness which gave me half burnt, half chewy carrot strips. So after 2 tries, I gave up. Maybe I'll try again later, they aren't supposed to be this hard to make.

         

You just can't fail with burgers! Ground angus beef from my best friend/roommate's parents makes them even better.

Roasted vegetables are just wonderful!

I love cheese and used both Munster and white cheddar on this guy. You taste the pepper and tomato first and the cheese last. I was happy with it as a quickly composed lunch!

Burger and toppings:

Ground beef 

 one red pepper

small portion of a sweet onion

one small tomato

Cheese of choice

Hamburger bun

Preheat oven to 400°. Slice and seed the pepper. Lightly coat with olive oil and place skin up. Slice the tomato (I used roma) and place on the same sheet tray with a little olive oil. Let roast for about 15 minutes.

Saute a bit of sliced onion in a skillet with a touch of oil. Remove from pan when soft and a little brown. Use the same pan to cook the burger patty. I seasoned the patty with pepper and garlic powder. Take the roasted veggies out of the oven and slice a chunk of the pepper for your burger. Toast the bun under the broiler for 3+ minutes. Keep an eye on it as it will toast quickly.

Build your burger with all your ingredients and cheese choice. Enjoy!