Patty Melts

What's this? An entry without ANY pasta in it?! That must mean I went food shopping!

Let me tell you a story. Ten days before we went on vacation, I stopped shopping. We basically ate what was already in the fridge and then scraped together meals from remnants in the cabinets and freezer slowly but surely until there was nothing of excess left to spoil while we were on vacation. We came home on Tuesday; I made a box of pasta. Last night was "Face Off" night (and my best friend Meredith of On The Wire joined us!) and, shamefully, I made yet another box of pasta. I made another sauce to go with it, but I'm not going to post it - I think you, the audience, has had enough pasta for now. Anyway, I went food shopping on Thursday night after some hilarious (not really) credit card issues and I think ... I think I've bought enough food to last Fiance and I about two weeks.

There's a wonderful movie from 1968 - one of my absolute favorites -  starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, called "Yours, Mine & Ours".

It's about a widowed nurse with 8 children who marries a widower with 10 children. Hilarity ensues. Lucille is at her height in this film and Henry is just as cute as could be. Anyway, every time I do my weekly food shop, I think of this great scene from the film: Frank and Helen (Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, respectively) are going to the supermarket to feed their newly blended family of 20.

Three shopping carts later, the cashier rings them up (manually, might I add; this is 1968) and then hands them the very, very long receipt ... that totals $100.

Honestly, if my grocery receipt totals $100, that's a good day. Also, for the amount of food I buy, if my receipt totals $100, that grocery store is probably going out of business and everything is marked 99-cents.

Anyway, Fiance and I are suffering from colds thanks to all that airplane travel and I'm trying to kill it with fire. We needed some red meat in our systems but I was also super tired and feeling icky. I needed something easy, and healthy. Well, that's when I turn to "Cook This, Not That." Patty melts are essentially burgers sauteed in onions with Swiss cheese melted on top. It's very basic, but extremely satisfying.

PATTY MELTS, courtesy of "Cook This, Not That"
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb ground sirloin, ground lean beef or ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large red onion, diced
4 slices Swiss cheese
8 slices of rye bread, toasted

mise-en-place

You will also need a large or medium skillet. I made no substitutions to the actual recipe, except I used pumpernickel bread (dark rye) as opposed to regular rye.

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Form into 4 large, thin patties.

2. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and scatter the onion around the burgers. Stir the onion from time to time to keep them from burning.

3. Cook the burgers for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and immediately cover each with a slice of Swiss cheese. Continue cooking until the burgers are cooked all the way through, about another 3 minutes.

4. Remove, place on top of the toasted rye, cover with sauteed onions and top with the other slice of rye.

YUMMY. Check out that delicious sandwich! I cooked them off two at a time, as you can see from the photos. I knew we weren't going to eat two each. Also, I just realized that the photographs above are two different plates, haha! Well, it still looks good.

As you can see, I served it with oven fries and broccoli. A good, well rounded dinner. This recipe only took me 15 minutes or so, so it makes for a perfect weeknight meal. I'm tagging this recipe as both BEEF and TURKEY because it can be made with either one, as well as KID-FRIENDLY. I mean, what kid doesn't love burgers?

Coming up this week, I have some GREAT recipes - including not one but two crock-pot meals! YAY! Tonight's dinner will be a soup recipe. Soups are easier than most people think, and, being sick, soup seems to be the best option for me and Fiance right now.

Until next time: Eat, drink and be merry!