Recipe: Burger Mania (7 variations for hamburgers)

BURGER MANIA

BURGER BASICS:
- Buy regular ground beef. Beef ground too course or too fine will crumble when cooked.
- When shaping burgers, handle the meat as gently and as little as possible.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw meat
- To keep burgers juicy never press down on them while cooking

NEW YORK BURGERS:
Place Burgers on buns lined with green leaf or Boston lettuce. Top burgers with a 1 oz slice of Swiss or cheddar cheese, 2 crisp bacon strips, roasted red pepper and thick slices of red onion.

TRAIL BURGERS:
Heat a 20 oz can of pork and beans with 1/3 cup barbeque sauce. Spoon over burgers on buns. Sprinkle with chopped green pepper and onion.

PROVENCAL BURGERS:
Panfry 1 1/2 cups each thinly sliced onion and red peppers in 1 Tbsp oil. Spread split buns with 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard. Add burgers and top with 4 oz. creamy garlic and spices cheese and the cooked onion/pepper mixture.

MIDDLE EASTERN BURGERS:
Line whole-wheat pita pockets with lettuce and 2 slices of tomato. Tuck in burger and top with sauce made of 3/4 cup ranch dressing, 1/2 tsp ground cumin and chopped cucumber.

PIZZA BURGERS:
Split and quarter half a loaf of Italian bread. Fill each with a burger, 1/2 cup heated pasta sauce, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese.

CAL-TEX BURGERS:
Place burgers on Kaiser rolls; top with 1 cup shredded lettuce and sliced avocado. Top each burger with 1/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese, 2 Tbsp salsa and 1 Tbsp each reduced fat sour cream and chopped scallions.

REUBEN BURGERS:
Top each burger with a 1 oz slice of Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup reheated sauerkraut, 2 Tbsp Thousand Island dressing and a slice or red onion. Serve on rye bread.

Source: Woman's Day magazine, September, 1998