Big Mac

Makes 6 Big Macs
1-1/2 lbs Lean Ground Beef - Make 12 super thin patties
Cheddar Cheese
Buns - Make an extra cut about 1/3" thick on the top portion

Sauce
1/2 Cup Mayo
1/2 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Relish
1 Taplespoon White Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Toppings
Thinly Sliced Lettuce
Thinly Sliced Pickles
Finely Chopped Red Onion

To Prepare
The only way to make the burgers thin enough is to roll up 12 balls of equal size and roll out on wax paper or plastic wrap. I put 6 at a time on a sheet of wax paper and then put another sheet on top. With a roller flatten the balls until they are about 1/4" thick. It should be a little wider than your standard bun (burger will shrink a bit in cooking). On a lightly oiled fry pan cook on medium heat about 2 minutes per side. When you flip over the burger add cheese.

While burgers are cooking mix up the sauce ingredients and warm the buns in the oven.

On bottam half of bun add lettuce, onions and a tablespoon of sauce. Add a patty then middle bun. Add another patty, pickles and another tablespoon of sauce and Voila! your homemade Big Mac.

Tell me its not perfect and by the way at $.99/lb we are talking about 6 Big Macs for $1.50 of beef. If you calculate all the ingredients at most $8.00 for the meal. Cheaper and healthier. Served with a side salad instead of fries you cannot go wrong.

VEGGIE VERSION
Makes 8 thin patties

1 Can Chickpeas(can sub lentils, kidney beans etc...)
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Flour
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoons Ketchup
1/2 Tablespoon Grainy Mustard
Splash Worcestershire Sauce

Crush all ingredients together to make a coarse paste. Roll out burgers on wax paper with roller. The best way to keep the burgers together when cooking is to put the rolled patties in the fridge for 1/2 an hour to cool. Keeps them firmer and they won't break apart while cooking. Cook on a lightly oiled frypan on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.

Still Alive!

I'm still here! Sorry I haven't been posting this week but have been swamped at work, home, kids etc... and haven't had a chance to sit down. Also with the Olympics going on I have been spending all my free time with the kids cheering on those awesome Canadians! FWIW we are so darn good at moguls and snowboard cross, the boy can't decide what his sport is going to be. Now hockey is starting and I think we're in trouble!

I did my shopping again on Sunday and broke the budget a bit. It came to $125.00 this week but there were some super sales on pork chops and lean ground beef at $.99/lb so stocked up for the month. We won't need to add those to the grocery bills for a few weeks for sure, so I should be able to get back on track.

Last night on the way home I couldn't get the old McDonald's song out of my head, "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" (showing my age here), and decided to try and make some Big Macs for dinner. I had all the ingredients on hand, and guessed at the sauce and it turned out AMAZING! Blind taste test and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I'll post the recipe, if you like Big Macs, you won't believe how easy and good this is! I even made a chickpea burger version of this for Michele.

With a salad on the side we sat down and watched Canada trounce Norway in hockey and had a great night.

Go Canada!