Mini Sliders

Sliders are great for a variety of events which is probably why I love them so much. They work well for parties, game days, quick lunches or dinners or even as a snack. I love the fact that these burgers are miniature - probably because I'm playing some psychological trick on myself in which I'm consuming less calories and tricking myself into thinking of them as "healthy." Truth is, burgers won't ever be recommended by doctors or dieticians as health food, but there is a way to make homemade burgers that are better than their fast-food cousins. I decided to make sliders the other day when I was having a flashback to the many summers I spent in Florida frequenting beachy diners and snack shacks (one of my favorites is Doc's All American in Delray Beach, FL.) While I'm all for people who are vegans or vegetarians, I never cozied up to the idea of a bean burger or soy patty as a substitute for real beef, despite the calorie and fat content. I opted for lean beef and some hawaiian sweet rolls. I shaped some small patties and cooked them on the stove and stacked them on the rolls with some spinach and small slices of swiss cheese. For the fries, I cut up a potato into wedges and tossed them with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and let them cook in the oven. The result? Delicious!

If you want to make them at home, here's the recipe I used. It makes several sliders and a lot of fries, so be sure to you're cooking for more than one

Ingredients:

For the sliders:

1 pound of ground beef

1 package of hawaiian sweet rolls (or other dinner rolls)

1 bag of spinach

1 package of desired cheese

Lea & Perrin's worcestershire sauce

garlic powder & onion powder

For the oven fries:

2 baking potatoes

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

For sliders, spray a skillet with nonstick spray and heat over medium-high heath.

Shape ground beef into meatball-sized patties & sprinkle with a pinch of garlic powder and onion powder and a few shakes of worcestershire. Flatten patties and cook 3 or 4 at a time, turning after a few minutes. Split each roll into two halves (buttered and toasted in the oven for a few minutes if desired) and assemble burgers with cheese, spinach and other desired toppings. Mini burgers

can be held together easily with toothpicks.

For the oven fries, preheat oven to 450. Wash potatoes and skin them if desired (I like to leave the skin on) and cut lengthwise into wedges. Coat a baking pan with nonstick spray and spread potato wedges evenly across the pan. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil all across potatoes to desired amount. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and let them cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.