Sriracha ranch and bacon cheeseburger sliders

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 package king’s Hawaiian rolls

6 pieces bacon, cooked and cut in half

½ cup ranch dressing

2 tbsp sriracha

Cheese slices (I recommend sharp cheddar or pepperjack)

4 tbsp butter

Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the ranch and sriracha sauce. Set aside.

Brown ground beef and drain. I seasoned with salt and pepper and added some minced garlic and chopped white onions. Mix ground beef and ranch sauce.

Put the bottom of the rolls in the baking dish. Butter and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Spread the ground beef and sauce over them. Top with cooked bacon, cheese and top with the top half of the rolls. Mix the butter and garlic salt together and spread over the top of the rolls.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.

In-N-Out double double mini sliders

Review by Lyndee:

My favorite burger in the world is a double double from In-N-Out burger.  Unfortunately, now that I live in Iowa again, there isn’t one within 15 hours of me. Sigh. Insert sad face here.  I’ve been craving one so bad I can almost taste it…almost.  So I decided to try a copycat recipe.  But let’s face it, no one really NEEDS a double double, fries and a shake.  Right? So last night I attempted a double double mini, or slider, if you will.  Here is the link to the original recipe I found.  And below is my version as healthy as I could make it.  Note, I don’t eat onions so I didn’t do mine animal style but you can find those directions in the link. 

Ingredients:

¼ cup mayo (I used fat free)

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp sweet pickle relish

½ tsp white vinegar

¼ cup yellow mustard

4 slices of American cheese

1 pound ground beef (formed into eight 2 oz mini patties)

4 tea rolls (I used Hawaiian Sweet rolls)

Dill pickle slices

Mix the mayo, ketchup, relish and vinegar in a bowl; set aside.  Shape the beef into mini patties.  Cut the rolls in half and give a few squirts of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray, place butter side down into a nonstick skillet until lightly toasted.  Season the meat patties with salt and pepper.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Dip a basting brush into your mustard and spread on the uncooked side of each patty.  Then flip and top with ½ a slice of cheese.  Continue cooking about 2 more minutes.  Stack on your bun and add pickle.  Dip in your “spread” mixture (rather than slathering your burger in it) and enjoy!!

This tasted amazing! Very close to the real thing and I didn’t have to wait in the drive thru line or travel to the West coast to get it.  Yum! My mini burger was super filling. And you wouldn’t have to do a double double.  You could do just a small single patty as well.  

Weight Watchers slow cooker cheeseburger soup

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 medium garlic clove minced

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium celery stalk chopped

6 baby carrots chopped (not in original recipe but I’m glad I added it)

1 red chili pepper (also not in original recipe)

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef ( with 7% fat)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups canned chicken broth, divided

1 cup low-fat evaporated milk

8 ounces Kraft Velveeta reduced fat cheese product cubed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

24 baked corn tortilla chips, crumbled (optional)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.

Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and pepper to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Coat a 3-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray; spoon in vegetables.

Place same skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, pour off any liquid and add meat to slow cooker.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free. Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, and then pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper.

Cook on low setting for 2 hours.

Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.

Yields about 3/4 cup of soup and 3 tablespoons of chips per serving.

Note: If the soup cooks too long, the cheese could separate.

If that happens, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of soup in a cup; stir to a paste.

Stir flour mixture back into soup in slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 15 minutes (does not affect POINTS values).

This soup was awesome! It was so good I didn’t add the tortilla chips.  Figured that was just wasted calories and I liked it without just fine.  Excellent flavor and I’m a sucker for crock pot soups.