Slide Over- Simply Slimming Sliders Coming Through!

One of the few perks of the long line at the Trader Joe's on 14th street is that you get to look at everything that the store sells since the line basically wraps around the entire perimeter of the store! I was always told not to buy meat at Trader Joe's because it is generally very expensive, but as it turns out, certain meats are actually relatively cheap there, and even better, they sell leaner ground beef than any other supermarket I've come across! On this factor alone, (okay, and the fact that Bare Burger and 5 Napkin Burger both smelled SO good on my jog), it was clearly meant to be burger night!

As we all know, I've never been the traditional type. I refuse to just buy some ground beef, make a fatty patty, and chuck it on the grill, so naturally, I went to work to make these burgers into something special! For starters, I've always thought the idea of sliders was incredibly cute (and chic these days I guess!), so sliders it is, and since the beef was so lean, it is important to do something to make them moist and juicy like any other big, bad burger! But enough rant- on with the recipe!

To make one set of Simply Slimming Sliders (2), you will need: (If you want to make a batch for company, simply multiply the recipe)

4oz Lean Ground Beef (T-Joe's sells 96% Fat Free, but if the best you can find is 92 or 93% then use that!)
2-3T BBQ Sauce (I use the Thick and Spicy variety made by Walden Farms which is KILLER!)
A generous pinch of fresh cracked pepper, garlic and onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes for heat, and my fav dehydrated garlic and onion flakes (In my opinion, the more, the merrier- nothing is worse than a dry, under-seasoned burger!)

Optional for garnish: 2 Large Romaine Leaves (I use them for lettuce buns!), Slices of tomato
AND/OR, though not pictured, High Fiber English Muffins for buns, Sliced Onion, Sauteed onions and mushrooms, jalepeno slices, cheese of choice ... basically anything you could possibly want to top a slide

Feelin' Frisky?: The following is optional, but highly recommended: If you want to moisten your burgers even further and bulk them up a bit, try adding 1/8- 1/4 cup of grated cauliflower. You won't taste it but it does something incredible to the texture! Unfortunately, my cauli had gone rotten, so the pictured sliders are sans-cauli :(

Anyway, to prepare the sliders, simply combine everything in a bowl and form them into patties. (If you're adding the cauliflower, you can just microwave it until it has softened, and then put it through the food processor or rice it with a cheese grater and microwave it to soften it). To cook them, I used my handy little George Forman Grill which cooks them to perfection in about 2 minutes, though if you're using a conventional grill or stove top, cooking time will vary. It also depends on how rare you like your burger. I like mine slightly pink on the inside! After they are done, let them rest for a minute or so, garnish away, and DIG IN! Oh, and P.S., I added a little extra BBQ sauce to mine! (Can't go wrong with 0 calorie BBQ sauce!) Pin It