The Ultimate End-of-Summer Burger Recipe

Warning: You may want to lick the computer screen.

I feel like almost every recipe post starts off with me confessing something. Either I'm doing a lot of things wrong or food just brings out the honesty within me. We love to grill over her at the Pulford's. Whether it's on our deck at the condo or during a party over at the in-laws. Grilling just makes summers more meaningful. And glorious. And that's the truth.

Another truth is, I could not for the life in me create a homemade burger recipe that wouldn't end with the patties falling a part, plummeting to their death on the hot burning coals. Every recipe I tried, I failed. My poor husband would look at the burgers, wondering if he would be wearing most of it. He usually did. Thank you Jesus for stain stick!

Then, lo and behold, I came across this amazing burger recipe from Kraft. I'm going to continue on the truth train: I rarely EVER follow recipes. When I search for recipes, my goal is to find one as a base. A foundation for my kitchen creations, if you will. This was IT, folks! I don't know why but out of all the burger recipes from the past years, this one stuck and made sense to me. It corrected what I was doing wrong...and brought to life the ultimate end-of-summer burger.

I call it that because it seriously is! My husband and I enjoyed every moist, flavorful bite. The added homemade sauce, cheese, bacon and lettuce created an awesome end-of-summer party in our tummies. I just wrote tummies. Can you tell I have a toddler? Long story short, ingredients were simplified and the entire process was easy-peasy.

Here's what you'll need:

1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs, plain or seasoned
1 egg
Dash of pepper
1/2 teaspoon Adobo or your favorite spices
Italian dressing for flavor

Homemade sauce:
1 teaspoon mayo
2 teaspoons ketchup 

Add all of the burger ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well with your hands. Shape into 6 patties, 1/2 inch thick. Grill or cook in a grill pan, bast 1/2 teaspoon of italian dressing on each side of the pattie, flipping 4-5 minutes for each side or until fully cooked. 

In a small bowl, mix the mayo and ketchup. Add cheese, lettuce, bacon, anything you want to the burgers. Don't forget the homemade sauce! Perfect with homemade fries or your favorite chips.

And that's it. Can you believe how easy that was? The short creation time doesn't effect the great taste of this burger. It is amazingly good. I am sad that summer has ended but eating this burger made the last few days so worth it!

What summer food will you miss the most?

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