Sliders Three Ways

     For our weekly meal with Matt, I decided to make sliders and salt potatoes. On the way home I decided I wouldn’t pick up salt potatoes and that we had a ton of chips to eat instead. But while at work I decided to make sliders three different ways. So the meal turned into sliders three ways and a variety of chips. I came up with cheddar/bacon and American/pickle for the sliders quickly but the third style took a bit of thinking. The problem with sliders is they can’t hold much because of their size to whatever you do choose to top them with, needs to be small or cut down to fit on top. Ultimately I decided to go with mozzarella/pizza sauce. I wanted to add pepperoni as well but I didn’t have any at home. I ended up with three sliders of each variety for a total of nine. Here are the ingredients if you want to try making any of these:

Slider buns

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

Salt and pepper

½ cup cheddar cheese

2 strips bacon, crumbles

½ cup mozzarella cheese

¼ cup pizza sauce

1 ½ slices American cheese

3 pickle slices

     Cook the bacon in a pan first and crumble it up, set this aside. While the bacon cooks, toast the insides of the top and bottom buns in a pan or on a griddle until golden brown. Place them open on each plate to make transferring the burgers to the buns easier. Take the ground beef and roll it into golf ball sized balls and then press them to about 1 inch in thickness. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tops of the burgers and then add them top side down into the pan and then sprinkle more salt and pepper on the other side. Let them cook on a medium high heat for about 2 minutes and then flip them over. Immediately start topping these with the cheeses, dividing the amount listed over the three sliders. I add an ice cube to the pan and cover it with a large bowl, this helps melt the cheese quickly. Cook it this way for another two minute and they will be in between medium well and well. Obviously cook them for less time if you want them a little less done. Move them burgers to the buns and top with the other ingredient. I got them ready on the counter beforehand so I could finish them up quickly.

     It was nice to have a variety of smaller burgers because I normally get bored with the same taste throughout a larger burger. We all liked each burger but there was some discussion on which was the favorite. Christine liked the American cheese with pickle on top while Matt and I were both taken with the mozzarella and pizza sauce burger. The cheddar bacon burger was good but we’ve all had it before, so the sauce topped one was the star of the night. If it had just been tomato sauce I don’t think the burger would have been as good. But because I used left over pizza sauce from the pizza we had the night before, I think that made a huge difference. If you read my post about the pizza you might remember me saying I’d eat that sauce with a spoon, so I think the sauce is just that good to make the burger be great. I don’t know if I could eat a whole burger with those toppings but there is only one way to find out.

Rating: Yummy - Three burgers were three times the fun.

Dan's Daily Dose #34

     Do not use dried herbs in the same quantity as fresh. In most cases, use 1/3 the amount in dried as is called for fresh.

Sausage, Mushroom, & Pepper Pizza

     I like making pizza at home because you can do anything you want and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg for tons of topping. I have used raw pizza dough in the past but when loading up a pizza with a lot of toppings it is hard to cook the dough all the way through without burning the toppings. We decided to use a Baboli pizza crust which he hadn’t tried before but the fact that it was somewhat cooked already peaked out interest. We bought fresh meat and produce to make one of out favorite pizzas; peppers, onions, and sausage. Here is the recipe we came up with:

1 Baboli pizza crust

½ jar pizza sauce

1 8oz bag Mozzarella cheese

¾ pound sweet sausage, crumbled

1 green pepper, sliced thin

1 8oz package mushrooms, chopped

½ teaspoon garlic

Olive oil for sautéing

     Start off by browning the sausage in a pan until it is fully cooked through and crumbled. Put the sausage in a small bowl, leaving some of the fat in the pan. Add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic into the pan and let it cook for about a minute or so. At this point, turn the oven on to 450 degrees. I don’t like raw vegetables on my pizza so this next step works if you like them soft. Put both the peppers and the mushrooms into the pan and mix them until everything is coated with the oil. Once everything has softened up, pour everything into a strainer and let it drain for a minute or two just to get most of the oil and fat off. The last steps are to put the sauce, cheese, and toppings on before throwing it all in the oven. There is no set way of putting them on so just spread everything out evenly. This should cook for about 12 – 15 minutes but watch for the cheese to be fully melted and you’ll know it is done.

     There is no way the weight from the toppings would let raw dough cook all the way through so it was good that we used a precooked crust. I would have liked a more bready crust but the amount of toppings made up for that. Because the toppings layer was so thick, I used a knife and fork to eat most of mine. The sausage was from Spera’s and had a ton of flavor from the spices that they add when they grind it. Sautéing the peppers and mushrooms added another dimension that I don’t normally get from pizza shop pizza. The garlic and olive oil gave them a sweet taste that went well with they semi-spicy sausage. My favorite part of it all I think was the sauce which is just Wegmans brand pizza sauce. I’m not sure what it is about the sauce but I could eat it with a spoon, it is that good. Overall not a bad attempt at pizza but the crust needs some work.

Rating: Yummy – Who doesn’t like homemade pizza?

Dan's Daily Dose #33

     If lettuce starts turning a little brown (but not slimy) it may not be suitable for salads, but it is for sautéing. Cook it quickly in a little olive oil, minced garlic, and salt. 

Dan's Daily Dose #32

     When deep frying, dry food well with paper towels before adding to the pot; it helps reduce splattering. 

Dan's Daily Dose #30 & #31

     Use olive oil for cooking when appropriate. It adds to the taste of the dish and is better for you than butter.


     When taking foods off the grill, put them on a clean plate, not the same platter that held raw meat. 

Dan's Daily Dose #29

     Fresh eggs' shells are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and shiny.