Who said Burger? I said Buuuurgerrrrrr.....

Okay, who loves hamburgers and cheeseburgers? Yeah, I figured...me too. Okay, now who loves going to a fast food restaurant and loading up on a big, fat, high calorie burger with a bunch of deep-fried, French fries that you just dropped over 10 bucks on and it's sitting in the bottom of your stomach like a lead weight? Oh, and then you feel like you want to puke about 20 minutes later? Yup, me too. That is why we do NOT eat at fast food "restaurants" at all. And seriously, restaurants? Come on now, how can they even call themselves that?

Now how does this look?

Protein Style Cheddar Cheeseburger with Homestyle Baked Beans

Yeah, I thought so. And this meal is incredibly easy to make and also very nice on the budget. A protein-style hamburger/cheeseburger with fresh tomato, grilled Maui sweet onion and grilled garlic aioli served between leaves of fresh butter lettuce instead of a big bun.

Now, THAT is a burger. Yeah, I know In-N-Out Burger makes their "Protein Style" burger and you can order burgers at most restaurants without the bun, but nothing beats a fresh, handmade burger hot off your own grill and made in your own home.

And the beans? Well, you can have an accompaniment of whatever you fancy, but I went simple and this configuration has a side of Bush Brother's Steakhouse Recipe Grillin' Beans. Simple and quite tasty.

The Meat:

• 2/3 ground sirloin
• 1/3 ground pork
• 1/3 ground chuck (15% fat)

Combine meats in a large mixing bowl and mix them together well. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, garlic powder, Italian Seasoning, and red pepper flakes, all to your taste and liking. Mold into individual patties and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes. When ready, place the patties on hot grill and grill to desired temperature and doneness.

The Onion:

Finely chop 1 medium Maui sweet onion. Place in small pan with olive oil and butter and sauté until golden brown and translucent. Set aside.

The Aioli:

Cut the top third off two garlic heads. Put them into a oven safe dish and generously coat with olive oil until nicely saturated. Top the heads with salt and pepper. Lightly cover with a sheet of foil and place in a 350 degree oven from approximately one hour or until garlic heads are golden brown and garlic is soft and creamy to touch. Let cool. Once cooled to the touch, carefully spoon out garlic from each of the topped cloves and mix well. Combine roasted garlic mixture with mayonnaise, mustard, and sautéed onions to taste.

Place the grilled hamburger/cheeseburger on top a leaf of aioli smeared butter lettuce and add slices of tomato and Kosher dill pickles to your liking. Serve immediately to help stop the drooling. ツ

One thing to note about my choice of lettuce. Butter lettuce is not only very flavorful, but is also thicker and will better withstand being handled. You can also slice the burger in half and put a half on the lettuce leaf and fold it up and dress it like a taco.

So, the next time you're jonesing for a great burger, try this one. Treat your body and your budget right...make it a family night and do it together. Family bonding time that you won't forget. ツ

Mahalo for cooking with Captain Bobby Mitchel

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