mini open face burgers on biscuits, sweet potato fries and veganaise-chive dip

ok. what was i thinking? i wasn't originally going to post about this one because i knew the cost was going to be crazar high, but it was too delicious to keep to myself. really. have you ever had veganaise?? it is a vegan alternative to mayo (i generally don't like mayo)...and it is ridiculous. add a little bit of fresh garlic chives? holy, moly, you've got yourself some gourment french fry dip.

so, because i wasn't going to post about this, and since this was all really a total experiment, i regret to inform you that i only have a couple of iphone pics. but we'll get through this.

so here's the whole table setting.

ok let me take you on a tour. at the top of the pic, we have a plate of open faced mini burgers, and sweet potato fries. i have to tell you, those fries all came from ONE giant sweet potato! ha! i'd also like to point out the two drinks at each plate...no, it's not two beers a piece, but one beer (avery's the reverend....perfect for burgers) and sweet leaf's sweet tea. deee-vine.

okay the two dipping sauces in the middle of the table are the veganaise and chive dip i mentioned earlier and...wait for it....ketchup! woo! fancy. then, we have a plate of condiments...red leaf lettuce, one sliced tomato, thick chunks of colby jack cheese and dill pickle spears sliced and halved.

i got some great goods in my greenling local farm box this week. the lettuce, tomato, sweet potato, garlic chives--i also got some persimmons, asian pears, apples, and holy moly-SIX large zucchinis. i am still deciding what to do with them. oh! and a rosemary plant. it is so cute. i hope i don't kill it too soon...

well let's do this folks. let's look at how much this delicious meal cost.

mini open faced burgers on biscuits

for the biscuits, i used bob's red mill biscuit mix. just added some butter, water and an egg, according to the directions and rolled em out and threw 'em on a pan and into the oven. bisquik (one of those processed foods i'm having a hard time letting go of) is also great for doing drop-style biscuits like this. easy as pie.

now onto the good stuff. the beef!

you will need:
stove top turned on to medium heat
a skillet with a little olive oil
1 pound beef
1/4 cup of oats (i'm really bad a measuring...sorry!)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper

combine the soy, worcestershire, salt, pepper into a small bowl and mix well, then add your oats. basically, you want to get some really good soaked oats going. if it's soupy--add more oats. wash your hands really well, and just dig in. don't be scared! it's fun.

now i did mini burgers so i knew i wanted to get about 5-6 small patties out of this package of ground beef, so i kept that in mind as i proceeded to the next step. this will help you eyeball how much beef to use. if it's helpful, divide up the meat into even chunks.

so take a handful of your oat mixture and a handful of ground beef and get to work! mix it all together really well. i know this sounds totally crazar, but the oats give it a really awesome flavour. once it's all combined, form into a patty shape and put them all into your heated up skillet.

 

i made mine really thick, and flipped them about every two minutes for ten minutes. they were slightly pink in the center...just the way i like them. if you want them a little more raw, you can adjust your time and temperature accordingly.

so now that you know what's up with the burgers, hello, sweet potato!

i had one giant potato in my box, so that's the only thing i used. slice that sucker up into french fry sized portions and spread them evenly on a cookie sheet (by the way, i recommend lining your sheet with foil). in a small bowl, i mixed, 2 tbs olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and a tiny bit of garlic salt. swished it together and covered the potatoes with it. then, pop 'em in the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes.

the chives dip is so easy to make. 1/4 cup of mayo (or if you're like me, veganaise) and about 2 tbsp of freshly chopped chives. the ones i got in my box were garlic chives so if you have plain, throw some garlic in there too. it's worth it.

when everything is ready, stack your burgers on top of your biscuts and slice up some veggies and cheese to add to your service. it's fun to put on your own toppings and dig in!

so there you have it. our delicious meal all laid out. ok. let's see where we are!

bob's red mill biscuit mix, $3.99
1 pound grass feed local beef, $7.99
1 block colby jack cheese, $3.99
sweet potato, $1.99
chives $.99
oats, $.50
veganaise $1.99
tomato, $1.45
lettuce, $1.00
1 avery 'the reverend' beer, $5.99

okay burgers, biscuts, fries, dips and condiments all total a whoppin' $29.88. WOO! that's high! but we did also add a beer. :) we got four meals out of this, which comes out to $7.47 a share. still cheaper than going out to eat, but a little higher than my budget calls for! maybe we'll leave off the beer next time. HA!

on the easy to hard/time consuming scale of 1-10, i'd give it about a 7. it's easy to do, but takes a lot of steps and time. also i have a cold, so if i was achey free i might have given it a 5 or 6. but really, you can do this!

thanks for reading!