Cilantro Cheddar Burgers with Blackened Corn and Tomato Salsa

Almost two years ago, my best friend in the entire universe/my soul-mate in a Meredith Grey and Christina Yang kind of way, met a handsome man hailing from Mexico City. A year later, they were married and off to wedded bliss. Over the course of their courtship and marriage, I have been the beneficiary of many a delicious Mexican themed meal, including the Blackened Corn Salsa in this recipe. It's something she found on Epicurious and then worked into a number of different meals. Well, the other day I was hankering for a juicy burger and thought, "hmmm....a burger with Blackened Corn Salsa? I think, YES!" So I altered things a little bit to fit available ingredients and crafted this delicious little number. And thus, the Cilantro Cheddar Burger with Blackened Corn and Tomato Salsa was born. A light should be descending from heaven at this moment. This is a killer meal. It's real, whole food, with lots of flavor and room for personal taste.

In a culture obsessed with fad diets, health shortcuts, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to eat well, many people dismiss burgers as junk food. Yes, a burger from a fast-food joint or, in all honesty, a majority of restaurants are not good for you. They are made with low-grade meat (or the dreaded "pink slime"), full of fat, drowned in calorie and preservative-laden sauces, and usually three times the size of a standard serving. These burgers are not the same as burgers you will see on my blog, or pretty much any burger you can make at home. Using high-quality beef (or even ground turkey or chicken), keeping the toppings fresh and healthy, using a whole-wheat bun (high-fructose corn syrup free, of course) and limiting any sauces or spreads can leave you with an amazing burger. You won't even miss the taste of whatever junk you are getting at the Golden Arches, or the 2500 calorie burger from Ruby Tuesday. Trust me. A burger can be a great option at home, and it can be healthy! My final word-anyone who tells you that a frozen, preservative-packed microwave "diet meal" is healthier than a lean, homemade burger is severely misinformed. Whole food eating is always superior, and when prepared by you at home, is much more healthy. Get ready to eat some delicious burgers!

Sliders, Two Ways: Cheddar Adobo Bacon and Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Parmesan and Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges

Today was gorgeous. The sun was warm, the flowers were in bloom, and we took the puppy on a nice walk before dinner. Then, we came home and stuffed our faces with this delicious meal. I am not that much of a red-meat girl. I have a new-found appreciation for short ribs and a well-cooked steak, but I mostly stick to poultry, pork and the occasional fish dish. My husband adores burgers. We don't eat out often, but when we do, it is usually a trip to Five Guys. So I throw him a bone every so often and whip up some burgers at home. Tonight, I was totally on board with these sliders, and I think they have several awesome characteristics. They are fast and easy to make. They are made from healthy, whole foods. They are small, so you don't feel like you ate half of a cow. Because they are small, you can eat a few different kinds of burgers and experience an awesome variety of flavors. If you have kids that are small eaters, these would be a great option for them. They also make a killer appetizer if you had company. These came out great, and I will definitely be making them again. Hubby liked the Cheddar Adobo Bacon best, and I was more a fan of the Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Parmesan. We ate them with some oven-baked Spicy Sweet Potato wedges and licked our fingers and plates clean. Well, we licked our fingers. The dog licked the plates! Sweet Potato, by the way, is packed with vitamins, and is such an easy and healthy substitute for your usual french fries.

The recipe does have a few prep steps, but you could totally do them earlier in the day and then just slap these on the grill and have dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes. That's my kind of weeknight meal! I spent a lot of Easter weekend baking (Homemade Oreo Cookies, Carrot Cake, Eclair Pie), and I was sick of kitchen work, so this was  a welcome change. I did make some homemade slider buns today, and while I liked the flavor and texture, they need some tweaking before I share that recipe. You can use some store-bought buns, but I would recommend buying some high-quality artisan buns or a nice whole-wheat bun. The super-enriched, white bun stuff that you grew up with is not the type of thing you want to eat if you are committed to whole food eating, and they honestly taste terrible. It's also worth it to use the highest quality ground beef you can (alternately, turkey or chicken would be tasty too!). We used a nice Angus that I got on sale and froze last month, and it was perfect, flavorful and tender. Skip the generic ground beef. With the enlightenment of the masses on the "pink slime" that makes up a ton of mass-marketed beef, it's worth it to go with a higher-quality chuck or Angus, or to buy grass-fed organic or regular ground beef from a store that does not sell the pink slime. Shudder.