Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Portobello & Beef Patty Melts




Many of you may be asking this question: Where's the beef? I've got your beef right here! LOL I've also got a brand new laptop which means I'll be posting regularly again.

In case you haven't noticed, all of the recipes I've posted up until now have been made using chicken. I have a confession. I'm not a fan of red meat. (insert gasps of horror here) However, my husband IS a big fan. In fact, after our first 2 weeks of marriage (also our first 2 weeks of living together full time) I asked him if he had any requests for dinners the following week. He gulped, looked a bit hesitant and said "I need more beef." Since then I've been doing my best to incorporate red meat into our menu at least a couple times a week. He seems to be pleased with what we've tried so far, including these Portobello & Beef Patty Melts made using a recipe I found here and modified.

16 ounces lean ground beef
2 cups finely chopped portobello mushroom caps (about 2), gills removed
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

[b]Directions[/b]

1. Position a rack in upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat broiler and line a broiler pan with foil.

2. Gently mix the beef, mushrooms, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until combined.

3. Shape the mixture into 4 patties and place on the foil-lined pan.

4. Broil about 4 to 6 minutes per side or until cooked through.

I served these on toasted whole wheat kaiser rolls found on the shelf near the deli in our grocery store. My husband followed the original recipe and topped his with swiss cheese. I used muenster.

You could taste mushroom, but it wasn't overpowering. Using the portobellos also made them really juicy! The whole meal was easy to prepare and took very little time. It fit perfectly into our busy work week schedule.

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