Ham, Bacon, & Pepper Jack {Burger} & Strawberry, Watermelon {Salad}

If this burger were a person it would be your motorcycle riding, free speaking, beer drinking, leather sporting cousin.  If this salad were a person it would be your book reading, flower loving, rule abiding, sweet tea sipping, strawberry blonde best friend. Well, your cousin and your best friend just met and it is going to be one hell of good a summer.

Our ham and bacon burger has enough meat to sink the food guide pyramid and a pepper jack cheese sauce so sinfully delicious it can't possibly be good for diabetics.  Like colors on the color wheel, this burger is perfectly complemented by its opposite.  Ripe strawberries, juicy watermelon, soft mozzarella, fresh mint, and a poppy seed dressing provide the perfectly balanced companion to such a brawny burger.

So grab your cousins and your best friends, fire up the grill, and witness as opposites attract.

Ham, Bacon, & Pepper Jack Cheese Burger

1 lb ground hamburger
Garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste
1/4 lb thinly sliced ham
1/2 lb thick cut bacon
4 Hamburger buns
3 Tbls butter
3 Tbls flour
1 cup of milk
6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese (3/4 of an 8 oz block)

Prepare meat patties by mixing ground hamburger, garlic powder, and pepper in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.  Gently form patties with your hands, cover, and refrigerate for at least a half an hour. (For tips on grilling burgers see our post from early this week.)

Cook bacon over medium heat in a large frying pan until crispy.  Place on a paper towel to dry and slightly cool.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Once butter has melted, slowly whisk in flour to create a roux.  Continue whisking until the roux becomes a light brown color.  Slowly whisk in the milk; stir for one minute.  Add the shredded cheese in 2 oz portions and stir until the sauce is hot and creamy thoughout.  The sauce should slightly stick to the whisk.  If the consistency is not right you can add milk to thin the sauce and flour to thicken.  Lower the temperature and keep warm until burgers are ready.

Prepare grill, lightly salt each patty, and cook burger patties to your preference over a medium-high flame.  When the burgers have about 2 minutes left, top each burger with a few ham slices and cooked bacon and cover.  This will warm the bacon and ham to the temperature of the burger.

Top your top buns with about a tablespoon of cheese sauce and your bottom buns with the burger, ham, and bacon.  (Don't forget to toast the buns!) Serve immediately.

Yields 4 burgers.

Notes

Serve with jalapenos for added kick or caramelized onions for flavor.

Use your leftover cheese sauce throughout the week for dipping tortilla chips, topping baked potatoes, or drizzled on grilled peppers with onion and steak.

Fresh & Fruity Poppy Seed Skewers

8 medium sized skewers
12-14 strawberries, cleaned, stemmed, and halved
1/2 small seedless watermelon, cut or balled into 1/2 inch pieces
1 8 oz package small or medium mozzarella balls
8 leaves fresh mint
3 Tbls vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbls olive oil
1/2 Tbls cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbls poppy seeds

Assemble skewers with desired amount of cut strawberry, watermelon, mozzarella, and mint.

In a food processor combine yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, and sugar.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in poppy seeds.

Drizzle each assembled skewer with about a 1/2 tablespoon of dressing.  Serve immediately.

Yields 8 skewers or 4 servings.

Notes

Store leftover dressing in refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

If you don't want to do skewers you can toss the ingredients and dressing with a spinach or romaine salad.

For an added savory flavor you can toss a couple of tablespoons of minced and sauted onion or shallot into the food processor for the dressing.

Grocery List

{Note: Grocery lists do not contain staple items like salt, pepper, oil, butter, sugar, and flour and the estimated cost per plate only includes the amount of the ingredient used, not its total cost.}

1 lb ground hamburger

1/4 lb ham

1/2 lb bacon

milk

pepper jack cheese

mozzarella balls

vanilla yogurt

garlic powder

mayonnaise

cider vinegar

poppy seeds

wooden skewers

hamburger buns

strawberries

seedless watermelon

mint

Estimated grocery bill... $42 

Keep in mind... 
You might have milk, mayo, garlic powder, and vinegar on hand which will lower your grocery bill.  You will also have leftover cheese sauce, poppy seed dressing, mozzarella, yogurt, hamburger buns, strawberries, watermelon, and mint.  These leftovers can be used for lunches or alongside more dinners in the week.

Average cost per plate... $5.65


Try this meal with a... pint of Pale Ale.

This burger and salad combo is perfect for a good weeknight splurge.  We paired our meal with a hearty but crisp, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. No one wants to drink a second meal with this meaty burger but the beef and ham call for something thirst quenching to sip on by the grill or at the picnic table.  The pale ale was light enough to keep us from becoming overly full but strong enough to handle the flavors of the meal.

All together it was a great meal!

Much love and grilling!

-Whit