Chili-Guacamole Burgers


One of the hardest parts of my job is having to thumb through endless recipes in magazines…poor, poor me. I received the America’s Test Kitchen 30-minute Suppers winter 2010 edition and the March/February 2010 issue of Cook’s Country sometime ago and after review, decided to make these Chili-Guacamole Cheeseburgers from America’s Test Kitchen and Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges from Cook’s Country.

I’ve never tested recipes from either of these so you can imagine my delight when Alex and I took a bite of the burger, looked at each other and then took another BIG bite. Yummy! What I loved most was that it was so easy, breezy to put together and the roasted sweet potatoes were done before I got home…man it’s good to have a Chef in the house!
These were SPICY but fortunately we both love heat so we didn’t mind at all and the guacamole, cheese and onions were the perfect additions. Two things we would have added to the burger, that honestly wouldn’t have added much time in prep, are some fresh diced tomatoes and a dollop (ugh I hate that word, don’t judge me) to the guacamole to cut through the spice a little bit and add a bit more freshness with the tomatoes.Overall though we really liked these. Here are both of the recipes for you to try yourself – who loves you?

Chili-Guacamole Burgers
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef, broken into pieces
2 teaspoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
4 slices deli pepper Jack Cheese
1 ripe avocado, pitted, skinned, and chopped
2 teaspoons of lime juice
4 hamburger buns
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings

1. Place beef, chili powder, chipotle, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in bowl and gently mix until combined. Pat meat mixture into four 3/4-inch patties.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add patties and cook until well-browned, 3 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer burgers to plate, top with cheese, and tent with foil.

3. Using fork, mash avocado in small bowl. Stir in lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Arrange burgers on buns. Top with guacamole and onion slices. Serve.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Bake Potatoes: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat over to 325 degrees. Cut each potato in half crosswise, then cut each half into 6 to 8 wedges. Arrange wedges on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and bake until just tender, about 30 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and increase heat to 475 degrees. Wipe off baking sheet and return to oven. Cool potatoes on wire rack 10 minutes.

2. Brown Potatoes: Gently toss potatoes with oil, sugar, salt and pepper in large bowl. Remove baking sheet from oven. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on hot sheet and roast, flipping once, until deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Bonus! We did this and loved it!
Caribbean-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Prepare Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges adding 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 3/4 dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper to potatoes as they are tossed in Step 2.

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