Homemade Spicy Burgers & Crispy Fries- with a meatball twist!
Hey beauties!
Sometimes it's the simple things like making burgers and flippin' the leftover ground mixture into meat balls that blows people's minds! A couple weeks ago I went live with my client's for our weekly coaching call and I decided to prep my dinner of the night (homemade burgers) with the girls while answering their questions.
Despite the low quality night time images of the burger, it turned out unreal and every ounce was as juicy and delicious as you'd imagine it being. I figured I'd throw the recipe up here incase you all need some homemade burger inspiration plus a great little meal prep hack to do with leftovers.
And girlfriend, if you are still only making your dinners as a single meal - please stop. Buy a little bit extra, make more, have leftovers and start saving your precious time. And then with that extra time hop on over to my Instagram and try out a freebie workout from home ;).
That meal prep hack was simple too, all I did was used the extra meat mixture and formed micro meatballs. I stored them in the fridge to use as toppers for salads or to pair with rice and guac, etc. You can do endless ideas with meatballs and I highly suggest always stocking your fridge up with all the balls (protein, meat, you name it lol).
Alright, so this pregnancy has thrown me through some serious food aversions. I mean for the past few months I didn't even crave burgers - like who am I??
But that love for meat is coming back, hallelujah!
Let's dig into the details....
So as you will see the recipe card is packed with ingredients and directions and yet I felt like I still didn't have enough room dangit, so I'm going to drop a few little nuggets here for you as pointers or reasons to my madness!
Why Elk?
My baby daddy is a hunter and we have a freezer stocked full of healthy and organic meat. Before this relationship though I often chose turkey for my lean ground meat source as I just felt it was the juiciest, and it's leaner than chicken!
What if I don't like spice?
Swap the "sweet with heat" for a different mustard, such as a low sugar honey mustard! Opt out of the chili flakes and cayenne and instead use 1 tbsp dry mustard and some herbs of your choice. Also, these fries were super spicy with these ingredients so I'd ease off of the cayenne for those babies too!
Why soak the fries?
Have you ever tried to make homemade fries and they turned out like mush? Yes, me too! Too many times to count! So I tried this method and it worked wonders! I've also never used cayenne on the fries, and it was an accident as I didn't have paprika - but wow, new fav!!!
What are the calories?
The most popular question that I never answer... not because I'm a jerk, but just because I have zero clue. I don't and won't ever count calories. I eat intuitively and I love everything I'm eating here. Yes, I add avocado which is feared for the fats. Yes, I add an egg which is also feared for the fats. But common, it's not like I'm eating this everyday and outside of this burger and fries I most likely ate pretty rock solid for the day. And by rock solid I mean good nutrients for my body with a balanced approach!
Calorie saving tips:
There are going to be some though that fear this meal, and that's the last thing I want you to do so I'll drop some quick tips on how to shave off calories easily if you choose to.
- Use extra lean ground turkey opposed to other lean ground meat sources
- Make your burger patties more modest in size than my huge ones here ;)
- Hollow out your bun by scooping out some of the dough (you won't even notice) or lettuce wrap your burger.
- Skip the cheese! Plus if you are doing an egg you'll barely notice it's missing!
- Use egg whites fried instead of the whole egg if you want to save on some fats.
- Fill up your plate with half salad and half fries!
I hope these little tips help!
Now onto the goods...
ps... yesterday I went out for burgers after starting this blog post. Hello cravings! But anyhow I opted to go with Red Robins and got a classic cheeseburger with yam fries (quick mods I did were no mayo and no relish). But to be honest I was so disappointed - that good ol' little hot spot was just not the same as it once was. Fun fact, it's where I had my very first date when I was 14 (oh how time flies).
Hope you all are having a fabulous day!
With love,
Jess ... and the mini hot tamale! xo
