These mushroom swiss sliders are tasty little beef burgers from the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook.
Are those not the cutest darn things you’ve ever seen?
I know. It was almost too hard to take a bite. Almost.
Megan is to thank for picking these beauties for our second edition of PW Wednesday. We all agreed that there was to be no more frying and yet somehow ended up with another pan-fry recipe on our hands. Luckily, these were worth every single splatter of grease on my stove, counter and back splash and I busted out the apron from the get-go so there were no burns this time around.
In high school I worked at this total hole in the wall kind of place called The Blazer Pub. It’s a no credit card, unpaved parking lot, tons of beer on tap kind of establishment that makes the best damn burgers in southern NY. Half a pound of meat, cooked to order (you want rare, you’re getting a beef patty that’s practically mooing placed in front of you), juicy burgers made better only by the fried to perfection crispy steak cut fries. I worked there about 20 hours a week back in the day and somehow didn’t gain a pound. I miss that metabolism.
The thing about a Blazer burger was it’s simplicity. No fancy schmancy spices or stuffing the meat with herbs, just beef. These sliders are just that. Simple. And yet moist, flavorful and with just enough flavor from the mushroom topping to make each bite seem special.
I made quite a few simple substitutions to “healthen” these up a bit from what in my opinion were just “unnecessarily” unhealthy ingredients and it got me thinking…
I’d venture to guess that most of you who read this blog probably take some active interest in your health considering most of what you see on here is pretty healthy/clean food and/or workout related stuff. So you might be wondering why the heck I’m participating in this series considering the cookbook we’re using is not really synonymous with the term healthy. I hear ya. I’ll be honest, had it not been for this series, I probably wouldn’t have bought the cookbook. But having now done so, I’m glad I did because if anything, it goes to show that most “normal” American meals (which is how I’d classify most of the food in this cookbook) can be made healthier.
The recipe for these sliders called for a mayo/ketchup mixture for the sauce. I subbed in greek yogurt. It called for a good chunk of butter, I used half the amount of butter and then halved that with extra virgin olive oil. It called for heavy cream to be mixed with the beef, I used 2% milk. It had no greens in sight, I added baby spinach (because eating something that’s all in the beige family just bothers me). I used lean ground beef and served them on whole wheat sliders. And in the end, it didn’t taste like anything was missing. So I don’t really think of this series as hypocritical to my food beliefs and this site’s content, but more so a fun challenge to take on and make my own. I’m sure almost none of you even thought that deeply about this, but there’s my $.02 after a 20 minute shower conversation with myself (you know you do that too).
So make them your own (however that may be) because that’s what cooking should be about. Just please, please cook them medium rare. Anything over that is an injustice to the cow (kidding. kinda).
For the full recipe head on over to Megan’s post.
And then go check out these lovely ladies’ posts for their versions.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I love that you health-ified this. I’m sure it’s just as delicious, but with less guilt! :)
Mushroom and swiss is such a great combo! And I love the way you “healthified” the recipe. I’m a big fan of using Greek yogurt in place of mayo. Yum!
Healthy is a relative term. I believe all foods that are whole and close to their natural form with minimal processing and ingredients qualify as real and healthy choices. With that said, I also think part of being healthy is balancing between good-for-body and good-for-mind. :) Perfection is not in my vocabulary!
PS. These look DELISH and I’d eat them. All. hehe
I hear ya. That’s usually how I think about the term “healthy” too (and completely agree with it being relative!) but things like mayo (although in it’s original form) will never be something I think of as “healthy” and therefore just eat tons of. Butter and sugar are right there with it too. So I think that definition can work 90%+ of the time but as with everything, there’s always room for improvement.
Forgot that you ladies were doing this cooking group…looks like it’s been fun! And less of a disaster than your last frying oil recipe :)
yum yum yum!! I need to try these!…(maybe healthified? :/ ) Any way to do it without all the splatter?! haha
You could totally grill them instead! If there wasn’t a birds nest inside my grill right now, I probably would’ve done that! haha
I am in agreement with your thoughts on the cookbook and how everyone can use it. We can follow what the original recipe is and just eat less of it or modify it and use less fattening ingredients and substitute for healthier ones. Cooking is all about experimenting and playing with what you have, learning to use other ingredients without compromising taste quality. Those sliders look so good by the way, and I like the milk substitution for the cream and the yogurt instead of mayo.
I really agree with you that most any recipe can be “cleaned up” in various ways. I consistently do that with most “mainstream” recipes with great results. These are pretty darned precious.
I wish I had the wearwithall and thought to sub out half of these unhealthy ingredients in here. Because although I adore me some Ree, woman is the country Paula Deen. No normal American should consume that much grease in one sitting. hahah With a family of hard working ranchers that will surely burn it all off by the next meal -sure why not – but this lowly desk driver shouldn’t. hahah
I’ve got three burgers left – I think I’ll cook them up “healthified!”
Exactly! I almost likened her to Paula in this post actually too ;)
How is the cookbook overall? I really want to get it but not sure, I think its a good idea you are making the recipes healthier. I am always doing the same things since Evie cant eat dairy. I always have to improvise or substitute something. BTW.. Have you seen the PW blog? Her pictures on there are so gorgeous.
Here’s my honest opinion of it…It’s good, but it’s not great. It’s typical “American” kinds of meals. Are they tasty? Sure. But when I spend $ on a cookbook I’d prefer to have them be interesting ingredient combinations beyond mayo & ketchup and stuff I might never have thought to combine. I’m not trying dismiss or belittle those that find this stuff good and feed their families on it, but it’s just not as much my cup of tea as a quinoa salad or something would be. It’s also got little regard to health in it and for me, that’s important. Personally, I think you’d be better off with a more “clean eating” focused cookbook considering Evie’s dairy sensitivities than this. There are a few that I’ve been eyeing up if you want suggestions :)
Gina I would love suggestions… When I can actually find the time to cook (ugh) I love to try new recipes that everyone can eat You got my email, feel free to send me the links etc. I love cookbooks:)
Coming your way later today! :) Oh, and I have seen her blog, the pics are incredible!
I love seeing these on each of your different sites. So fun!