Perfect Patty Melts

Happy birthday to my favorite with the tradition continues since 2011! This year we had patty melts using garlic Texas Toast for the bun. They could use even more cheese – I don’t know what I was thinking – don’t be like me. Really go for it.

Perfect Patty Melts
Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 box (8 slices) of Texas Toast garlic bread 
1 pound ground meat 
2-4 tablespoons (1/4 onion) caramelized onions
~ 8 slices of American cheese (or more!)
4 tablespoons Thousand Island Dressing 

Directions:
Preheat the grill and oven/toast oven. 
Form the patties (oblong shaped to fit the bread!) and grill until cooked to desired done-ness. Bake the garlic bread until heated through – they will finish on the grill. 
Assemble with Thousand Island dressing, cheese on each bread-“bun” the cooked patties, and onions. 

Grill or griddle to melt the cheese. 
Enjoy!

We loved these! I’d really go for more cheese next time but both sides of the bread is key. These would be a good one if you’re forced inside/grill-less sometime! One kid asked if we could do it without the burger next time…so grilled cheese coming up?

The Historical Timeline of the Birthday Burgers:
2024 was a Hawaiian Burger with Pineapple Slaw for a sweet & salty trip
2023 was a Chicken Caesar Salad Burger with our beloved flavors
2022 was a Bacon Jam and Parmesan Peppercorn burger was all about the toppings. 
2021 was a Waffle Breakfast Burger with ground sausage in the patty, maple aoli, and melted gouda.
2020 was a BLT burger with ground bacon IN the burger and tomato jam
2019 was a Manchego Burger with manchego, quince jam, and arugula
2018 was a Garlic Lovers Burger with garlic butter, chips, garlic aoli and white cheddar.
2017 was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese

Pizza Burgers

These were fantastic, if I do say so myself. There’s grated pepperoni in the burger and it gets topped with melty provolone cheese and some tomato sauce. This kicks off an Italian-inspired month so buckle up for some fun twists on classics!

Pizza Burgers
Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 pound ground meat (I used pork but use what you like)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup of pepperoni
4 slices of provolone cheese
1/4 cup tomato sauce
4 brioche rolls

Directions:
Preheat the grill, then add ground meat and dried seasonings to a bowl. Grate the pepperoni into the meat mixture (or chop finely) and stir to combine.

Form into patties and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, to your desired doneness.
Add cheese to melt.
Warm up tomato sauce and assemble the burgers on the buns with sauce.
Optional: add more Italian seasoning, or red chili flakes, or grated Parmesan, or any of your regular pizza toppings!
Enjoy!

We had these with some parmesan fries and caprese salad. They really tasted of pizza and the pepperoni flavored it all but wasn’t too strong. The kids were wary but each finished or almost finished so they likely were more into it than they said.

Hawaiian Burger & Pineapple Slaw

Happy Birthday Mr. J! This year’s birthday burger is pork with some salty bits, sweet pineapple slaw, and a little teriyaki glaze. This one has it all.

Hawaiian Burger & Pineapple Slaw
Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 package shredded cabbage mix
1 pineapple
2-3 green onions
1/4 cup mayo
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 pound ground pork
1/2 package spam
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
4 brioche rolls

Directions:
To prep the slaw, mix together the cabbage mix, green onions, 1/2 of the pineapple and juice, mayo, and rice vinegar.

Stir well and refrigerate until serving- at least 30 minutes.
While the slaw is chilling, prep the burgers.

Chop the spam and pan fry it until crisp. Then drain and let it fully cool.
Preheat the grill.
Mix the ground pork with the spam chunks and 1 tablespoon of the teriyaki sauce. Form into patties.

Grill the burgers until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Brush with teriyaki sauce.

Assemble the burgers on the buns with the slaw on top and extra pineapple if you like!

Enjoy! We loved this one! The kids each ate it all without any prompting. Next time I might add some caramelized onions. I’d make the slaw again with pulled pork too!

The spam makes it – it is salty and crispy. Don’t question it – crisp it up and we’ll use the remainder on a pizza with pineapple. It isn’t something for everyday but think about the one can will be 8 servings.

The Historical Timeline of the Birthday Burgers:
2023 was a Chicken Caesar Salad Burger with our beloved flavors
2022 was a Bacon Jam and Parmesan Peppercorn burger was all about the toppings. 
2021 was a Waffle Breakfast Burger with ground sausage in the patty, maple aoli, and melted gouda.
2020 was a BLT burger with ground bacon IN the burger and tomato jam
2019 was a Manchego Burger with manchego, quince jam, and arugula
2018 was a Garlic Lovers Burger with garlic butter, chips, garlic aoli and white cheddar.
2017 was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese

Ranch Chicken Burgers

{originally published in 2012 and updated in 2024}

These are possibly the most-repeated dish from the blog. We’ve been having these since using a grill pan in our apartment way back when and now have them regularly in the spring and summer. They’re so good and such a crowd-pleaser.

Ranch Chicken Burgers
Ingredients: (for 4)

1 pound ground chicken
1 packet dried ranch dressing/dip mix (~2 teaspoons)
3 tbs ranch dressing
4 rolls

Directions:
Preheat the grill.
Mix together the ground chicken, ranch mix, 1 teaspoon of ranch dressing – reserving the rest for topping.
Form into 4 patties.

Sprinkle with salt & pepper then grill until cooked through 165-degrees being careful not to flip too often. These cook well on a griddle.
Serve on buns with more ranch and any toppings you like!
Enjoy!

We have these often but hadn’t yet this year. The kiddos didn’t remember them and each ate it all! There’s the lesson – repeat a previous dinner, nobody remembers how often you serve something! We each added ranch on the buns and these are great with lettuce, tomato, pickles, or anything! I think the kids add ketchup.

Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers


Happy birthday burger Mr J! We gave a caesar salad twist to a chicken burger. It was a fun one!

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Chicken Caesar Salad Burger
Ingredients: (makes 4)
4 brioche rolls
1 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
1/4 cup tablespoons creamy caesar dressing
1/4 cup shaved parmesan
1 head of romaine washed & chopped or 1 bag of your favorite lettuce 

Directions: 
Preheat the grill (or a griddle works well for these delicate-ish patties). 

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Mix together the ground chicken, anchovy paste, 1-2 tablespoons caesar dressing, and half of the parmesan cheese. Form into patties and generously salt and pepper each side. 

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Grill to fully cooked. 
While the burger cooks, mix up lettuce, dressing, parmesan, and pepper. 
Spread the remaining caesar dressing onto the buns, then add the burger and top with the remaining parmesan and some salad and more salad on the side. 

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Enjoy! 

A quick way would be to dress your burger with parm & creamy caesar dressing. If you’re skipping anchovy paste, you may want more dressing but be careful with the patties. They do get crumbly to grill on a grate. Starting them on foil might help the patties stay together enough to then flip to finish cooking on the grates. We cooked them on a griddle and they stayed together. 

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Our littlest loved it and said it was “sooo good”. Our oldest wished for a regular burger but ate it. I have a running list of other burgers I haven’t made yet but earmark a few favorite ideas to save for these. Of course my award-winning Parisian Burger https://thethreebiterule.com/parisian-burger/ is an all-time fav.

The Historical Timeline of the Birthday Burgers:
2022 was a Bacon Jam and Parmesan Peppercorn burger was all about the toppings. 
2021 was a Waffle Breakfast Burger with ground sausage in the patty, maple aoli, and melted gouda.
2020 was a BLT burger with ground bacon IN the burger and tomato jam
2019 was a Manchego Burger with manchego, quince jam, and arugula
2018 was a Garlic Lovers Burger with garlic butter, chips, garlic aoli and white cheddar.
2017 was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese