Cheeseburger Burrito

I love anything in a burrito format – sometimes I call them hot wraps if there isn’t any rice. This one was such a winner and a great way for beloved flavors in winter, on the go, or just to shake things up. I did Thanksgiving inspired ones and a Chicken & Broccoli with rice one, and Chicken, Bacon & Ranch ones too.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

These are a great use for small quantities of leftovers: like rice and ground meat. They can always become rice bowls too.

Cheeseburger Burrito:
Ingredients: (for 2)

1/2 pound ground meat
2 strips of bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or liquid smoke
1/2 cup prepared rice
2 cups arugula, spinach, or baby kale
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tomato
pickles, ketchup, mustard

Directions:
Pan fry the ground meat and bacon and drain the grease. Add in worcestershire sauce/liquid smoke and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Cover (with plastic wrap or lid) and warm the rice.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Chop the tomato, greens, and pickles.
Lay out the tortillas and top with rice, cheese, ground meat and bacon, greens, tomatoes, pickles, and drizzles of ketchup and mustard or toppings as you wish.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Warm a pan to medium heat and a drizzle of oil or non-stick spray.
Fold two opposite sides and roll the burrito onto itself and keep tucking the sides in.
Pan fry the burritos, seam side down first, until warmed through and toasted until golden on the outside. Use tongs to keep them rolled while toasting.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Enjoy!

I loved this. The smaller amount of meat is nicely balanced with rice and fresh elements in this way versus as a tiny slider. I love the warm parts and melty cheese with fresh greens, tomatoes, and pickles.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Cheeseburger Hash Brown Cups

These were a superbowl snack for us but cheeseburger hash brown cups would be a great non-grilling season dinner too! Mr. J grills year-round but a burger-ish app is great to use up leftovers, prepped as an app for a party, or as a twist to the format. These gave me another idea so stay tuned for that one too! 

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

They weren’t perfectly intact, but still good. I think my muffin tin in a bit bigger than usual and maybe a bit more care forming them would have helped.

Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups
Ingredients: 

~1/3 bag of tater tots (~4 per muffin cup) 
1/2 pound ground meat/meatless mix
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, or sub 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup cheese, shredded
toppings: pickles, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, etc!

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or as tot package calls for). Spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray and put 3-4 tots in each muffin hole. Bake for ~10 minutes and then press down to mold them into the cup shape. Spray again and bake for another 5 minutes until crispy.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

While the cups are crisping, pan fry the ground meat. When mostly cooked through, drain excess grease and add in liquid smoke, garlic powder, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.
Add in the crumbled bacon.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Sprinkle each cup with ground meat, and cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Return to the oven to melt. Top with pickles and drizzles of ketchup and mustard. Enjoy!

I thought these were fun. It is easy to prep the cup part in advance and the rest comes together quickly!

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Hashbrown Cups

Burger Beans

I love a regular burger – (don’t let these burger beans or my burger rice bowl fool you!) but this twist came from our beloved pizza beans on a quest for a quick dinner or lunch.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Beans

These bean-based bowls are super high in protein and cook so quickly. They reheat perfectly with the other toppings separate so make a bunch or reheat as eaters in your house are needing a meal.

Burger Beans
Ingredients: (serves ~2)

1 can white beans
3 tablespoons tomato puree or tomato sauce
1/4 cup broth
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke or Worcestershire sauce
2 burger patties (I used veggie burgers)
2-3 strips bacon (skip if going vegetarian)
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1-2 cups greens
3 pickle spears
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
ketchup & mustard

Directions:
Grill or pan fry the burgers.
Cook the bacon and drain. If desired, cook the onion until golden and caramelized.
Rinse beans and add to a pot with tomato and broth over medium heat. Add in the garlic powder and broth/Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes and add in the onions.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Beans

Chop the greens, bacon, pickles, and shred the cheese.
Spoon beans into 2 bowls and add in the bacon, cheese, and burgers.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Beans

Top with greens, pickles, and drizzles of ketchup and mustard.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Beans

This was everything I wanted it to be. Warm beans & burger contrasting with crisp pickles & greens was perfect in every bite. The beans make it super filling so it is also a good time to make it vegetarian or to use a smaller portion if you have leftover ground meat or burgers.

Birthday Burger – Bacon Jam & Parmesan Peppercorn

Happy Birthday Mr J! The birthday burger was belated and became doubled up with Father’s Day – our guy is such a trooper. We were all about the toppings this year – bacon jam and parmesan peppercorn dressing! These beauties had lots of melty cheese and brioche rolls.

The Three Bite Rule - Birthday Burger with Bacon Jam & Parmesan Peppercorn

Bacon jam is delicious and definitely worth it. In a pinch, 3 parts crumbled bacon finely chopped + 1 part apple cider vinegar + 1 part maple syrup is a great quick fix.

Burgers with Bacon Jam & Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
Ingredients: (for 4 burgers)

1 pound ground meat
4 tablespoons bacon jam (that’s ~1/3 of what the batch above makes)
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon sour cream
1-2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
sprinkle of salt
sprinkle of garlic powder
4-6 slices of cheese
4 brioche buns
arugula

Directions:
Make the bacon jam ahead of time.
Form the burger patties and preheat the grill.
For the dressing, mix together the mayo, sour cream, some of the milk (adding more if needed later), parmesan cheese, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Add remaining milk if you find it too thick (think: spreadable not quite like dressing).
Cook the burgers to your preference – we did some ground beef, some ground pork.
Top with lots of cheese and let that melt.
Assemble the burgers with a smear of parmesan peppercorn dressing on each bun half, arugula, the burger and top with bacon jam.

The Three Bite Rule - Birthday Burger with Bacon Jam & Parmesan Peppercorn

Enjoy!

I loved this combo. The bacon jam is complex – sweet and a tiny tang and the coffee and red wine adds some serious depth. The parm peppercorn dressing is so much better than the jar. I liked making a small amount – and will do so again another time – it would be delightful on a turkey sandwich!

The Three Bite Rule - Birthday Burger with Bacon Jam & Parmesan Peppercorn

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

Burger Rice Bowls

A burger in a quick & packable form! I made these rice bowls as an easy meal and froze another portion to grab for lunch or to eat quickly on a busy night on the baseball sidelines.

Think of a burger on a bed of bacon rice topped with cheese, pickles, greens, tomatoes, and a final drizzle of special sauce and ketchup. It is perfectly scoop-able, filling, and nutritious.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Bowl

Burger Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1 1/2 cup brown rice prepared
2 tablespoons bacon bits
2 veggie burgers (or any patty)
2 slices white cheddar cheese
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1-2 cups baby arugula
2 teaspoons mayo
4 teaspoons ketchup
dash of garlic powder
pepper

Directions:
Cook the rice and stir in the bacon bits.
Pan fry (or grill) the burgers and top with cheese.
While the burgers are cooking, chop the tomatoes, arugula, and pickles.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Bowl

Let the rice and burgers cool a few minutes.
Mix up the special sauce: 2 teaspoons ketchup with the mayo, garlic powder, and pepper.
Assemble with rice on the bottom, topped with burgers, cheese, greens, tomatoes, and pickles.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Bowl

Drizzle with special sauce and ketchup and sesame seeds.
Enjoy!

I loved these! It gives you all the flavors you want from a burger – just with a fork. I love a bun but serving this on rice is actually easier to pack and eat in a hurry than as a burger. It wouldn’t replace a traditional burger for me, but I also wouldn’t pack a burger to be a work lunch.

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Bowl

The bacon brown rice is delicious. I used a veggie burger topped with white cheddar (but could be any burger or portabella cap) and the bowl gets all the burger toppings I had on hand. It was great. For me it is much more filling than as a salad, but you-do-you!

I scooped another serving of rice and chopped another veggie burger and froze it for a later date. One morning I’ll be so grateful to pull it out of the freezer, throw on some greens, veggies, pickles and some ketchup/mustard/mayo dressing on the side. When it is time to eat, I flip the non-cooked parts onto the lid, then I warm the rice & burger and pile on the raw veggies and a drizzle. It is just what I need mid-day – something delicious, nutritious, and appealing.