The Only Quarter Pounder I Want to Eat

Confession time: I used to love Quarter Pounders. Every once in awhile I just had to have one. (Which reminds me... isn't it Shamrock Shake season and don't they stop selling them after St. Patrick's Day? Hopefully that means I'll make it through the weekend without buying one!) I loved that grease and that cheese... all of it together was just... mmm. Now, thankfully, whenever I eat one I get sick. So I've come to associate the Quarter Pounder with getting sick and don't eat them anymore.

But I still love burgers. I don't ever want to give up meat because I love burgers so much. During Mardi Gras weekend when my friend Molly was here we went to a bar on St. Claude called Siberia hoping to see a burlesque and comedy show called "Jiggles and Bits," I think. Because it was Lundi Gras, the show was cancelled. But we hadn't eaten dinner and wanted to try Russian food (we'd already had Ethiopian and would have Lebanese the next day) and stuck around to hear the sounds of "Krewe de Peaux," an eclectic lineup of a marching band from Austin, a rock n' roll trio of Japanese guys, and a very odd little man on keyboard (I left when he came on; he just wasn't my style). She got some type of vegetarian sandwich (I don't remember) and I got the Russki burger, a big beautiful burger with garlic mushrooms and spinach, cheddar and Swiss, LTP, and Russian dressing. It was divine. (I also got a side of fries. They were awesome but the burger was so good and so big that I didn't eat many of the fries; Molly didn't eat them either. During the show, a couple guys were like, "Are those your fries?" They'd gone cold but I said yes and that they could have them. The two proceeded to inhale them; it was pretty funny to watch.)

As part of my pledge to eat what I've got in my pantry, I'm also trying to go through what's in my freezer. I had two pounds of beef in there that I just kept forgetting to thaw. Finally this morning I put one pound into the fridge. When I got home it was still mostly frozen so I thawed it in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Then I made burgers.

I was curious about different ways to cook burgers so I made two quarter pounders in the toaster oven and two in the frying pan.

These taste delicious, even though they look like mystery meat. 

The ones in the frying pan looked much better. 

Instead of the usual accouterments (I know that's not how it's supposed to be spelled - it's your fault Google dictionary!), I ate it on a piece of French baguette with Vegemite spread and avocado. I LOVE avocado - love love love. "Where have you been all my life?!?!" kind of love. I had a little cheese and a few cherry tomatoes on the side. 

It was a very filling, very delicious meal. WAY better than any Quarter Pounder. Though I would still like a Shamrock Shake... 

What do you like to eat on your burgers?