Hamburgers. They’re so damn easy. They’re so damn American. They’re pretty Paleo, too.

I think most folks think grilling hamburgers is the ideal cooking method. I can see where they’re coming from, but I live in an apartment and it’s 32 with snow on the ground. We will be frying our hamburgers. True, you can broil them (healthier! Paleo loves healthier!), but, honestly, fried hamburgers are something special, even when they’re 90/10 (which these are!). So, because we’ve purchased 90/10 ground beef, we let ourselves fry them. It’s like having a diet coke ice cream float. Sometimes, you have to lie a little to yourself.

The problem with “lean” meat, even when it’s ground beef, is the lack of fat. Its benefit is also its downfall.

Let’s all be honest with ourselves. These burgers would taste way better if they were 80/20. However, we’re trying to be healthy. We cut down on the animal fat. So, how to make up for the flavor?

A very good friend taught me to make hamburgers when I was still dipping my toe in the shallow end of the vegetarian pool (no fear! no longer!). He put everything in his hamburgers, but I did notice a few constants: pepper, Lowry’s Season Salt, egg, onion, garlic, worsecetershire sauce and hot sauce. Turns out this is a pretty good mix for hamburgers. Some folks like the straight ground beef, and that’s great if you have a ridiculously good cut of meat (why did you grind it again?), but I bought this on sale at Stop and Shop, so we might as well add a little flavor.

Tonight, I fried in olive oil, Rachael Ray style (two circles around the pan! I hate myself for my familiarity with her oeuvre). A splatter screen is a must. If you don’t have one, get one before you attempt to pan-fry your hamburgers. Or, get ready to add grease-scrubbing to your WODs. Haha, I made a CrossFit joke!

So, fry your burgers. You don’t know how to fry burgers, google it. I’m not Gordon Ramsay. I’m here to…I dunno what I’m doing, but I’m not here to teach you to fry burgers.

Since we’re not using buns (sniff!), adding other fun things on top of our burgers is a must. Tonight, we made guac from a soft avocado (thanks, Stop and Shop!), RealLime juice, salt, and pepper. Tasty, easy, cheap. Ground beef and avocados were made for eachother. This is a fact.  Wikipedia it.

Lastly, mustard. I was not born in the Midwest, where, apparently, my hamburger-with-mustard kin exist. I grew up in New Jersey where folks put ketchup on their burgers. However, in my house, you eat mustard on your burger. Good f-ing mustard. With seeds. Yum.

Sure, you can also add in tomato, lettuce, pickles, and whatever floats your boat. I’m lazy, so I just went with the essentials: guac and mustard.  Finished off were pre-cut (thanks, Stop and Shop!) oven-roasted Butternut squash with paprika, red pepper, salt and olive oil. 350 until it’s soft. Easy. If that’s not your thing, this squash-and-apple recipe looks delish and easy.

So, where we used to get Subway on a night like this, we’re now making an easy, almost mindless (save for the dishwashing) dinner that is tasty, colourful, and hopefully nutritious. If only this cast iron stuff was easier to clean…sigh.