Hey, Burger! You Taste Like Summer!

Living with a boyfriend who's food groups consist of pizza, tacos, and phillies, cooking a nutritious meal can be tricky. Luckily I found a recipe that is not only healthy, it's delicious (and the junk food addict agrees.)  These burgers turned out scrumptious - and I think a lot of that is due to the stovetop grill we used (pictured below).  We've made steaks and chicken on it before and everything has turned out beautifully. It works by draining fat away from the meat and then stores it in a a tray  below. As it heats, up the juices start to steam, and seeps back into the meat, so it's still really flavorful.   We paired the burgers with avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes and stuffed them in whole wheat pitas.  The combination was really yummy, and to make it even yummier (and a tad less healthy) we dipped them in ranch. 

Below is the recipe and paired with sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini (and diet rootbeer in frosty glasses), it was a satisfying lil' meal that was so light it made me think summer is just around the corner.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean hamburger
1/2 cup mushrooms,chopped
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 small tomato
1 avocado
1/4 head of lettuce
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Ranch dressing
Whole wheat pita pockets
(Other yummy options would be sprouts and a cheese of sorts)

Directions:
* If you're using a stove top grill, place half a cup of water into the lower tray.  Coat the top of the grill in a thin layer of olive oil.  Heat to medium or medium high.  If you're using a regular pan, cook burgers as you would normally.

In a pan, warm up 1/2 teaspoon olive oil.  Sautee mushrooms and onions until onions are transluscent and mushrooms are tender. 
Divide the hamburger into four patties. Put the mushroom and onion onto two of the patties.  Take the remaining patties and place them on tope of the others (so the onions and mushrooms are sandwiched between.)  Pinch the sides together and place on the grill. 
Cook the patties as long as desired (we liked our burger done medium well, it was roughly 9 minutes per side.)
Stuff the burgers into the pita pockets (we found cutting them in half worked best) and add desired ingredients! 
(SERVES 2)