I will always encourage you to get your kids in the kitchen. Kids who help put meals together learn about ingredients and where different foods come from. And — we all hope — kids will enjoy eating these foods.
I’ve learned with my own boys that when I put the words “build your own” in front of anything, they’re on board. We do this at least once a week, with tacos or burgers. What’s exciting here isn’t so much the recipe, but the assembly. Of course, kids will be more interested in the meal when they’ve participated in the decision-making process. So at your summer barbecues, set up a kids’ station, put all of the condiments in separate bowls, and let your kids build their own burger! It’s fun, creative, and fosters good eating!
Ingredients
- 1 package (4 rolls) Kings Hawaiian Snacker Rolls*
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- Salt and pepper
- olive oil for pan
- 2 slices of your favorite cheese, each cut into 4 triangles
- 8 thin slices vine-ripened tomato
- 8 small pieces iceberg lettuce
- about 16 thin slices avocado
- ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise
Preparation
Makes 8
Cut each of the rolls in half and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, season the meat with salt and pepper. Shape it into 8 even burgers. Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the burgers to the pan once it’s hot and cook to the desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. During the last minute, add a triangle of cheese to each burger and let it melt. Cover the pan to speed up the melting process.
*You can use any bread you’d like – even a hot dog bun cut in half. Kings Hawaiian bread is a bit sweet, and kids always love it!
*To check that you’ve seasoned the meat to your liking, make a tiny test burger (a bite) before shaping all of the meat.
