Labor Of Love: Cheeseburgers!

Jay and I have an ongoing "joke" about White Castle. He apparently loves going there, and I down right refuse. Anytime, we are driving and I see he takes an unexpected turn I ask him, "Where are you going?" He nearly always replies with, "White Castle." A lot of times he will even joke about taking me there for special events, such as Valentines' Day or our Anniversary. I absolutely refuse to eat at Taco Bell and White Castle. I gave them a few tries during my college days and have every reason to boycott them now...you know what I mean. It wasn't until about a year after saying I would never go to White Castle again that I found out that they name their burgers "sliders." That just about set it in stone for me. Sliders!? Really!? Well I guess that's no surprise.
Well anyway, I saw this recipe a while back and it definitely perked my interest. I recently had a school-ager visit for a day and his request for lunch was "Cheeseburgers!" I have never made cheeseburgers without the grill, and so normally I would have to say no. However, after having a friend try this recipe out and say they were good, I thought I would give it a go. The only thing that was stopping me was that the original recipe was a copycat and was titled, "White Castle Sliders!" The recipe calls for 80/20 ground beef, so that it just tastes more like the real thing. I wanted to give it a try, but I only wanted to use my lean ground beef I typically use. So in other words, I wasn't sure if lunch would exactly turn out. Needles to say, it did! The burgers were the perfect size for the kids and they were awesome! I am so happy to have tried this. The burgers were de-lish and it made it feel like it was summertime. I am so happy to be able to cook burgers for the kids from now on!

*This would be great party food.

Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

1/2 cup dried onion flakes (I didn't exactly measure mine)
2 pounds ground chuck- 80/20 ground beef (I use regular lean meat)
1/2 t. seasoned salt (I didn't measure this either)
6 slices cheddar cheese or american cheese slices
12- small party rolls (Sara Lee Rolls - I am sure the wheat dinner rolls from the deli would work to)

dill pickle slices, ketchup, mustard, etc.

Evenly spread the onions on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently press the ground beef on top of the onion flakes. Press evenly making one giant pattie. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Carefully drain the water, and use a paper towel to pat the excess grease from the top of the meat. Top with cheddar cheese, return to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven, then cut into patties. Slice open and separate each party roll. Using a spatula lift pattie with onion layer onto each bun bottom. Top each slider with a pickle slice then the bun lid. Serve immediately. Makes 12 sliders depending on how big you cut them.

Sprinkle 9x13 pan with minced onion flakes.