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The Perfect Family Sliders Recipe

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Do you have a picky eater in your home?

Well, I do.  It happens to be my younger daughter. I swear this kid gives me a run for her money on eating even on a good day.  I am constantly trying to reinvent the wheel on what I try to get her to eat.

I have come up with a few good go-to meals for her.

My husband recently mentioned we should try to make sliders.  We love burgers and told him if he could find a descent recipe, I was all for it.

He was googled sliders and came up with a Food Network recipe from Ina Garten.

Formed Sliders Ready to Grill
Formed Sliders Ready to Grill

We followed her recipe, but came up with our own toppings, too.

Arugula and Tomatoes
Arugula and Tomatoes
Grilled Red Onions
Grilled Red Onions
Gruyere Cheese
Gruyere Cheese
Ciabatta Rolls
Ciabatta Rolls

We made more then enough and the girls seemed truly interested in these mini burgers just their size.  My older daughter was more then pleased. Plus god help me I turned to see my picky eater more then happy to oblige and eat them, too.

Cooked Sliders
Cooked Sliders

So, here is the recipe and like I said this one has been picky eater approved, too!

The Perfect Family Sliders
Yield: 4

The Perfect Family Sliders

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Even the Pickiest of Eaters Will Enjoy These

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds premium ground beef, 80 percent lean and 20 perfect fat
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 3 teaspoons chopped or minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 ounces sliced Gruyere Cheese
  • 12 small Ciabatta Rolls
  • 4 ounces baby arugula
  • 2 medium tomatoes, sliced in 1/8 inch thick rounds
  • 2 small red onions, sliced in 1/8 thick rounds
  • Ranch Dressing for topping

Instructions

  1. Heat Your Barbecue Grill.
  2. Place the ground beef in a large bowl and add the mustard, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.
  3. Mix gently with a fork to combine and make sure not to over compress the ingredients.
  4. Shape the meat into 12 (2-in) square patties of equal size and thickness.
  5. Once the grill is medium-hot, brush the grill grate with oil to keep the sliders from sticking to the grill.
  6. Place the sliders on the grill and cook for 4 minutes.
  7. Turn the sliders over with a spatula and cook for another 4-6 minutes, until medium rare or cook longer for more well done sliders.
  8. For the last 2 minutes of cooking time, place a thin slice or two of Gruyere cheese on top of each burger and finish cooking with barbecue closed.
  9. Remove the sliders from the grill and grill sliced in half ciabatta rolls for for 2 minutes.
  10. To assemble, put 2-3 pieces of baby arugula on top of the bottom bun, then put the slider on top, layers a small portion of onions and tomatoes on top then drizzle some ranch dressing and cover with the top bun.
© Ina Garten

 

About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Billybuc says

    See, this is what I'm talking about….a recipe written in an interesting manner. You shared a personal story and made a simple recipe interesting. Why can't others see the wisdom in this?

    Well done! It helps that I love hamburgers. LOL

    Have a great weekend Janine!

  2. gigigirl says

    These sound wonderful….I'll try them when I'm in the mood for beef – not too often I'm afraid. How great that Lily loves them and Emma doesn't reject them either! Big success! Just to clarify….the calorie count you show is 1186….is that a mistake or is that for all 12 sliders? You guys have the best meals! xxoo

    • Janine Huldie says

      I know these really have become a lifesaver around here for sure. And if you click on the actual calories, the nutritional information pops up and in it it says the amounts are based on 4 servings (or 4 sliders). It a recipe card widget that once I input all the dat it calculates it for me. xoxo 🙂

    • Janine Huldie says

      I know Dani and huge fan of hers, too. I never would have thought this would work for Lily, but go figure. Hope you try it and your little girl likes it, too!! 🙂

    • Janine Huldie says

      Rosey, I agree. We love Ciabatta Rolls and bread, too. With the bread I can make a wicked garlic bread. May put that recipe up soon, too. And I am glad to know it isn't just me with having a picky eater!! 🙂

    • Janine Huldie says

      I hope you do try this Michelle and it is so frustrating. There are nights where I am just thankful that Lily ate something. She is thankfully normal weight, but seriously she just is so picky with what food she will eat. So, when I found this I felt so relieved to have a meal that she would indeed eat!! 🙂

  9. Natasha says

    Hi Janine, I have a picky eater too! And its always tricky trying to find something that he'll eat. But I just love a simple recipe to try out that both of us could enjoy. I will definitely try this recipe out and see if my lil man will enjoy it! Thanks for sharing at the My Favorite Posts Show Off Weekend Blog Party!
    My recent post My Favorite Posts SHOW OFF Weekend Blog Party

    • Janine Huldie says

      Hi Natasha, I was also a picky eater and so was my mom. So, I definitely think Lily follows in out footsteps. When, I was one I never realized how much more work I gave my mom with mealtime, but now having Lily I get it. So, just so happy when I find a meal to use that she eats and likes. And I hope you can try this and that little man will enjoy, too. You can always substitute the cheese with any cheese he likes (so just keep that in mind). My pleasure sharing and just so happy to see you here!! 🙂

  11. tamaralikecamera says

    Mm..and isn't Ina Garten local to you? I've watched her show and I've thought, "Well I'd like to live there or visit there!"
    Sliders are one of MY favorite foods. Scarlet is a picky eater but Des would eat these. He loves meat and she loves fruit and he won't eat fruit and she won't eat most meats. They're insane. Fruit and meat are where it's at!
    My recent post Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party: No Kids Allowed.

    • Janine Huldie says

      I am so not sure. I think she is further east if she does live on Long Island (maybe near the Hamptons). And if that is the case I have visited back in the day and it is very nice out there for sure. Maybe if you come to visit we could do that!! I totally agree that fruit and meat is where it is at (couldn't have said it better myself!). And sounds like Emma and Des would get along as far as food and so would Scarlet and Lily!! 🙂

    • Janine Huldie says

      If you use this with Lentil burgers let me know how they come out. I do still eat red meat, but usually once a week give or take. Thanks Melanie and seriously love to hear how the lentil burgers come out 🙂

  18. brittneilynn21 says

    This is funny! I have 2 picky eaters in my house! My husband and my son! It seems that most things my husband likes my son eats too. I'm definitely going to post my go-to meal for them soon. These do look yummy! Thanks for linking up to Mommy Monday! I enjoyed reading this one! 🙂
    My recent post My First Giveaway!

    • Janine Huldie says

      Was so happy to linkup and I wish it was just that I had two that were picky and would at least eat the same thing, but it is just my youngest and trying to find foods that she will eat and enjoy cna be torture for me sometimes. Seriously hope you try and your guys enjoy them!! 🙂

  21. Marilyn Lesniak says

    Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe at the #RecipeSharingParty! I hope to see you next week. Pinned and Yummed. Please visit #OverTheMoon on Sunday or #ThursdayFavoriteThings for more sharing fun! Don’t forget to Comment your link #’s so I can be sure to visit and you get a chance to be featured!

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