Moroccan Hamburgers

As promised, I wanted to share some of the recipes I discovered for investment cooking, AKA freezer meals. I can't tell you how much I am in love with this concept! As long as you rememberto take the meal out of the freezer the night before you are golden for dunner the following night.

As I mentioned before, you can either assemble and cook the recipes, then freeze or assemble and freeze uncooked. I definitely prefer the latter because you really are cooking the meal fresh and it tastes fresh rather than pulling a cooked meal out of the frezer and maybe having to deal with loss of flavor or freezer burn.

A word about this recipe: Make sure you finely chop up the onions and herbs - the hamburgers hold together better. We served the hambugers sans buns - much healthier because less carbs! I will also say that I'm not sure how "Moroccan" this tasted - it tasted very similar to meatloaf - not a bad thing, but something I wanted to at least note. Honestly I'd have to say that regular meatloaf has a better all-around taste - but it's a personal taste; I'm kind of "iffy" on this particular recipe.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
1 t salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ t ground black pepper
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ t ground red pepper
¼ cup fine dry breadcrumbs1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 t paprika
1 t ground cumin

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients thoroughly; shape into 8 (4-inch) patties. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

For Freezer Meals: Freeze uncooked patties 5 to 6 months. Thaw before grilling.

Serving Day Instructions: Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: Southern Living, November 2003