Rainbow Pepper Hamburgers with Oven-Baked Fries

I'm usually not a fan of beef, but every once in a while, a hamburger is a delicious thing. If I'm going to eat a hamburger, though, I'm not going to settle for McDonald's or Burger King - I really want to have it my way. There's nothing more satisfying than preparing a meal that is usually highly processed and contains goodness-knows-what additives, completely from scratch, knowing exactly what's going into your food.

My husband and I recently got around to buying a food processor, and it hasn't taken long at all to see that it was a good decision! There really is nothing better than grinding meat for hamburgers yourself, and it takes almost no time (you can also slice up the peppers that way, too, although I'd do that before the grinding the meat). This meal was a special weekday treat, but it did take a little teamwork to save time. My husband is a bread-baking fiend, so he created some delicious hamburger buns, and when I got home from lab, I ground up the hamburger patties. I found some sweet bell peppers on sale, so I took the opportunity to make a colorful and unique burger. You really can create any sort of meat burgers you want, or you can forget about the meat altogether and opt for black bean burgers (which I'd like to try myself sometime). And, of course, what burger is complete without fries?

Serves 4

Hamburgers 
(makes 4 burgers)

1 lb chuck roast, excess fat trimmed

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced

dash salt

dash pepper

2 sweet bell peppers, sliced in thin rings

 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

4 slices gouda or provolone cheese

spinach or romaine leaves

condiments

Buns 
(makes 8 buns - freeze half for later!)

~3 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 package active yeast

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/4 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

Oven-baked fries 
(makes 4 servings)

2 large Russet potatoes, washed

extra-virgin olive oil

salt & seasonings

Fresh Hamburger Buns:

1. Sift together 2 cups of flour and yeast in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter in a small saucepan on low heat, just until butter is melted.

3. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients; add egg and mix well.

4. Beat in as much flour as you can.

5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead for roughly 5 minutes, adding flour until dough is stiff but elastic.

6. Grease a bowl with olive oil, then put dough into bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm place, or until double.

7. Punch dough down. Let rest for 10 minutes, then divide dough into 8 equal pieces.

8. Let pieces rest for 10 minutes.

9. Fold dough inward to form tight, round buns.

10. Lightly sprinkle a pizza stone with cornmeal; arrange buns on stone (if you don't have a pizza stone, you can arrange the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet).

11. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20-30 min, or until buns are golden brown.
12. Allow buns to cool on a wire rack. After cooling completely, extra buns can be stored in an airtight container in a freezer for 1-2 months.

Oven-baked Fries:
1. Cut potatoes into squared strips (you may want to cut the potato in half first if it's big enough).
2. Place fries on a lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, salt, and desired herbs or seasonings.
3. Bake fries at 375 degrees F until crisp and slightly browned (20-30 min). Be sure to turn fries about 15 min into baking to ensure even cooking.

Home-ground Hamburgers:

1. While chuck roast is still cold, roughly cut into 1 inch pieces.

2. Dividing into two batches, place chunks in food processor, and pulse until roughly ground. Put both batches back into food processor, then add garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper, and pulse until meat is ground to the right consistency. Note: watch carefully while processing, otherwise you'll end up with meat puree!

3. Divide and gently shape meat into 4 patties.

4. Cook burgers on grill or broil to desired doneness.

5. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add peppers, and sauté until crisp-tender (about 3-4 min).
6. Slice hamburger buns; top with burger, cheese, peppers, spinach, and desired condiments.