Simple Meals: Patty Melts

I decided to start the reboot with a series called "Simple Meals". Since a lot of ingredients are proving hard to come by right now, I had the idea of doing posts of making the best of things we can still get or are probably already in your pantry. After all, good food doesn't have to be complex, or expensive for that matter.

This meal serves 4 people. Since I live alone, I keep the raw beef in an airtight container and cook one patty at a time. The total cost for 4 meals breaks down to the following:

Beef from Trader Joe's: $4.49
(3/4 of loaf) Sourdough Bread from Whole Foods: $4.11
(1oz serving per patty melt) Tillamook Cheese: $2.87
(2 tsp) Montreal Steak Seasoning: $.27
(2 tsp) Worcestershire Sauce: $.09

So, for four meals, the total is: $11.83, or about $2.95 per meal. Guys, I told you yummy food doesn't have to be expensive. I like to eat an apple with mine, which increases the cost by about $.70, but still. This is a bargain.


Ingredients:

• 1lb of 85/15 Ground Beef
• 2 tsp of Montreal Steak Seasoning 
•  (If you cannot find this, it is just salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried minced onion for the most part)
• 2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce (affectionately dubbed "W sauce" in my household)
• 2 Slices of your favorite bread
• Your favorite cheese (optional)
• Onions (optional)

A quick note to start: I specify 85/15 ground beef because I find it is leanest beef I can buy that holds a patty together well. It is also just fatty enough that the patty won't stick to the pan or grill, depending on what you are using. I personally use a grill pan, but any skillet works fine. 

1. Preheat your pan or grill pan on high heat for about 5 minutes. 
2. While your pan is preheating, combine the ground beef, steak seasoning, and W Sauce in a bowl. Mix well with your freshly washed hands. Form the mixture into 4 patties. Since these are on bread rather than buns, I make the patties an oblong shape to try and match the bread.
3. Turn the heat on your stove burner down to Medium. If you have numbers on your dials, this is about a 5 or 6. 
4. Put your patty on the grill and let it cook for about 3 minutes.
5. While the patty is cooking, pop your bread in the toaster. If you don't have a toaster, set your oven to broil and put the bread in the oven, keeping a careful lookout until they are your preferred level of toasted. 
6. Flip the patty, and add your cheese. Cook for about 5 minutes and cover the pan with a lid to help the melting of the cheese. Keep in mind, the fattier your cheese, the faster it melts. Extra sharp cheddar can take the whole 5 minutes, whereas Swiss or American will melt much faster and should be added in the last minute or two of cooking. 
7. Remove your patty from the grill or pan, put in on bread, and add any preferred condiments. I like to eat the patty melt with an apple or baby carrots, but salad, chips, or any fruit or veggie works.