Caprese Chicken Burgers and EASY Sweet Potato Fries

How is everyone doing?! I hope you are all feeling relaxed and ready to take on the week after a nice, three-day weekend! Labor Day weekend is always a good time to bring together friends and family to cook delicious meals. Grilling seems to be the go-to activity for this holiday. While I do not own a grill (I am on the search for a not-too-expensive grill pan!) baking is my alternative.

Monday night I decided to go along with the rest of the country and make some burgers. If you do not have a grill, not to worry! Your oven works just as well. Simply brown your burgers in a pan before placing them in a 375 degree oven for about twenty minutes! These were Italian-inspired chicken burgers (mixture shown on my Facebook page) topped with melted mozzarella, tomato and basil.

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Since I had my gallbladder removed last December, greasy foods do not agree with my stomach. Fries are one of my beloved guilty pleasures, but unfortunately, I can only really eat them if I make them myself. So, that’s just what I did to accompany my burgers: sweet potato fries! I originally made sweet potato fries a few years ago after watching [my idol] Ina Garten make them on the Barefoot Contessa. Now, I just mix together whatever I’m feeling and pop ’em in the oven. Here’s the recipe for last night’s fries!

Ingredients (serves 2):
2 sweet potatoes
EVOO
Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cover baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. Slice potatoes lengthwise into fries. Place in a gallon Ziploc bag.4. Drizzle EVOO atop fries in Ziploc bag, along with salt and pepper. Tightly close bag and shake to completely cover fries with oil and S&P.
5. Place fries on baking pan and make sure each is laying flat.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip each fry over, and continue baking for 10 more minutes. The last five minutes, set oven to high broil.

Something I usually do is sprinkle some brown sugar in the mix. The sweet taste wasn’t right for last nights flavors, but I would recommend preparing the sweet version with some grilled salmon!
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