Foodie Friday: Jazzing up summer burgers

I admit it. I like meat. I just do. I've tried to take meat out of my diet, but I like it too much to quit. I guess I just lack self-discipline. Sue me.

Some days, a girl just wants a hamburger. I figure, though, if you're going to eat a hamburger, there are things you can do to make it a tad bit healthier, which is what I set out to do one Friday evening earlier this summer.

Pull together a pound of the leanest ground beef I can find - organic if you're worried about hormones - and then find some feta cheese, an egg, a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, some whole wheat buns and whatever toppings you'd like.

In a bowl, mix up the beef, egg, ranch mix and cubed feta until you no longer see the egg and the feta stops bunching in bunches. Roll that into even patties (remember that they cook down a bit) and throw them onto the grill or into your skillet. Since we aren't allowed open flames on our deck, I make do with the skillet.

On a medium high heat, allow the patties to brown several minutes on one side before you turn them. The cheese will sizzle a little bit, but don't let that scare you into turning them too quickly. After they've browned a bit on one side, gently turn them over and allow them to brown on the other side as well - again, this will take several minutes and heating them over medium high heat will help cook without burning. If you got trigger happy and turned before time, you might have to repeat this step until both sides are brown and the insides lose their pink.

When you're brown on both sides and the pink is gone, pull them off the heat and gently transfer them to your buns. If you're not concerned about calories, you can toast the buns with a little butter, but those days are over for me my friends! Top them with some lettuce, fresh tomatoes, maybe a little mustard or ketchup. Be daring. Add a pickle. Live a little.

Enjoy!