I used to think Cheeseburger’s were the perfect food.  Meat, veggies, dairy and bread all in a neat little package.  They were especially delicious with a side of piping hot french fries.  Well, then I hopped on this healthy living bandwagon and realized that bread and grains were totally doing me in and I put my cheeseburger love to the side.

Now that I’ve been eating Paleo for a little while and really loving my new life, I’ve come to realize that I can still eat most things…in moderation.  I now know I can enjoy that (bun-less) cheeseburger and still stay true to my healthy habits.

There are many opinions on cheese/dairy in the Paleo world.  Since my system does not have issues with dairy, I choose to still enjoy it on occasion (not nearly as much as I used to!).  When I decide to eat cheese, I try to choose raw variety’s but, when I’m at the local grocery store and don’t have raw brands to choose from, I pick something as natural as I can.

Sargento is the cheese I always choose!

Now, Sargento has challenged chefs in five American cities to create America’s Ultimate Cheeseburger and you can help choose the winner by voting on the Sargento Facebook Page.

For the contest, each restaurant drew on local culinary flair to create their city or regions ultimate cheeseburger recipe featuring at least one variety of Sargento all natural, never processed cheese. The grilling gurus now leave it up to America’s discerning palate to crown the nation’s preeminent juicy cookout creation!

The burger joints challenged are:

• Brooklyn, NY: 67 Burger “Pastrami Spiced Swiss Burger”
• Miami, FL: The Filling Station “The Filling Station Cheeseburger”
• Chicago, IL: Butcher & the Burger “Drill Sargento Burger”
• Milwaukee, WI: Sobelman’s “Bacon Double Cheeseburger”
• San Diego, CA: Crazee Burger “Crazee Cheeseburger”

Of course we want the San Diego burger to WIN!  Right??  I get to share the Crazee Cheeseburger recipe with you so that you can see it totally deserves your vote.

Recipe:  Crazee Burger’s “Crazy Cheeseburger”

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 8 oz. hoppy beer
• 1/4 tsp. brown sugar (leave out for paleo style)
•  8 oz. prime buffalo ground meat pattie
•  1 gourmet bakery bun, toasted (optional)
• 1 slice of Sargento® Deli Style Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 slice of Sargento® Deli Style Sliced Muenster Cheese
• 1 slice fresh garden tomato
• 1 slice red onion
• 1 leaf butter lettuce
• 5 slices of kosher dill pickle
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1 jalapeno pepper

Burger Seasoning:

• pinch garlic
• pinch sea salt
• pinch paprika
• pinch pepper

Directions

• In a shallow dish mix beer with brown sugar. Place pattie in beer mixture and marinate in refrigerator for about 1 hour. Remove and place on grill.
• Combine seasoning ingredients, sprinkle evenly over pattie and cook to desired doneness. Meanwhile, sauté jalapeno in olive oil, cooking until soft; slice and discard stem and seeds.
•  While still on grill, place jalapeno directly on top of burger followed by cheeses. Allow time to melt cheeses.
• Place burger on bottom of bun. Top with avocado. On bun top, place lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. Serve burger open-faced.

I think this burger sounds delicious and will be heading down to Crazee Burger to try it myself (sans bun, of course).

Get In On The Fun!

Do you have your own fabulous cheeseburger recipe?  You can join the fun by submitting your own cheeseburger creation to the Sargento Facebook Page to be shared with the world!  In the coming weeks, I’ll even be creating my own cheeseburger recipe – Paleo Style!

Now go forth and support this local San Diego burger joint by voting for the Crazee Cheeseburger and if you get a chance, go try it yourself at one of their two locations:

North Park:  4201 30th Street
or
Old Town:  2415 San Diego Ave

Disclosure: I received products and compensation from Sargento Foods Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in this campaign. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.