Labor Day Feast: Organic Burgers and Balsamic Oven Fries

Organic burgers and fries. Yup, that's how we roll. EarthFare, oh EarthFare. They are the best. Once again, they sent out a text offer that was too good to be true! 1/2 off first pound of ground chuck. Happy Labor Day everyone! So naturally, we were all over that and figured we could treat ourselves to some low price burgers. We already had potatoes on hand and we were buying buns for sandwiches this week, so all that was really needed to complete the meal was the meat. And then we remembered we had another coupon: $5/5 condiments! We didn't think we'd be enticed by this, but something about organic condiments versus French's neon yellow mustard or slightly too sweet Heinz's (depending on which number you like) peaked our curiosity. We sprung the $5 on agave ketchup (yes, it tastes different AND awesome and only has approximately five ingredients), chipotle BBQ sauce, spicy brown mustard, and two others that were more normal. Voila-Labor Day indoor BBQ for us!

Cooking Notes: Will took a combo of recipes from Food 52 to come up with the burgers. And for the balsamic fries, instead of mixing the potato wedges in a bowl, we just poured the ingredients over them on a foil-lined baking sheet and mixed it all around directly on the baking sheet. We also used only 3-4 medium potatoes instead of doing the whole batch of potatoes. I'll include the original ingredients list below, but include my adjustments for baking.

Will's Labor Day Burgers (serves 4)
1 lb. ground chuck 
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg (whisked)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsp feta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
salt, pepper, paprika to taste
1 slice of provolone cheese, halved
A few fresh basil leaves

Mix ground chuck, bread crumbs, egg, worcestershire sauce, feta cheese, parmesan, salt, pepper and paprika with your fingers. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Make into four patties. Grill on open griddler for 5 minutes on each side. Move burgers to side and put 1/2 slice of provolone on each burger. Add basil to top, allowing cheese to melt. Grill buns with butter and in meat juice, closing press to toast. Serve with condiments.

Balsamic Oven Fries (adapted from Budget Bytes; serves 4-6)
3 lb. russet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder (or more, if you're like me and spill it all over the potatoes...still tastes good)
1/2 tsp salt
Handfull fresh parsley
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the potatoes and cut into thick wedges. Cover a baking sheet in aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Place potato wedges on baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Take a spatula to stir potatoes gently around in ingredients, flipping occasionally, before lining wedges up on baking sheet making sure not to allow them to touch.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until brown and crispy. Once ready, place cooked fries in a bowl and toss with chopped parsley. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.

Recipe: Budget Bytes: Balsamic Oven Fries