My son turned two a few weeks ago and we had a small party for him at the house. We served a small lunch and cake for dessert. I got the recipe for these hamburger sliders from Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. The burgers were very moist and delicious! We served them along with these shoestring potatoes that I remember having as a kid, chocolate milk and birthday cake, of course!

Hamburger Sliders
Recipe Courtesy of Jessica Seinfeld

• 1 lb lean ground sirloin or lean ground turkey
• 1/2 pound white button or (stemmed) shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 cup whole-wheat or Italian (seasoned) bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped or grated zucchini
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Nonstick cooking spray, for coating skillet
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 16 whole-grain hamburger buns, for serving
• Tomato slices, for serving (optional)

Yields 16 small burgers.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, mix the meat, mushrooms, bread crumbs, zucchini, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper until well combined. The mixture will be moist. Form into 16 patties and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

Coat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, carefully add the oil. Add the burgers and brown on one side for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the burgers, then slide the skillet into the oven. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until the burgers are no longer pink in the center and the meat is thoroughly cooked. Serve each burger on a bun and topped with a tomato slice, if desired.

Notes: I chopped the zucchini and mushrooms in a mini food processor and it proved to be much easier. I also used barbecue sauce instead of ketchup. Instead of whole wheat buns, I used mini brioche rolls. I also added a slice of sharp cheddar cheese to each slider.