Aloha Burgers

This recipe is from the cookbook I got from my mom at Christmas, the TOH Cooking Through The Seasons one. I almost didn't make this one, because it has pineapple and bacon, 2 things Steve isn't crazy about, BUT I happen to love. So...he can pick off the pineapple and bacon, right?

Aloha Burgers
1 can (8 oz) sliced pineapple
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 tbsp butter
4 lettuce leaves
4 sesame seed or onion buns, split and toasted
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 bacon strips, cooked

Drain pineapple juice into a small bowl; add teriyaki sauce. Place 3 tbsp in ziploc bag. Add pineapple. Toss to coat and set aside. Shape beef into 4 patties; place in an 8-in square baking dish. Pour the remaining teriyaki mixture over the beef patties. Marinate for 5-10 minutes, turning once.

Drain and discard teriyaki marinade from patties. Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 inches from heat for 6-9 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. (I used my GF grill...hoping I can find a better one at a yard sale this year, but for now this will continue to serve...) Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute onion in butter until tender, about 5 minutes; set aside.

Drain and discard pineapple marinade. Place pineapple on grill or under broiler to heat through. Layer lettuce and onion on bottom of buns. Top with burgers, cheese, pineapple and bacon. Place tops; serve immediately.

I told the kids this was a Hawaiian meal. Well, the lady who submitted the recipe to TOH was from there, so it is. So they were excited to try it and I told them to be careful not to turn into Lilo and/or Stitch. These burgers tasted really really good. For Emma and Nathan I just cut up the burger and gave them the pineapple on the side. Neither one of them liked the meat by itself. Emma said it had no flavor. I guess 10 minutes in a thick marinade like that really isn't that long. I suggested to Em that she have a bite of meat with a bite of pineapple. She did and she liked it that way. I made Nathan try a bite of pineapple and you should have seen his face. He acted like he was being tortured. He cried out in anguish, "I don't like the seeds!" I had to turn away because I was laughing so hard. So I don't think Nathan will ever want to have this again, but as for the rest of us, we all thought it was great. Unfortunately for Steve, he had a burger for lunch with a friend of his, so this was his second burger of the day. He said my homemade burger rivaled the restaurant burger (p.s. it wasn't fast food, it was a real restaurant). And that is why I love him (at least one of the reasons). Sam said he would rate it 7 stars out of 5. So I would say this recipe got rave reviews...next time we try it will be Steve doing it on the grill outside, instead of using the clunky unwieldy GF grill.