recipe of the week: jalapeno pico burgers with homemade guacamole

this is hands down my husband and i's favorite way to eat a cheeseburger. we try and replicate it at restaurants, but it is always better at home. if you love spicy food you'll love this burger. it's fabulous. pair it with oven fries and some corn on the cob for a perfect dinner.

and notice the recipe for homemade guacamole - it contains the secret to perfect guac. getting a big clump of onions always ruins guacamole for me and onion salt isn't the same, but my friend maggi taught me the secret to fix that in college. you need the onion and its juice for perfect guac. see how below.

jalapeno pico burgers with homemade guacamole

hamburgers, grilled at home
buns
cheese of choice (really good with cheddar or pepper jack)
jalapenos (from the bottle)
homemade guacamole (below)
fresh pico de gallo
extra cilantro
tomato, lettuce or other desired burger toppings

put burgers together as desired with above ingredients. (if you spread the guac nice and thick on the bun and then put the jalapenos, pico and cilantro right on top of it it usually stays together pretty well!)

homemade guacamole

avocados
roma tomatoes (optional)
an onion (yellow or white)
garlic salt
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste if desired

peel, pit and mash avocados in bowl or tupperware (keep a pit to leave in with leftover guac - it keeps it from getting brown as easily). chop a roma tomato or two (or however many you like), leaving middles out, and add to avocado. slice onion in half and then use a spoon to scrape the onion into the bowl, allowing juice and flesh to fall from the onion. alternate adding scraped onion, garlic salt, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste until your guacamole is exactly how you like it! some people like more/less onion so there is no exact science here. just bust out some chips and try it as you go. mmm....