Mother’s Hamburgers
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 14 oz can of diced or whole tomatoes (she used homemade canned tomatoes)
20 more or less saltine crackers crushed (adjust to your liking)
½ t salt
½ t fresh ground pepper
The original ingredients stop here and the following are my accent:
1 medium onion chopped
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
1 package of dry Hidden Valley ranch dressing (optional)
Mix all the ingredients and pat out 6 or 7 patties which is a 2 burger bonus. Fry or grill, great either way.
A bit of history …
My folks were conservative as they experienced the depression, so they learned to eat cheaper but the food was always good.
My son calls these Granny burgers, and we still enjoy them on occasion. It is like eating a meat loaf sandwich.
Not long after I got married I told my wife I wanted a homemade hamburger with no filler because I always felt a little cheated as a kid. It was good, but the Granny burger is better particularly since I love meat loaf as an entree and meat loaf sandwiches.