Howard's End: West Coast Whopper Combo

Making ends meet is not getting any easier with the annual increase in food prices, the highest since July 1990, showing an almost six percent increase on last year. Here is our family recipe for a double-double hamburger which kid's seem to love and tastes as good as any from the big chains.

1 plain hamburger bun
250 grams of minced beef
dash a salt
1 tablespoon of Thousand Islands dressing
1 large tomato slice (or two small slices)
1 large lettuce leaf
4 slices smoked cheese (singles)
1 whole onion (sliced thin)

1. Preheat a frying pan over medium heat 2. Lightly toast both halves of the bun face down in the pan (set aside) 3. Seperate the beef into two even protions and form each half into a thin patty slightly larger than the bun 4. Lightly salt each patty and cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side 5. Flip the patties over and immediately place two slices of cheese on each one and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Assemble the burger in the following stacking order from the bottom up:

bottom bun - dressing - tomato - lettuce - 1st beef patty with cheese - onion slice - 2nd beef patty with cheese - top bun.

And while we're at it, if you want a 17 March St Patrick's Day shake which kids love, try this recipe.

2 cups vanilla ice cream, 1 &1/4 cups milk (low fat milk tastes better in the shake, but why I don't know) 1/4 teaspoon mint extract (not peppermint), 8 drops green food colouring

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. If necessary stop the blender from time to time and stir with a spoon to help blend the ice cream. Pour into large glasses and serve with a straw.

See, you don't have to go to the big chains - Enjoy at home.

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