Green Chili Chicken Burgers.
As much as I hate to admit it, I have a few bad habits. Not refilling the ice cube tray is the first thing that comes to mind, mainly because I NEVER DO IT. We don’t have a fancy fridge that makes it’s own ice, so we have the old school trays that need dumped and refilled. Not only is this 1.] a huge pain when we are entertaining or consuming large amounts of alcoholic beverages, it is also b.] one of the activities I find extremely annoying, even ahead of emptying the dishwasher and folding clean laundry.
Apparently this came to a head for my husband this weekend as he fiercely threw an empty, now room temperature tray on the floor and asked, “why are these always sitting on the counter?! Is it really that hard to take five seconds and fill them with water and stick them back in the fridge?!”
Why yes. Yes it is.
I don’t know! I mean, why do I set a new roll of toilet paper on top of the old empty one instead of taking the extra two seconds to install it properly? I just do. I’m an idiot sometimes. I’m a product of the extremely lazy, work ethic-less, I-get-everything-I-want-by-clicking-a-mouse-in-fourty-seconds internet generation. It’s disgusting and it’s real. Welcome to 2012!
But I must point out that one of the only reasons he frustratingly questioned me was because he.was.starving. You know… the type of husband starvation that occurs when they haven’t eaten in 16 minutes? Only to be exacerbated by cutting the lawn for a few seconds and ingesting two diet Mountain Dews before deciding they simply couldn’t take it anymore and rush inside in a flurry?
About a half hour earlier I had the foresight to realize that my worst nightmare would probably come true (him + me in the kitchen = two steps from divorce… or homicide, whichever comes first) and decided to make these green chili burgers that I’d been dreaming of for a few days. In an effort to save time, I quickly made one burger… and only one… to tide him over and to save my sanity. I made it… and since it was something new and he can be quite picky, I tasted it.
Except I couldn’t stop tasting it. I had a bite. Then another bite. And before I knew it, more than half of the sandwich was gone and he was busting through the front door like a angry bull.
And that’s when he saw the empty ice cube trays and started – for lack of a better word – whining about them. It’s not like I constantly bring up his annoying habits (lies, I totally do) such as his lack of punctuality (biggest pet peeve evah), but whatever. One bite in and he was profusely apologizing, to the point where I don’t think it matters if I ever refill one of those stupid trays again. He inhaled a second burger, finished mowing the lawn, then came in and ate a third. This… is my life. I fear the day when we have to feed more than two people on a regular basis. So does our bank account.
But who wants to listen to me talk? All you really need to know from this? We love these. Like, totally love LOVE.
Green Chili Chicken Burgers
makes 4 burgers
1 pound ground chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 (4 ounce) cans of diced green chilis
2.5 ounces of monterey jack cheese, cut into tiny cubes + more for topping
1/2 tablespoon honey
juice of half a lime
Preheat your grill or heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine chicken, oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, garlic, cheese cubes and 1/2 a can of green chilis. Mix until just combined, then divide into four sections and form into four patties. Place on grill or skillet and cook on each side until golden and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Once you flip the burgers, add additional cheese on top to melt.
While the burgers are cooking, toast buns if desired and combine remaining green chilis in a bowl with honey, lime juice, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper (green chili sauce here adapted from bobby flay). When ready to serve, spoon green chilis on top of cheeseburgers and eat!
Note: if you use ground chicken (as opposed to ground chicken breast) you can omit the olive oil or use a bit less.
P.S. last night I ate these again, but piled with like, boatloads of guacamole on top. UGH.
145 Comments on “Green Chili Chicken Burgers.”
We don’t deal with the whole ice cube tray thing because if we did, we just would not have ice in our drinks. Period. My husband definitely loves you for these.
I eat meat once in a while and I have to say I would for these! Looks delicious- I’m such guac adds an extra kick
I want to eat one of these so bad. They look delicious!
you know, i don’t always love green chili but toss it on a burger and i’m ALL in!
as for the ice cube trays, i am totally OCD about them. not just having them filled, but in the correct proportions too. it’s a sickness really…
Do you tilt the tray until there is an even amount of water in each tray? Not that I do that.
Pfffffft…no!
OK fine, yes :)
I’m totally with you on the ice cube tray thing. So much so that my husband and I didn’t have ice in our drinks for the first 5 years of our marriage because we didn’t have an ice machine in our refrigerator. Like we literally had no ice. We would buy a bag when we had company over and that was it.
Just seeing all that melted cheese on top of that burger is the PROMISE OF A NEW DAY.
Oh my yum! This reminds me of my favorite burger at Big Kitchen in San Diego. You’ve just inspired dinner!! Thanks!
Oooo I love green chilis!!! Yum!!!
Looks scrumptious. :)
I don’t refill ice trays… and I hate emptying the dishwasher and folding clothes. Thats what kids are for. It frees me up to make these AMAZING looking sandwiches!!!
My husband gets so mad at me because I’ll take a cube or two out of the tray and be on my merry way rather than craking the whole thing and dumping it in the ice bin and then refilling and freezing!! hahaha
These look FABulous! Can’t wait to make them!
These look delish! and i HATE emptying the dishwasher. It makes me feel 10 when that was my chore. ugh.
i don’t have an ice maker in my fridge either and it seriously is the worst chore!
i hate trying to get the frozen cubes into the little ice container so i would always leave the tray on the counter so they would be easier to get out, but i forget about it until they were halfway thawed…then i would put them into the container. and thennnn it would just be one big frozen block of ice that i had to try and chip away to just get a single ice cube. needless to say i haven’t made ice for at least 6 months now… lol!
i don’t normally like green chili’s like that but i may just suck it up and try them because these burgers look amaze-balls!
Luckily I don’t have to use an ice tray in my freezer. And I’m even more lucky I don’t have to deal with feeding a constantly hungry husband twentyfourseven.
Wow! These look awesome and your pictures really make you want to reach in and grab it! :) Thanks for always inspiring us in the kitchen and your stories are so entertaining! Love them!
Hah! I do the same exact thing. It’s so annoying when you’re filling multiple ice trays to balance them on each other! I always worry that they will topple over and fill the freezer with water, so I just leave the task to my boyfriend.
(((Why?!!!))) couldn’t there be any cheese in the house? Ugh! These sound amazing and look delicious. Crave worthy! Love hearing that we aren’t the only couple who irritate the hell out of each other.
We had burgers on the menu tonight and I hadn’t decided how to do them until I saw this. I didn’t have everything, but pretty close and they were delish! I loved the cumin flavor with the green chile salsa we had. Thanks!
These look great! Never would have thought of it! Must try this summer (burger season). ;)
I have a “GREAT idea for You “Post a picture of a YUMMY thing you make. Well another YUMMY thing you make. Ask 3.00 for the receipe and in NO TIME FLAT you will have money for a NEW FRIDGE WITH AN ICE MAKER… I might mention that I am totally in… You should know that I counted today and I have made 6 things you have posted . (granola bars 2 times)
I found your blog about 2 weeks ago so for me thats a lot of new cooking going on in my kitchen. Tonight I made the smoked chicken chilli that I think was one you loved from someone elses blog. So technically I have made 6 things and tomorrow Im making these burgers and we will eat a bowl of our leftover smoked chicken chilli with it!!!! I really love that you talked about yourself here and your husband. It is fun to connect with you and see who is behind the receipes. I also confess I never saw your photo until yesterday. I think your just as cute as you are talented.
Julie
Ok ….That was the wrong Idea. 3.00 will take forever to get a fridge with ice maker. Why not make a cookbook. Ill buy it… :)
I cant find ground chicken today. Went to 3 places. What the heck is everyone reading your blog and all of the ground chicken is bought up in my little part of the world???
Tried turkey and we were not in love. Ill keep looking for chicken.
Yes to the toilet paper!!!! I do the same darn thing. Drives my husband totally nuts. PS: I’m eating low carb but I still visit your blog. It’s so humorous and beautiful that I can’t miss your posts, even if I can’t make most of the recipes. Keep it up.
Thank you for still reading! That means so much to me.
LMAO!!! I do the same thing with the toliet paper and it is always what my hubby brings up! I just hate it. Your blog is genius! Keep it coming!
Haahahaha I love this post. I HATE filling the ice cube trays! I’ll take all but one so that it’s not technically ’empty’.. I also need to purchase a toilet paper holder that requires not having to pop that thing out because I refuse. I also never put the cap on the laundry soap and always get yelled at.. It’s so annoying
Wow. Those pictures have me d-roooooling. And I haaaaate filling up the dang ice cube tray!!!! ARGH!
Can I please have Mr. How Sweet’s metabolism?
Jess! You don’t understand! Green chili cheeseburgers is all I want for my birthday every year! It’s my deathbed dinner! Thanks for this! :)
anything with diced green chilis-I’m in!
Your husband and mine sound so much alike! Sometimes I read him the parts where you talk about him having a burger and other whole meals for a “snack”. He gets a kick out of it, and it makes me thankful I’m not the only one married to a bottomless pit.
Definitely saving this recipe to make very soon. :) Which reminds me I need to get on the bandwagon and post pictures on your fb page when I make your recipes!
Wow. It was like you were in the kitchen with me and my husband! I had no idea other couples had the exact.same.issues. lol Just discovered your blog, btw, and I’m in love. :)
Mm-mm. :)
OK, we had these for supper last night. But I used chicken breasts sliced in half and rubbed with the seasoning mix. AMAZING! This is super easy and SUCH a hit at my house! Thank you!
We had these for supper last night, will have them again for lunch today and would LOVE to have them for supper tonight :) They were SO good and easy to make. I love dinners on the table in 15 minutes. I didn’t add any of the cheese and did a laughing cow on the bun instead. Talking about it makes me want to eat it again for my morning snack instead :)
Ugh..toilet paper. My husband and I actually had to establish a rule that if the toilet paper couldn’t be rolled out to reach the floor, the roll needs to be changed. This happened because we were both leaving 2 squares for the other person and then claiming innocence. What?? I didn’t need those last 2 squares and I didn’t want to waste so I couldn’t possibly have changed the roll for you! You wouldn’t want me to waste right??
Cruel? Perhaps. Lazy? Ohmigoodness yes.
Love your blog by the way… hilarious! Could these be made with ground turkey? It is all I have on hand. I really look forward to your emails every day!
Thanks,
Julia
Definitely!
Ooh, we made these last summer but with PEPPER JACK cheese. It was one of those rare moments at the grocery store where I had no list, no ideas, and my husband had the best. idea. ever. Sometimes men just know good food, man. (*Sometimes.)
I made these last night and they were really good!! :)
OMG I was cracking up at your ice cube tray story!! We dont have a fancy pants fridge either and thank goodness my husband hates ice cube trays, so we keep a bag of ice in the fridge! But at times that is annoying only because it takes up so much flippen room!!! I just love your stories they are so real and make me laugh!!! I think I need to try these burgers too, they look deelish!!!!
These burgers look amazing. Thank you. I may use this recipe to blog about a new development in my house. My son is revolting against the use of ground turkey and chicken vs beef. Thank you so much for your constant inspiration in my kitchen.
These were super yummy and super easy. We experienced pretty much the same scenario of him eating one, going to study, not being able to concentrate, and coming back to eat two more.
EVERYONE in my family loved these. my 6 year old sister proclaimed at least three times that it was the best meat she’d ever had. My hamburger loving dad said after the first bite that they were great. they are awesome!!
Made these Sat night, they were wonderful! Thanks so much for a great recipe, definately will do it again. Oh, did it with beef, not chicken. Was really leary about the chilis, but the sauce is to die for.
DUUUUUDE. I am totally the same with the ice cube trays AND the dishwasher. I have no problems DOING the dishes but putting them away? I’ll take the root canal instead. Plus, with the root canal, I’ll be so sore/exhausted from the procedure I’ll have more excuses for days NOT to empty the dishwasher. Obviously!
And these burgers look so juicy and cheesy and perfect. I must make them and inhale four without having done anything that would warrant such hunger except stare at this picture all day. YUM.
So I have never commented on a food blog, actually I’ve never really READ a food blog. I usually just drool over photos and hope there are less than 5 ingredients. I suddenly realized I had just spent the last half hour scrolling through and reading your blog! You are a great writer and your food looks so yummy! I’m trying these burgers tonight! :)
Thank you so much Katie!
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Ok, this dish is super amaaazzzziiinggg! I made it tonight with ground turkey, didn’t have the onion powder. I diced up mozzarella inside the burger, but topped it with a slice of pepper jack cheese. I usually don’t eat two burgers, but I might have to go back for seconds! Thanks for an amazing recipe. :-)
I lived on a turkey version of this while i was pregnant. But this sounds even better. The CHEESE! Omg. Get in my mouth now. I’m rearranging my menu to add these. My husband will be happy-burgers are always a good thing.
These burgers were A-MA-ZING!! I followed your recipe exactly. The ground chicken was so affordable (got it at sprouts) My family just loved them! Even my sweet yet picky 7 yr old. I was a little hesitant to make the topping but it was fabulous! My only regret was that I didn’t double the recipe. My boys were like that’s it, that’s all you made?!! They wanted more! So I am making them again this week and I am tripling the recipe. Thank you so much!!
it’s like you were living my life with this post! i HATE the daggone ice trays and i can’t get a freezer with an ice maker because we’re renting! and your husband sounds JUST like mine! he gets so grumpy when he’s hungry. i told him he comes home and says, “i’m hungry, feed me, grrrrrr” and it’s been a running joke ever since. totally have to try these now. :)
I made these last night and got rave reviews!