Mushroom-Swiss Hamburger Pie

I have been playing with this recipe in my mind for awhile now and finally got around to making it. The idea was to combine the flavors of a mushroom-Swiss burgers and meatloaf, and to do it in a healthy way. I'm really happy with how it turned out. The sweet onion, the stout, the mushrooms and Swiss cheese all came together in a very deep way.

Nancy had to work, so Quinn and I took the opportunity to eat while gaming on the PS3. I know this is good because Quinn actually put the controller down in the middle of game to eat!

I served it with some sauteed asparagus from the batch we picked up at the Urbana Market on the Square.

A piece of the pie worked out to only 284 calories with 8 grams of fat and 2 of fiber.

Let's eat!

Mushroom-Swiss Hamburger Pie
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil, divded
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 12-ounce bottle of stout beer (I used Dark Horse Brewing Company's Imperial Stout)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon each)
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (93 percent lean or better)
1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs (I used a food processor to turn 3 pieces of high-fiber whole wheat bread into crumbs)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 large egg and 1 egg white, lightly beaten
10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, thickly sliced
3 ounces low-fat Swiss cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute onions until translucent and just turning brown. Open the beer, take a sip and pour the rest in with the onions. Increase heat to medium-high and cook down until thick and syrupy.

Pour onion mixture into a large bowl, stir in thyme, mustard, salt and pepper and let cool. Add ground beef, breadcrumbs, parsley and eggs and mix thoroughly with clean hands.

Spray 9-inch pie plate with non stick and spread hamburger mixture evenly across the bottom and up the sides. Bake until meat reaches a temperature of 160F. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil over medium heat and lightly saute mushrooms.

Drain any fat from meat and top with mushrooms and shredded cheese. Turn oven to broil and cook until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings.

Deal of the Day: I love a glass pie plate for dishes like this.