Inside-Out Cheese Sliders - Clean Eating

This is out of the Clean Eating Magazine dated July/August 2010. Nutritional info per 2 sliders: Cal: 359, Total Fat: 9.5g, Carbs: 37g, Fiber: 4g, Sugars: 8g Protein: 32g Sodium: 553mg Cholesterol: 61mg from the magazine.

• Ready In: 27 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 8 sliders

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef, 95% lean
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1  ounce reduced-fat cheddar cheese, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
• 3  tablespoons  whole grain mustard
• 1  tablespoon honey
• 8  small  whole wheat dinner rolls
• 1⁄2 cup  baby spinach leaves (packed)

Directions

1. Place oven rack 6 to 7 inches from broiler and preheat to high. Cover a baking sheet or broiler pan with foil. In a large bowl, combine beef, salt and pepper. Divide meat into 8 equal balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Divide cheese into 8 equal portions.
2. With your thumb, make an indentation in 1 of the meatballs and insert a portion of cheese cubes. Push the edges of the meatball over the indentation to completely cover the cheese (this prevents the cheese from leaking out during cooking), then flatten the meatball into a 1/2-3/4-inch-thick patty; place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meatballs and portions of cheese.
3. Broil until tops of patties are deeply browned, 6 to 7 minutes. Flip and broil until the second side is browned and patties are firm to the touch with no pink remaining in the center, about 5 more minutes (internal temperature should read 160° on an instant-read thermometer).
4. In a small bowl, stir together mustard and honey. To serve, split open each roll and spread on 1 tsp mustard mixture. Top with 1 patty and spinach leaves, dividing equally among all sliders.
5. OPTION: If you prefer to cook the sliders in a skillet rather than the broiler, mist the skillet with olive oil cooking spray and cook the burgers in 2 batches over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side. By cooking in batches you eliminate overcrowding the pan, which would cause the patties to steam instead of developing a flavorful golden exterior.