ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. ground beef 
• 2 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning 
• 4 slices pepper jack or cheddar cheese 
• 4 buns Tortilla strips 
• Sour cream 
• Avocado slices 
• Pico de gallo (recipe below) 
• Pickled jalapenos 
• Lettuce

For the pico de gallo:

• 1 lb. tomatoes, chopped 
• ½ cup chopped onion 
• 1 jalapeno, diced 
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro 
• 1 lime, juiced 
• Salt, to taste

cooking

1. Preheat the grill to medium high heat. 
2. To make the pico, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice in a bowl. Stir and season to taste. Allow to marinate while preparing the burgers.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and taco seasoning, using your fingers to gently distribute the seasoning throughout the meat. Form the meat into 4 or 5 patties, depending on how big you like your burgers. Use your thumb to place an indent into the center of each one. 
4. Grill for 5 minutes then flip and grill an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the burgers reach an internal temperature of 160 for well done. Melt the cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking time or add it directly after the burgers come off the grill. 
5. Top the burgers with pico de gallo, sour cream, lettuce, avocado, jalapeno slices, and tortilla strips.