pesto & mozzarella sliders

hi y'all! Some of my favorite recipes I make tend to be a mix of what I have in the kitchen that needs used up ... it's amazing the creativity that sparks when you're feeling lazy. I had some leftover mozzarella and pesto from the naan flatbread I made last week (so yummy) and had my eye on these totally delicious pretzel buns the bakery had made up so sliders it was. I know these aren't anything super complex but they were so darn good. I can't believe I hadn't tried this combo before. I got a "you will totally need to make these for us again" from my man which is always the tell tale sign that the recipe was a winner. We ate these up for dinner but they would be a great party appetizer, barbecue addition, or game day recipe to serve. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef, per 6 sliders
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Slider buns (I used pretzel)
• Fresh mozzarella, sliced 
• Pesto, about 1 tbsp per slider
• Optional, olive oil & sea salt (to season buns)

DIRECTIONS

1. ​​Mix together ground beef, worcestershire, and salt. Evenly divide seasoned ground beef into 6 even parts and form into patties.
2. Optional Step: Preheat oven to 325' if you want to toast your buns a little bit. If you are doing this you can brush tops of buns with olive oil and sprinkle a little sea salt for flavor. This tastes especially good if you are using pretzel buns. 
3. You can cook your mini burger patties however you like or usually cook burger patties. I cooked in the skillet over low heat for extra tender patties. To cook this way add your patties to a large saute pan and cover, turn heat to low/medium (heat setting 3). Allow to slowly cook until meat has browned up the sides of the patties. Flip and allow the other side to slow cook as well. 
4. Pop buns in the oven to bake for 5 minutes. 
5. While buns are baking turn heat to the burgers off once cooked, add a slice of fresh mozzarella to each, and put the lid back on to keep the heat in and allow cheese to melt. 
6. Slice toasted buns in half, add a cheesy slider, top with some pesto, add your top bun and enjoy!