Cheddar & Pepper Turkey Burgers

I love turkey burgers because they are much better for you than most other burgers, but they can sometimes be dry and flavorless. So, I consulted my healthy-cooking bible (Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave") and adapted a recipe of hers for stuffed turkey burgers.

Here is what I came up with:

Cheddar & Pepper Turkey Burgers

1 lb. 85/15 ground turkey
1 lb. 99% fat free ground turkey
3/4 cup chopped roasted red or yellow peppers
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 large egg

Preheat the broiler to high (or prepare the grill if it isn't cold and rainy outside like it is here!). In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with your hands. Divide the mixture into 10 patties (about 3-4 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick). Wrap the extra patties in plastic wrap and freeze. Put four (or however many you want to make) patties on a sheet pan (one with a lip on the side) and broil for 10-12 minutes (or until they are browned and the internal temperature is at 165 degrees F). Remove from the oven and cool.



- the spices & peppers -



- ready to be divided into patties! -

- yummy! -

- the finished product -
 (on *homemade* buns - aren't I impressive? hah!)

I hope you enjoy these moist and delicious burgers as much as Ryan and I did! :)

~ Mari

Two Dinners, One Chicken Recipe

I love killing two birds with one stone. Not literally, of course. I don't kill any birds with any stones (if you did want to kill a bird, though, would one really use a stone?). But, in the culinary realm, making one dish that can then become two dinners is pretty sweet.

I've mentioned the wonderfulness of Ellie Krieger before on this blog. She is a nutritionist-turned-cook that had her own show on Food Network. I own both of her cookbooks and use them probably twice a week. While browsing through her "The Food You Crave" cookbook, I came a cross a recipe for Crispy Chiken Fingers that looked easy, healthy, and delicious. Surprise! It was all of those things. 

And here is what I came up with:

Crispy chicken fingers with homemade honey mustard dressing and steamed broccoli

Yum!

The chicken came out delicious! Moist on the inside and super crunchy on the outside - just how chicken fingers should be. Plus, the only ingredients were chicken breast, buttermilk, cornflakes and spices. So very simple.

Since I made the chicken fingers out of two huge chicken breasts, I had about half left over for the next night. I thought I could just heat them up in the toaster oven and have some salad to go with it. Then I had a revelation! Why not put the crispy chicken fingers ON the salad? Hot dog! (granted, it wasn't an original idea, but it was an exciting one) So, I made my version of my favorite salad that they serve at O'Charley's, T.G.I. Fridays, and a few other restaurants: Chicken Tender Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Candied Pecans, Dried Cranberries, and Gorgonzola Cheese. Of course I made a few adjustments...

First, I started with the lettuce: Boston Red Leaf & Radicchio. Next, I candied my own walnuts (they're a little better for you than pecans) and added them to the big bowl of lettuce. Then I crumbled some Gorgonzola cheese on top (on sale at Kroger - score!) and added some tangerine segments (instead of the canned ones). Then I made the salad dressing - a simple balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, and EVOO).

Lastly, I added the crispy chicken to my big bowl of yumminess and devoured it!

Mmmmm... it was so tasty!

As a side note, my wonderful husband isn't a fan of Gorgonzola or oranges... or balsamic vinaigrettes, so I made him his own ryan-friendly version:

For his, I just left off the ingredients he didn't like and made a honey mustard vinaigrette from the leftover dipping sauce from the night before! Fancy!

I hope everyone is having a great start to February!

~ Mari

Panzanella

I just got Ellie Krieger's cookbook, "So Easy," and I found a great-looking recipe for a dish we made in culinary school: Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad). Ellie's recipe is a bit different from the one we made in school, but it has the same basic ingredients - bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. So, I decided to combine the two recipes into my own version of the classic Italian salad!

Panzanella

3-4 cups of bread, cubed

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 of a small red onion, thinly slivered

1 avocado, peeled and diced

a few sprigs of fresh fennel (or any other fresh herb you have on hand)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

dried italian herbs to taste

3 links of chicken sausage

First, preheat the oven to 320 degrees F. Then put the cubed bread on a sheet pan.

Next, combine a few tablespoons of olive oil with salt, pepper, and dried italian herbs in a shallow bowl.

Dunk each bread cube into the olive oil mixture on two or three sides. Put them back on the sheet pan and toss them around a bit.

Stick the sheet pan in the oven on the bottom rack and allow them to cook for 15 - 20 minutes (until they're crispy). While they cook, combine all of the vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper on them and toss.

Once the bread cubes are done, add them to the vegetable mixture.

Pour the rest of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar over the vegetables and bread. Now toss it more. I added some black cooked lentils (from Trader Joe's) as a garnish - you can too if you have them. If not, it should be just fine! Then I cooked the sausage, sliced it, and served it alongside of the panzanella. That was Ellie Krieger's pairing idea - and it was perfect! I also plated the salad overtop of some mixed baby greens.

I hope you enjoy it! It was so simple to make - I couldn't even believe it! Plus, it was delicious and full of texture!

~ Mari

A Little Food Porn

I was going to post the photos of the food at the Garden Soiree/Shower/Party, but I decided that it was so lovely that it needed its own post. Marilyn set up the buffet table with the garden party theme in mind.

In the photo above, there are some fresh purple grapes and these amazing sausage skewers (chicken sausage, cherry tomato, basil, and a kalamata olive on top). Delicious!

There are Michael's famous chicken wings with bleu cheese sauce and ranch dressing. And that colorful bowl on the other side of the table (to the right) is Christine's avocado, tomato, and mango salad (AMAZING, btw).

There's mom's delicious broccoli salad (complete with bacon, almonds, grapes, cranberries, golden raisins, and sunflower seeds) that I ate a boat-load of!

Mmmm... Marilyn's lemon pepper shrimp was so tasty!

If you've never had Ellie Krieger's zucchini rolls, I would highly recommend them!

This is my dad's famous corn salsa (black beans, fresh corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and lots of other goodies!).

Marilyn made homemade spicy pita chips and served it with guacamole and spicy chipotle hummus (from Earth Fare)

This is another Ellie Krieger recipe - Devilled eggs... with tofu!

And there is some delicious pasta salad with asparagus and cherry tomatoes!

Quite a spread, huh? It was all so delicious that I thought you might enjoy seeing it all!

~ Mari