Pizza Burgers

Have You ever made a meal and then later thought, "Wow, that was pretty awesome, but where in the world did that come from?  Woah!"

 

Pizza Burgers is my first major "WOAH!"

 

If you have browsed my blog or been a reader for the last 4-1/2 years, you have to know we don't eat like this every night, unless you are reading the salad section, of course. 

 

There's a market in Knoxville that has the best ground turkey, I mean it really has some flavor and doesn't need quite as much help as the pale, pre-packaged stuff in the grocery stores.

 

With my picky eater kiddos in mind, I tired to combine their worlds = healthy + their favs

 

2 lbs. ground turkey

1/2 medium onion chopped

1/2 half medium green bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top of the baking sheet.  Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.

 

 

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the onion and bell pepper.

 

Blend in 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce.

 

Then blend in the grate Parmesan cheese.

  

Work in the ground turkey with your hands, season with salt and pepper to taste.  If the mixture seems a little to mushy to your taste, add some panko or season Italian bread crumbs to achieve the consistency you desire.



 

Form the turkey mixture into patties  and place the turkey patties on the baking rack.  Bake the patties at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, turn and bake for another 10 minutes.

 

Remove the turkey patties from the oven and ladle about 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce on top of each pattie then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese on top. 

 

Return the turkey patties to the oven for another 7 minutes to melt the cheese.

 

 

Serve the patties stand alone with a salad and/or side or on a whole grain bun.  Whatever you decide to do, these pizza burgers are sure to be a huge hit on your table!

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Grilled Kickin' Turkey Sliders

Who doesn't like a big, thick, juicy burger covered in melted cheese dripping with your favorite sauce and/or condiments?  We toil away to fashion our burger into our ultimate burger fantasy.  The thing is, when I'm almost halfway through that big, thick, juicy burger, covered in cheese and sauce is dripping down to my elbows, a dark cloud moves in over me and sheer bliss turns into sheer misery.

Sliders have turned my sheer bliss into, well, actually kept sheer bliss alive and well.  I can eat one and no cloud, no misery, no guilt.  Sometimes if I dare, I can start on a second slider and still no cloud.  It's amazing.

I've also learned another trick.  I sometimes use half lean ground beef and half ground turkey.  Sometimes it's all ground turkey.  As long as no one sees the package, my family doesn't know the difference.

I didn't know the first time I made sliders that there was no such thing as "slider buns".  Check out the bakery department  in your grocery and pick out a dinner roll that you like or if you're really ambitious, make your own.

Kickin' Slider Sauce

1/3 cup low-fat sour cream (don't use fat-free)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce of choice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Burgers:

2-1/2 pounds ground turkey or lean ground beef

2 small shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons goat cheese
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons grill seasoning (McCormick's Montreal Steak)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Low fat margarine spread or butter
Garlic powder
8 slider sized dinner rolls or buns
4 slices pepper jack cheese, cut in half
4 slices hickory smoked bacon, cut in half and fried crisp
Kickin' Slider Sauce

In a large mixing bowl, break up the meat with your hands. Add the chopped shallot, garlic, goat cheese (this give the burger a little sumpin', sumpin'), grill seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper, to taste. Thoroughly combine with your hands.

Divide the meat into 8 equal portions and form them into small patties.  Press an indent in the center of each patty with your thumb.  I've heard this indent will prevent the burgers from puffing up while cooking.   It works.

Heat your grill to medium-high heat and spray grated with non-stick cooking spray. If using ground turkey, you shouldn't have "flame-ups" since the meat won't be expelling any fat.  Grill the burgers uncovered, for 5 minutes on the first side. Flip and continue cooking for another 5 until cooked thoroughly. Top the patties with a one-half slice of pepper jack cheese.  Once the cheese has melted, remove from grill, tent with foil to keep warm.  Spread the margarine or butter the buns, sprinkle with a little garlic powder and place on the grill butter side down. Toast for about 1 minute and remove from grill.

Assemble your burger by placing a cheesy patty on the toasted bun, ladling a generous helping of Kickin' Sauce over the patty and topping it with a half slice of bacon.

Look!  No clouds!

My New Favorite Burger!

 Who says you can't unlearn your bad habits and learn something new?  Most of us drool over the image of a big, thick, juicy piece of ground beef between two huge pieces of bread, slathered with mayo, ketchup...you get my drift.  Don't get me wrong, I adore a beef burger and on a Kaiser roll is always a plus but let's just shake things up a bit.

Season 1 lb. of ground turkey with your favorite dry seasonings.  No need to add an egg.  Ground turkey is usually pretty moist and holds together very well.  Divide into 4 equal portions and form into round burger patties.  Reserve enough ground turkey on the side (about enough to make one small patty).  Using your thumb, place a small dent in the middle of each patty.  Place a small cube of your favorite cheese in the dent (I used Brie).  Knead the and use the reserved ground turkey to cover the cheese. 

Grill about 5 to 7 minutes per side over medium-high heat.

Oozing cheese wasn't supposed to happnen, but doesn't it just make you wish the patty would hurry up and cook!

Then core one apple (peeling is optional and this was a Figi apple) and divide into 16 slices.  Coat the apples in vegetable oil and place on grill.  Grill about 2 minutes per side.

To assemble, place turkey patty on buttered garlic toast, top with grilled apples and a little parsley garnish.  I bet some onion rings would rock with this!

Saints-Sational Turkey Curry

I'm still exploring and discovering the joys of curry and found this comforting recipe in River Roads Recipes II.  It covers all the bases.  First, sauteing the vegetables and making a delicious brown roux, using curry powder which I adore, and serving this over rice which makes my husband a happy man at mealtime.

One other thing, this works great with chicken too!

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat and saute 1 medium onion chopped and 1/2 green bell pepper chopped in 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  You need this much oil to make the roux.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of lour and cook for about five minutes, stirring continuously. 

Blend in 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms. 

Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of cooked turkey - cubed, 1 tart appled, peeled, cored and diced, one 5 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts - drained, 3 tablespoons of chopped pimento, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve.

Add in 2-1/2 teaspoons (more if it suits your taste) curry powder.  Taste and adjust seasonings is needed.  Lower heat to lowest setting.

Add the turkey mixture slowly to the gravy.  Cover and allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

While the pot is simmering toast some shredded coconut, slice some scallions and get out some salty peanuts.

Serve over saffron rice and garnish with toasted coconut, peanuts and sliced scallions.

Geaux Saints!

Turkey Pannini with a Citrus Balsamic Salad

You can have so much fun being creative when it comes to making panninis. You are only limited by your imagination. Another selling point to panninis, you can custom make each sandwich. This is a cinch in a house full of picky eaters!

This pannini started off with sliced red onion, minced garlic, chopped scallions and sliced roasted red peppers.

I was able to get my hands on a loaf of sun-dried tomato foccacia.

After slicing up the foccacia, I piled on the veggies with a little smoked turkey, a little smoked gouda and a sliced black olive or two and put them on the pannini press. Is it bad manners to stand in front of the pannini press and yell, "HURRY!"?

Oh, the smell and look at the grill marks! I don't know why, but grill marks make me drool.

I may not make the prettiest pannini on the block...talk about good!

Accompany your sammich with a crisp romaine salad sprinkled with a little crumble feta cheese and a couple of sliced black olives and crunchy croutons, then drizzle a citrus balsamic vinaigrette on top and you have a satisfying meal!

Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Juice of one orange

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

Juice from one lime

Coarse Sea Salt to Taste

White Pepper to taste

1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a measuring cup except the olive oil. Stream in the olive oil while whisking.

Turkey Meatloaf

This manly meatloaf is heavenly too! Men will be dreaming of DeWalt power tools, remote controls, football, etc. One secret about this meatloaf, we don't advertise it's turkey to the homegirlz; they didn't notice.


Turkey Meatloaf -

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium pan, over medium-low heat, saute 1 medium chopped vidalia onion (or yellow onion) in 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves until translucent, but not browned, about 15 minutes.

Stir in 1/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce.

3/4 chicken stock.

1-1/2 teaspoons tomato paste and mix well.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Combine 2 lbs. ground turkey breast, 1-1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs, 2 large eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. If mixture seems too moist, add a litle more bread crumbs. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an sheet pan (with at least 1 inch sides) sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread 3/4 cup of ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1-1/4 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich. Go and cook this and let me know how it turns out!