My "Famous" Turkey Burgers

These turkey burgers are a go to favorite meal in our household. We typically have them a couple times a month. They never fail to disappoint us! This is a recipe that I created a couple years ago when looking for a good beef free burger. I hadn't found one that I just really enjoyed. It seemed like any recipe I tried was either too dry or too "sticky wet" and didn't form into patties very well. So I got in the kitchen and came up with this tasty little burger!

I say "famous" because it has become a favorite among a lot of my family (whom are all actually beef eaters). My grandpa has requested my "famous turkey burgers" on a number of occassions! The best part about everyone enjoying these burgers...they are sooo easy!!

"Famous" Turkey Burgers
Makes: 4 Burgers
Ingredients:
1lb ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbsp grated parmesean
4 slices swiss cheese
4 whole wheat buns
8 oz sliced mushrooms

In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, (I use half 93% fat free and half 99% fat free because the patties form better this way. If you choose to use only 99% fat free, beware you may have a hard time keeping the patties together! You could always just use 93% if you choose or whatever your grocer has.) onion, garlic, and parmesean cheese. Be cautious not to over mix or the meat with cook up tougher.

Form into 4 patties. I have a handy burger press, but simply making 4 balls and flattening will work fine as well. Since there is only 2 of us, I will immediately, put two of the patties in the freezer for the next time! In the summer months you can put a piece of foil on your grill and cook them that way. (It is important to put foil down or spray the grates on the grill because turkey burgers will stick much easier than beef.) In the winter months I just put them on the stovetop over medium to medium high. They will cook 6-7 min on each side.

While the burgers are cooking, slice up your mushrooms. Put the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and toss in the mushrooms. Cook until softened, 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the burgers are almost done, place 1 slice of cheese on each burger, let melt approx 1 minute.
Place 1 burger on each bun and top with lots of mushrooms! Feel free to use any other condiments of choice. We typically use a small amount of ketchup, but I'm sure your favorite condiment will make it that much better of a burger for you!

We normally have baked beans and/or chips and salsa with our burgers, but again, pick your side of choice with burgers!! These are so tasty! Hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

~Erica

Spicy Hawaiian Chicken Burgers

Thanks to Pinterest I have gained a great resource to expand on healthy recipes. Last night, we made these great chicken burgers! Hopefully my photography skills will improve when it come to taking food pictures, but for now I will do my best to provide the best I can! Since we don't eat red meat in our household, I am always looking for other burger options. My husband eats red meat, but he knew before he married me there would be no red meat served in our household. :) These chicken burgers were excellent and definitely a meal we will eat again! I made green beans to go with ours, but you of course could pick any side of your choice! Hope you enjoy!

Spicy Hawaiian Chicken Burgers
Via: Homemade by Holman

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground chicken
6 pineapple rings (or equivalent slices, cut about 1/2" - 3/4" thick)
6 slices pepper jack cheese
6 whole wheat hamburger buns
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I use Lawry's)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine the ground chicken, soy sauce, 1/2 the paprika, 1/2 the chili powder, seasoning salt and cumin. Lightly mix with your hands and divide into 6 even balls. Form patties, making them slightly thinner in the middle and sprinkle with remaining paprika and chili powder. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. Coat grates lightly with oil. Grill burgers over medium heat about 6 minutes per side. The burgers should flip easily when they are ready to turn, if they want to stick, give them another minute. Top with cheese for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time to melt. Remove to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest. Grill buns if desired.

For the pineapple, if you are using rings, grill directly on the grates over medium heat. Carefully turn after 1-2 minutes. If you are using pineapple slices or chunks, thread onto skewers and grill skewers in the same fashion. Assemble burgers and enjoy.

~Erica

Craving Curber Juice

As promised, here is one of our favorite juices...the Craving Curber. I forgot to take a picture, sorry about that! You'll have to take my word, that it will look yummy and taste it too! We bought a Juicer because we intended to use it lots and stick with it. But if you are just wanting to try it out first, you could use a blender and then strain it. Since I haven't tried the blender I can't make any promises on how easy it will or won't be. If you use a juicer, it is fairly easy. The most time consuming part is preparing fruit or veggies.

Craving Curber Juice
1 Serving, 389.6 calories

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Raspberries
1 cup Strawberries
2 Oranges
2 Apples

Directions:
We bought frozen raspberries and strawberries because it was cheaper and since it's winter, its harder to find good fresh ones. So defrost berries if frozen.

Peel the oranges and apples and core apples. Cut oranges and apples into manageable pieces.

If using a juicer, follow your machines instructions. If using a blender, I would just be careful not to overload the machine. Since you are using a large amount of fruit, you should probably do it in a couple cycles, straining between each.

Best of luck! This juice is very yummy and really does do a good job a keeping you from getting hungry, hince the name!


~Erica

New Year, New Start!

So, as you can see I haven't posted in a month! Oh my goodness, I knew it had been awhile but hadn't realized just how long. The holidays came and went with lots of fun, traveling, and good quality family time! Now we have entered the new year and have been plenty busy the last couple weeks! I am not much of a new years resolution person. I normally stay firm with the idea that anything stated as a resolution is something I should be doing anyway! However, I think I have realized that I need to do better about blogging if I am going to continue having a blog, otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose, huh!? But again, not sure I am willing to say this is a resolution, as it is something that I enjoy doing! Hmmm, or maybe I just don't want to admitt to myself I have caved and made a "New Years Resolution"! Haha! Either way, I will do better!

I have always loved to cook, but as most people over the years I have fallen into the habit of cycling the same meals (for the most part) over and over again. This has changed in our household over the last month and I hope to keep it up. A couple months back, Adam and I decided to train for the Illinois Marathon coming up on April 28th. When we started training, both of us realized that we had gained a "few" pounds since our last marathon and it was making it hard to get through some of our long runs at the pace we wanted to be running at, sooo we took action. We decided to do a "juice diet" for a couple weeks to kick start our diet! We found some really great recipes, that were absolutely delicious! We ate a light breakfast, had a juice for lunch, and a light healthy dinner, with a couple healthy snacks in between meals when needed. It worked!! We both have lost about 10 lbs to date! As two people who eat fairly healthy on a regular basis, we had fallen into habits such as going out to eat too often (not fast food, which we never eat!!), just regular restaurants (like Houlihans), mostly ordering grilled chicken, salads, etc, with the occasional spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer! :) But you don't realize how many bad things can be hidden in restaurant food (preservatives, sodium, fat, etc). So we have been working really hard at making yummy healthy meals at home. Yes, I did say WE, I am so lucky to have a husbad, who not only likes to help me cook, but is actually pretty good at it! :) I will try to share as many meals as I can on here, so anyone else looking to reform their eating habits can join in. Please feel free to comment and share your blog with me and anyone else reading if you have some great healthy recipes! Lots of juice and meal recipes to follow soon!

~Erica