{My Favorite Turkey Burgers}

I grew up eating turkey burgers. In fact, I honestly can’t remember ever having a burger cooked at home that wasn’t a turkey burger–it was just what we had. And now, it’s a habit that I can’t, and don’t want to, kick. So yesterday afternoon, we made my absolute favorite turkey burgers. What makes these turkey burgers so great? One word: cheese. The recipe was inspired by Martha Stewart Great Food Fast cookbook, and I can honestly say I’ve never had a better turkey burger. The cheese adds a ridiculous amount of flavor and moistness to the turkey meat. Though the recipe calls for gruyere (side note: I’ve been to the gruyere factory in Switzerland!), we used havarti as a cheaper substitute.

We also made a zucchini, squash, and corn salad as a side to use some of our CSA veggies. Yum!

Here’s the recipe:

Serves 4

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup havarti cheese, packed

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup yellow mustard

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

hamburger buns

For toppings (what we used, substitute as you desire):

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Ketchup

Red Onion

Spring Mix Lettuce

Avocado

Cheese

Steps:

Heat a frying pan or griddle on high. In a medium bowl, combine turkey with cheese, green onion, breadcrumbs, mustard, and garlic. Divide the mixture evenly into four 1 inch thick patties.

Heat vegetable oil or olive oil on grill. Sear patties for 1-2 minutes per side on hottest part of griddle then move to cooler side for 5-10 minutes per side, until cooked through.

Toast hamburger buns, add condiments and toppings, add turkey burger, and enjoy!

{Quinoa Burgers}

I never really noticed how many burgers/sandwiches/things contained in big hunks of bread that we make until I started this blog! What can I say, I really like my carbs–and everything tastes better in sandwich form! Quinoa Burgers have pretty much become a staple in our house, way before I decided to stop eating meat. They’re Jeff’s favorite veggie-ish burger and I love that they freeze so easily and I can eat them later for lunch.

We normally use eggs as a binder for the burgers but this time, we decided to experiment with a flax egg (1tb flax + 3tb hot water). But I think these burgers are a little more crumbly than those black bean burgers because the flax egg didn’t bind as well as I had hoped. For all those vegans out there, you might try doubling the flax egg to see if that works, but if you eat eggs, they’re probably the best option. But hey, the flax does provide added nutrients to the burgers so you might as well try it first–it can’t hurt!

Quinoa Burgers Recipe
Makes about 6 burgers (cook all before freezing leftovers)

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
3/4 can black beans
1/4 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 jalepeno, diced
1 ear fresh corn
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin (or to taste)
1-2 eggs, for binder
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon canola oil, for frying
2 whole wheat buns
1 avocado, for topping
Condiments: mayo, mustard, ketchup

Steps:

Soak quinoa in bowl of cold water for about five minutes and then drain.

Add the quinoa and water to a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until water evaporates, about 7-8 minutes.

Add quinoa, black beans, corn, red onion, garlic, jalepeno, and bread crumbs into a bowl and combine.

Add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.

Add 1 egg and mix until completely combined. Add additional egg if more binder is necessary.

Add oil to a medium frying pan. Fry each burger until lightly browned, about 3 minutes each side (be careful flipping these burgers–they can get a bit messy!)

Assemble burgers, and enjoy!

At least I balance my carbs with a good salad–that makes up for it, right?

Have a great weekend everyone!

{Stuffed Bleu Cheese Burgers}

Are you salivating yet? I sure am! Jeff even got me to eat meat again (for a night at least) with these–grassfed, free range beef–but still!

I must admit, I have always been a little scared of stuffed things…I mean isn’t there just supposed to be meat inside of meat?? But these may have changed the way I look at the world forever. Seriously. They were that good.

Please make these burgers, I’m begging you!

Stuffed Bleu Cheese Burgers Recipe

Makes 2 burgers

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

2 whole wheat buns
2/3 pound grassfed, free range ground beef
1/4 cup bleu cheese
2 Tbsp cream cheese
Condiments: tomato slices, lettuce, red onion, mayo, ketchup, mustard

Steps:

Combine bleu cheese and cream cheese in a small bowl, and set aside.

Divide meat into 2 1/3 lb portions. Divide each of these in half and roll into balls. Place balls beneath 2 pieces of parchment paper. Press balls into thin patties using a flat surface.

Spread cheese mixture in the middle of 2 half-patties.

Place remaining half-patties on top of those spread with cheese and pinch the edges to create a seamless edge.

Fry burgers for about 4 minutes on each side.

Place burgers and condiments on bun, and enjoy!

{Black Bean Burgers}

Last weekend, I pre-made these black bean burgers to have later in the week. So on Monday night, we took the 2 we had in the fridge, fried them up, and made some of the most delicious veggie burgers I’ve ever had! I froze the remaining 3  and have been eating them for lunch with  salsa all week!

Recipe*

Adapted from EatLiveRun

Makes about 5 burgers

Ingredients:

2 Sourdough Rolls (we used the rest of our  Trader Joe’s Artisan Bread Petits Pains Rustiques)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 T ground flax + 3 T water
1-2 jalapenos, depending on heat preference
2 cloves garlic
2 T tomato sauce
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen and defrosted–I used fresh)
avocado, lettuce, cheddar cheese, salsa for topping
olive oil (or canola oil)  for frying burgers

Steps:

Seed and roughly chop jalapeno. Add it and the garlic cloves to a food processor (or high speed blender) and mince finely.

Add one can of beans to the jalapeno/garlic mixture and pulse to combine. Add cumin and salt and pulse until mixture resembles chunky black bean dip.

In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax and water. Let sit for five minutes.

Transfer the mixture in the food processor to a large bowl and stir in the bread crumbs, tomato sauce, flax and corn. Stir well until everything is combined. Add remaining black beans.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Form black bean mixture into patties and fry for about 4 minutes per side, until golden and crusty brown.

Add cheddar cheese slices and melt on top of burgers.

Serve burgers with lettuce, salsa, and avocado slices!