Gorgonzola Turkey Burgers! July 16, 2009

Yep…we’re on a roll with ground turkey   And even more cheese!

Here’s another delicious and nutritious turkey burger recipe that includes one of my favorite foods: Gorgonzola cheese.  YUMMM!!!!  I may love cheese but I think Gorgonzola is my favorite, such pungent flavor, it’s delicioso!!!!  So when I found this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try.  The original recipe called for making mini-patties but I made regular sized patties instead.

Gorgonzola Turkey Burgers:
Adapted from: Here

Ingredients

• 1/2  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4  pounds  ground turkey breast
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• Cooking spray
• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons  minced sweet gherkin pickle (about 2 small)  We skipped this
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 12  (1-ounce) dinner rolls We used regular burger buns
• 6  curly leaf lettuce leaves, torn in half
• I added an egg white to help keep the patties together (had a bad experience last time, haha)

 

Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add cheese, stirring with a fork just until combined. *I added the egg in here Divide turkey mixture into 12 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/4-inch-thick patty. 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 4 patties; cook patties until they’re no longer pink & fully cooked (doesn’t take long at all).

Combine mayonnaise, pickle, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Cut rolls in half horizontally. Spread about 1 teaspoon mayonnaise mixture on bottom half of each roll; top each with 1 turkey patty and 1 piece lettuce. Cover with tops of rolls. Serve immediately.

I also whipped up a small batch of lemon yogurt sauce.  2 tablespoons of non-fat plain yogurt, about 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice and a little pepper.  I used this as my “mayo” and also topped my burger with a slice of avocado. YUM!

We paired this with some oven baked french fries and it was one delicious meal!!!  It’s in our rotation and I do plan on making them again.

My score?  Probably a 4!

Gobble Gobble, Turkey Tacos July 9, 2009

So the Hubs and I decided to have our own little Mexican Fiesta at home last night. ARRIBBAA!!!
We’ve been on a bit of a healthy kick lately – I’ve been cooking a lot with ground turkey vs. ground beef.

Let me tell you now, Hubs said this was one of his all-time favorite meals. YAY! He’s a huge Mexican food fan- and finding a healthier way to enjoy it is great.  (Not to mention this whole meal was very easy to make!)

Our dinner consisted of:

1. Ground Turkey Tacos
2. Chipotle Inspired Cilantro-Lime Rice
3. Refried Beans (from a can- sue me!)

 

 

First I started on the rice which I got from this great website:  Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (Changed I made are in RED)

• 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice I made 2 cups
• 1/2 lime, juice of
• 2 cups water I used enough water to cover the rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 4 tsp vegetable oil I didn’t use this much

In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

I made my rice in my handy-dandy rice cooker.  So easy, just set it and forget it! (Guess where thats from!)

In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

Once the rice was set (I left it on the WARM setting) I started working on the turkey.

For the turkey:
I used a BUNCH of stuff to season up the turkey meat- I’ve heard from some people that if you don’t season it enough it can be rather plain-tasting. I’m glad I decided to go a little overboard because the turkey tasted delicious!!! I could have seriously ate the entire thing with a spoon (even Tyson- our little furbaby- enjoyed the turkey!).

First I heated up a skillet, at medium-high heat- then I dumped in the ground turkey.
I added:

• 1 package of taco-seasoning mix (from Old El Paso)
• 1 tbsp of tomato sauce*
• 1 tbsp sofrito (a MUST in the Latin culture!!)*
• 1 tsp of Sazon (another staple in Latin cuisine)*

*these are really guesstimates.  I like to eye-ball things and rarely measure stuff before adding it in.

I let the turkey brown and mixed it occassionally making sure it didn’t stick or burn.  I let the meat marinate in all the juices and turned the heat down, a little below medium.

I didn’t take note of how long I let the meat cook but I waited until most of the juices from the sauce/sofrito was absored.

After the turkey was done, I heated up some soft taco shells (Old El Paso brand) and served up the meal.

I decided a Mexican meal isn’t complete with a Margarita- so I made one up in the blender real quick.
3 parts Strawberry Margarita Mix to 1 Part Tequila plus a splash of lime juice, blended with 2 cups of ice.

Yum!!  Overall, it was a VERY successful dinner.
If I had to rate this I’d probably give it a 4 out of 5 stars.