Not So Plain Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are another great alternative to burger night.  The meat is leaner, less fatty, and by many, considered much healthier than the red meat version.  But oftentimes, the leaner cuts lack flavor and depth, because the fat's missing and the meat becomes dry.

Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast  cookbook posts a simple, yet effective, counter to ensuring that your turkey burger doesn't dry out or lack flavor. If you can throw the ingredients in a bowl and then form a few patties, you are ready for a great meal.  

Equipment:

Large Non-stick skillet (use a grill skillet if you have one)

Functional stove or grill

Mixing bowl

Knife, for chopping 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey meat (I prefer ground turkey breast)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese 

1 Tbls Dijon mustard

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 tsp of salt

Fresh ground pepper

2 tsp butter / olive oil

Condiments:

Cheese

Red or White onion (raw or grilled)

Pickles

Mayo

Ketchup

Heinz 57 Sauce

Mustard

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Hamburger buns

Instructions:

1. Wash Your Hands 

2. Combine ground turkey with the bread crumbs, cheese, scallions, Dijon and garlic.  Mix well.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. Divide the mixture evenly and form equal-sized patties.

5. Heat 2 tsp of butter with 1 tsp olive oil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.

6. Sear one side of patty (without looking) for 4-5 minutes over MEDIUM heat before turning it over.

7. Sear the other side for another 5-6 minutes until cooked thru.

8. Toast your buns and start adding the condiments to your taste.

Enjoy the burger plain with a side of Proscuitto-Wrapped Asparagus (see previous May 2013 blog) or with all the fix in's (see partial photo from original recipe photo)!

Basic Egg Salad With Or Without The Yolk

As we revisit some of the basic cooking skills from earlier this year, I thought adding a few lunch items to the blog could be of value.  Eggs are simply an awesome food group with so many degrees of variation and use, and as stated previously, they are cheap.

Having hard-boiled eggs in the fridge are great for snacking, taking to class, adding protein to your diet, and for making egg salad sandwiches.  And you can do this several different ways.  I am going to touch upon the 'Classic Egg Salad Sandwich', but I have also listed a variation for those of you who hate egg yolks or who prefer a smoother texture:  'Simple Egg White Salad Sandwich'.

Note: 
If you are going to take the time to hard-boil eggs, go ahead and make a few extra.  These will last in the fridge for a few extra days long after the egg salad has vanished.

Equipment:
Large 5-qt sauce pan

Ingredients:
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/3 cup of mayo (use Miracle Whip if you like a sweeter version)
1-2 Tbls of celery, finely diced (some recipes use 1 Tbls of sweet relish or pickles)
1-2 Tbls of shallot or onion, finely diced
Pinch of salt
Fresh pepper
Spritz of lemon

For a lighter version without yolks:
6 hard-boiled egg whites
1/3 cup of mayo
1-2 Tbls of red onion
Pinch of salt and pepper
Pinch of dried dill (optional)
Pinch of dry mustard (optional)

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Lay eggs into the sauce pan in a single layer and cover with 1-2 inches of water.

3. Bring water and eggs to a boil.  Reduce heat to LOW and cover for 30 seconds.

4. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. Transfer eggs to an ice bath for 5 minutes.

6. Easily peel eggs and chop into a bowl.  (Remove yolks prior to chopping if using the second version)

7. Add finely diced celery or pickles or relish (if using), onion, and mayo.

8. Add your spices and lemon.  Fold mixture together gently.
9. Heap a sturdy amount onto sourdough, wheat, toast, or rye.
10.  Add any condiments, i.e. lettuce or tomato, and enjoy.

Classic Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg-white Egg Salad Sandwich

Sometimes I skip all the extras and just enjoy a pure egg salad sandwich without the onion, celery or additional flavors--just as good--especially if you haven't been to the grocery store in a while and your pantry is devoid of everything else.

The Original Green Machine

Continuing on my quest to suggest easy meals that lower your grocery bill without making you eat junk food, I thought it imperative to teach you a basic recipe for pesto--The Original Green Machine--in my opinion.  There's alot of hype about kale, green juice, green monster detox, and "green everything", but none of them go on spaghetti quite like Pesto, the original green pasta sauce.

A friend gave me this recipe years ago--the nice thing is that if you don't have enough basil, add more nuts and parmesan or parsley. (On occasion I have even bulked it up with fresh spinach. Kale would be an option as well).  If you like less spice, remove a garlic clove--you decide what makes your taste buds happy.  The best part is that making pesto home-made is cheap and will give you 2-3 times the amount that a store-bought jar will cost you.

If you have leftovers, store it in a jar and put it on the sandwich you are taking to class or the library!

Equipment:
Magic Bullet-type blender

Ingredients:
2 cups basil, packed
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts (walnuts cheaper)
1-2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 lemon juice, plus to taste
1/3-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil--this is gradually added until smooth consistently.
1/2 tsp Salt & Pepper, plus extra to taste

Instructions:
1. Wash you parsley and basil.

2. Peel garlic cloves and coarsely chop nuts.

3. Grate parmesan.
4. Add all of the ingredients except for half of the olive oil.

5. Pack everything into the blender and begin pulsing.  It may require a few stops and shaking to get everything combined.  But persist.

6. Adjust flavors as you see fit:  more cheese, more basil, more salt, more lemon, or more oil.
You should have a beautiful, silky, bright green concoction waiting for your hot pasta.  No need to heat this!

7. Get your bread or pasta ready, because you are about to have one fantastic vegetarian meal!

Fiery Black Bean Burritos

In light of my recent post on reducing food costs, I thought it might be useful to provide concrete steps in doing so.  Aside from learning a few cooking skills to avoid the costs of pre-packaged, processed foods, another sure-fire way to reduce your grocery bill is to eliminate meat one or two days a week--or go completely vegetarian to really cut costs!

Fiery Black Bean burritos are simple and rich in flavor and complexity without a whole lot of thinking or doing!  Additionally, it provides huge amounts of protein, low fat and sugar content, and has a lot of fiber.  You can certainly buy the beans raw and save even further, but using canned black beans is definitely a feasible alternative, and a huge time-saver.  Cost:  $1-1.89 / can.

Equipment:
3-quart sauce pan
Knife, for chopping
Measuring spoons
Stove top with functioning burners

Ingredients:
2 cans (15oz) black beans
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeños, diced and seeded unless you like a lot of heat
1 Tbls red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 - 1 lime, juiced
1 tsp of honey
1-2 tsp of hot sauce, depending on how hot you want it

Fixin's:
Flour, corn or wheat tortillas
Cheddar cheese or Cojita cheese
Tomatoes
SourCream
Avocado
Salsa
Corn
Green Onions
Sauteed bell peppers and onions, ie like Chipotle's fajita mix

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Empty the beans into your saucepan and set heat to "LOW-MED".

3. Prep, chop, dice, and mince all of your other ingredients.

4. Add to the beans:
---garlic
---jalapeños
---salt
---pepper

5. Add red wine vinegar and lime juice, starting with 1/2 of lime.

6. Add your honey

7. Add the hot sauce.

8. Stir and combine all ingredients and let simmer on LOW, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

9. Prepare all the fixin's and set the table!

10. Begin your assembly line--you'll forget all about the meat!

11.  Wrap it up and take a bite...hmmmm! Satisfying!