Asian Turkey Burgers with Cucumber Relish

 You will love this spin on traditional turkey burgers.  This recipe mixes a regular old turkey burger with all the bold Asian flavors that your taste buds love!  The creamy aioli and crisp cucumber salad are a perfect compliment as well!  Happy Thursday!

 Asian Turkey Burgers with Cucumber Relish

Ingredients

1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey

1 Tbs. Chili Garlic Sauce

2 Tbs. Hoisen Sauce

2 Scallions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs. Cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped

1/4 cup Carrots, minced

Salt and Pepper

4 Hamburger Buns

Chili-Garlic Aioli

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 tsp. Chili Garlic Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cucumber Salad "Relish"

1 large Japanese Cucumber, thinly sliced

1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1/4 cup Sugar

sesame seeds

Directions

Combine cucumber, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl to marinate.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.  Put in refrigerator.

Preheat grill.  In a large bowl mix ground turkey, chili garlic sauce, hoisen sauce, scallions, garlic, cilantro, onion and carrots just till combined.  Form into 4 even patties.  Grill patties for 4 minutes per side or until fully cooked.

Meanwhile, combine yogurt , chili garlic sauce, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Put aside until burgers are done.  

Assemble a patty on top of each bun, some of the aioli and then some cucumber salad.  Enjoy!

Summer Slaw

When browsing Bon Appetit the other day I found this recipe for Cabbage and Corn Slaw with a Cilantro and Orange dressing.  I have been thinking about making Turkey Burgers lately for dinner and it made the perfect compliment.  I just get so bored of the same old salads and there is nothing better than a nice refreshing 

side dish to mix up an otherwise ordinary dinner.  

Ground Turkey is an easy, inexpensive, versatile protein to buy and I always find myself recreating last night's dinner into something else the next day for lunch.  It cooks quickly and is low in both calories and fat.  Perfect for weeknights and quick cooking.  This week, I had actually bought it to throw into a quick pasta that I had been dreaming up in my head with roasted garlic and Parmesan cheese, but then when I saw this slaw recipe I changed my mind.  Note: If you are wondering why my turkey burgers in the background look like a hot dog shape, it is because they were.  I only had hot dog buns in the freezer so I just went with it! 

Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro and Orange Dressing

Courtesy of Bon Appetit

Ingredients

-1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

-1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

-1/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (I used about half the amount to cut the fat and calories)

-2 (8 oz) bags of coleslaw mix

 -4 ears of fresh corn, shucked, kernels cut from cob 

(I roasted mine on the BBQ for a few minutes to cut the raw taste)

-2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

-1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, cored and cut into thin strips

-6 green onions, thinly sliced

-1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Whisk orange juice concentrate, rice vinegar, and oil in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Dressing can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  

Combine slaw mix, corn, carrots, bell pepper, green onion and cilantro in a large bowl.  Toss with enough dressing to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Let stand 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Toss again and serve. 

Multitalented

Maybe its just me, but Gwyneth Paltrow seems to be all over the place recently!  Actress, Singer...Chef? I got my new issue of Bon Appetit the other day and sure enough she was on the cover.  The article profiled her in her London apartment cooking up recipes that the culinary team at Bon Appetit helped her create.  Pretty interesting.  Of course she looked effortlessly beautiful dicing onions and cutting up chicken.  If only my real life looked so nice!

I was especially intrigued by her Chicken with Peach BBQ Sauce; both by the concept and the vision of her making this in London which screams everything but "BBQ".  The sauce in the picture was this gorgeous orange and I had to try it out for myself.  

I am a big fan of BBQ sauce and this looked really different and perfect for summer!

Chicken with Peach BBQ Sauce

Courtesy of Bon Appetit and Gwyneth Paltrow

Ingredients

1 cup diced fresh peaches, about 2 peaches

1/2 cup Ketchup

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons Adobo Sauce (from Chipotle Chilis in Adobo Sauce)

Salt and Pepper

4 Chicken Breasts

Directions

In a small saucepan combine peaches, ketchup, garlic and adobo sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes or until peaches are tender.  

Transfer carefully to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  

Use about half the sauce to pour over the chicken breasts and marinate for at least 20 minutes (and up to 12 hours).  Meanwhile, heat grill to a medium high heat.  Grill chicken for 4-5 minutes per side.  Brush each side with BBQ sauce and grill for another 1 minute per side, or until done.  Serve with extra sauce.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with this sauce.  It was tasty and had a great flavor, different than normal BBQ sauce, but familiar enough that I wasn't missing anything.  I loved that it required so few ingredients and a reasonable cooking time for the development of flavors.  I paired it with some baked sweet potato fries and grilled asparagus.  

Happy Grilling!

One Grill Wonder

The other day I was searching around the Internet and found this hidden pocket of healthy recipes on the food network that all look great and seem like something different to throw into my repertoire. I particularly couldn't wait to try this one for Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce because it was kinda like a "One Pot Wonder" only on the grill. The dry aged beef at Bristol Farms has also been calling my name for a while and thought this would be the perfect thing to test it out on because the flavors are so simple and classic.

This is the perfect Spring/Summer dinner and a perfect excuse to dust off your grill and enjoy the sunshine! I also grilled some baguettes rubbed with garlic and parsley. Enjoy!

Call the Fire Department!

I saw this recipe and thought it looked really interesting and had to try it! I have never made Flat Iron Steaks before, but I am up for trying anything once. It was very easy to make and really flavorful despite the tiny prep time.

Unfortunately, I was tired/wasn't reading properly/made a mistake and accidentally used Cayenne Pepper instead of Chili Powder. I swear it was like that show Man v. Food! SO SPICY. Now, Brian and I both love spicy food, but this was ridic. Thank god for the beautiful, and very refreshing Tomato Sauce that cooled the whole thing down.

This recipe for Chili-Espresso Rubbed Steaks with Warm Tomato Sauce was outstanding! I will definitely make this again...but the correct way!

I paired it with some Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Baby Artichokes. They made a nice mild side dish to go with the robust meat. Unlike the meat, they took more time to prepare, but the rub does need to sit on the meat for 30 minutes so I did all the prep work while the meat was resting. The time worked out perfectly and everything was done at the right time.

Spice Rub

Excellent Warm Tomato Sauce

Finished meal! Even though I made a big mistake and made it super spicy, it was still really good and I can't wait to make it again.

Make Shift Meal Monday

Monday nights are always rushed for us because we leave for the desert the next morning. Last night was especially hectic because I had some errands to tie up after work before I came home to cook dinner. After running to Home Goods and Target, the last place I wanted to go was the grocery store. I usually do all my grocery shopping on Sundays for the week, but on our Palm Desert weeks...I try to use every last thing in the refrigerator so as not to waste.

I came home and decided to throw together something from what we had in the kitchen. This is one of my favorite ways to cook and the dinner usually ends up being unexpectedly good! My sister can attest that when I was young I would go into the kitchen and pick out the most random ingredients and try to make something from them. I was a cooking chemist!

I vaguely remembered this recipe I saw a while ago with orzo, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, spinach and red onion, but I never printed it out. I had all the ingredients I could remember and just kind of made my own rendition from memory. It was fabulous. We couldn't stop eating it. The only changes I made to the Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Feta was I used more red onion, only about 1/3 of the oil from the artichokes and fat free feta. I have a hard time pouring all that oil over such a healthy salad! It was extremely tasty with the amount I put on and less calories!

I had some beautiful chicken breasts and just seasoned them with salt, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper, oregano, basil and some tarragon. Just sprinkled away...lots of flavor and after Brian (the new professional BBQ man) grilled it; it was juicy and perfect!

I also made some vegetable packets for him to throw on the grill with some "I can Believe its Not Butter" spray and pepper. I sadly ran out of olive oil the day before so I had to use the less healthy (but secretly good tasting) butter spray. My BFF Bridget and I both use this stuff and enjoy the taste and lack of calories, but I limit it's uses to corn, toast and I guess when I run out of olive oil! I don't normally like chemical experiments in my food!

Chopped Ingredients waiting for the orzo to be ready!

Mmm...Orzo was so colorful and delish!

Grilled Vegetables...easy and tasty!

Spiced Grilled Chicken was perfectly cooked and juicy

For some reason, this week Brian has been obsessed with making guacamole and buying TONS of potato chips! Our pantry has bags and bags of chips...it is so funny! Look at him so intense eating that! Can you believe he ate that whole bowl of dip?? That takes "healthy fat" to a whole knew level...