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!

Greek Turkey Burgers

Been lovin' my grill lately!  The cleanup is so much easier and I really notice the difference in the temperature in the house.  My sister and mom are constantly making turkey burgers and I was kinda craving one.  The worst thing about typical turkey burgers is they are so dry and tasteless.  I still had some leftover artichokes and olives and decided to make some Greek Turkey Burgers.  The artichokes kept the burgers so moist and the fresh herbs from my patio garden amped up the flavor!

Greek Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb. Ground Turkey

1 egg

4-5 canned artichoke hearts, chopped 

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

1/2 cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used a combo of Thyme, Dill, Parsley, and Basil)

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Take the ground turkey out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before you are going to make your patties.  Preheat your grill to a medium heat.  Then combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with your hands until all ingredients are just combined.  Divide the mixture into 5 equal parts and press gently into patties.  They should be about an inch think on the outside and a little thinner in the middle.  Put burgers on the grill for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.  Serve with Buns and topped with hummus and tzatziki.

Enjoy!  Stay tuned for the greek salad recipe.  I was still impressed with these guys the next day for lunch as well!  Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Turkey Lettuce Cups

In a constant quest to eat healthy and low calorie, I am always trying to find dinner ideas that are tasty.  The weather also has such a profound affect on what seems appetizing to me.  When it is hot, I do not want anything heavy, but at the same time I might be starving.  When it is cold I want something warm and comforting, but not overly caloric.  Summer in the desert is especially hard, when it is so hot you can't imagine eating anything remotely hot or heavy.  

When I came across this recipe for Lettuce cups, it seemed like the perfect answer to dinner at the end of a 98 degree day.  I used ground turkey instead of chicken breasts because it cooks quicker and is lower in calories.  Less time in front of a hot stove is key in this weather.  The cool, crunch of the lettuce provided the perfect compliment to the warm, sweet and sour turkey mixture.  I left feeling satisfied and not stuffed.  Brian on the other hand ate a 4 person serving size so I can't say the same for him.  He still managed to knock back 3 low calorie ice cream bars.... 

Turkey Lettuce Cups

Adapted from Guy Fieri, removed some ingredients to adjust calorie and fat content

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

2 carrot, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cup snap peas, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1 package ground turkey, lowest fat possible

6 ounces Apricot Sambal Szechwan Sauce, recipe follows

Iceberg Lettuce Leaves

2 tablespoons scallions, sliced

Directions

In a medium saute pan over high heat, add oil.  Add vegetables and turkey, saute till turkey is almost done.  Deglaze with sabal sauce for 30 seconds.

Scoop turkey mixture into lettuce leaves and garnish with sesame seeds.

Apricot Sesame Sambal Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced ginger

3 tablespoons sambal hot sauce 

3 tablespoons apricot preserves

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon minced cilantro

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix well.

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Biggest Loser Night

In honor of the Biggest Loser, one of my favs, I thought it only appropriate that I make my favorite recipe courtesy of my favorite contestant I have seen on The Biggest Loser.

Wow! That is a lot of favorites...

The Biggest Loser is inspiring. It is motivating. It is heart-felt. It is about real people trying to change their lives. Most of all, whenever I feel like sleeping in instead of going to the gym, I think to myself if those people are working out, so can I. Say what you want about Biggest Loser, but if you would rather pollute your brain with the likes of people named Snooki or

The Situation, then let's just agree to disagree!

Back to Tara, my fav contestant. She was on a couple seasons ago and kicked everyone's butts in every competition. I am fiercely competitive and thought she had so much drive and heart behind her weight loss. It was great to watch! I am still bitter she didn't win, but I still love her and she made this recipe for Turkey Mini-Meat loafs. They are tasty, flavorful and low-calorie. You can make them, eat them, freeze them, make sandwiches out of them, chop them up to put in omelets. They are just a great all around basic to make!

On top of it, they are cute!

Disclaimer: I hate meatloaf. I have never tasted a meatloaf I have liked besides this...

so try it. You will not be sorry.

Tara's Turkey Mini Meat loafs

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1 stalk of celery, coarsely chopped

2 canned chiptotle peppers in adobo sauce

1, 20 oz, package lean ground turkey breast

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2 egg whites

Topping:

1/4 cup fat free & sugar free ketchup

1 Tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar Substitute

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine onion, carrots, and celery. Pulse until finely chopped. Add chipotle peppers and pulse until just combined. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with the pepper and vegetable mixture. Add egg whites and oats; gently mix until combined. Place about 1/3 cup of the prepared mixture into wells of a standard size muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Remove meat loaves from the oven and spoon the topping over each one. Return meat loaf to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until meat loaf is firm and the internal temperature registers at 170 degrees. Let meat loaf stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 9-12 mini meat loafs. Calories per serving 110. Protein 16 grams. Fat 1 gram.

I used my Cuisinart Mini Prep Food Processor to chop the Mirepoix. It is one of the best kitchen tools I have. A lot of people have emailed to ask me how I manage to use my food processor, clean it, and not complain about it....I don't use my big one. I would much rather use this little guy! It is the best investment!

This is what the Turkey mixture should look like when you are done mixing

Aren't they cute!? Did you watch Biggest Loser this week?

Makes me want to go to New Zealand immediately...