Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "A Squash is a Squash, Of Course, Of Course..."  Participants could cook any Ottolenghi recipe using squash.  Here in New York it's springtime, so I didn't want to cook with any of the winter squashes.  I ended up choosing zucchini, since it's one of my favorite squashes.  I saw this recipe in Jerusalem but sadly had to return the cookbook to the library.  Luckily, I found an online version from Recipe Connoisseur that I adapted to suit our tastes.  The original sauce recipe called for ground sumac.  According to Wikipedia, sumac is a reddish-purple powder often used in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a lemony taste to foods.  Obviously, the local grocery store doesn't carry sumac.  There's actually a small Middle Eastern grocery store in the neighborhood but I never made it there.  I also didn't really feel like spending money on a spice that I thought I'd probably never use again.  I thought the sauce tasted fine without.  Overall, these burgers were okay.  They were nice and moist and both kids ate their entire patty.  I served them over couscous, as seen in the pic below. 

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onions and Cumin
Recipe adapted from Recipe Connoisseur, via Ottolenghi's Jerusalem

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 large zucchini, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
about 3-4 tbsp olive oil, for searing

For the Sauce:
½ cup sour cream
⅔ cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

Directions:
First, make the sour cream sauce by mixing all ingredients in small bowl and placing in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine all burger ingredients except oil. Mix with your hands and form into desired patty sizes.

Pour enough oil to cover bottom of large frying pan. Heat over medium heat until hot, then sear burgers about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Carefully transfer the seared burgers to a baking sheet and place in oven 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through.    

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Black Bean Turkey Burgers with Avocado Ranch Sauce

Every now and then, my almost seven year old daughter asks if she can help me cook dinner.  She ended up helping me make these burgers.  Almost every night I make a new recipe and I'm not always sure how it will turn out.  Once these were cooking in the pan, my mouth started watering and I knew that these were going to be great!  My prediction was confirmed when my daughter took a bite of her burger and said these were the best burgers she's had.  I only give the kids half a burger each but she asked for seconds and requested a burger to take with her for lunch the next day.  Definitely a winner of a meal!  Another plus is that this recipe makes 8 burgers, so we had plenty of leftovers for lunches for us all.  Although this burger is really flavorful in itself I thought that the sauce added another layer of deliciousness.  My picture does not do this burger justice!

Black Bean Turkey Burgers with Avocado Ranch Sauce
recipe from I Thee Cook, adapted from Paula Deen

Yield:  8 burgers


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1/2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and lightly mashed
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Avocado Ranch Sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, beans, tortilla chips, chile powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. Use your hands to form the mixture into 8 equal sized patties. Cook the patties until no longer pink in the middle, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on buns with avocado ranch sauce and some lettuce.

Avocado Ranch Sauce

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Cut avocados in half; scoop pulp into a food processor or blender.

Add 1 cup Ranch dressing and remaining ingredients to food processor. Process until avocado mixture is smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This recipe is shared at:
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Back For Seconds Social Link Party @ Back for Seconds
Time to Sparkle @ The Recipe Critic

Hummus Turkey Burgers with Feta Tzatziki Sauce

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I needed hummus for a recipe.  This is the recipe that I was talking about.  I actually made these burgers the Monday of Hurricane Sandy.  I was trying to use up some of the food in the fridge and freezer thinking that we'd lose power.  Luckily, we did not....and we had these yummy burgers to eat.  Turkey burgers can be dry and flavorless.  These burgers had a lot of flavor as is, with the hummus, coriander, and cilantro.  Then you add on the tzatziki sauce (my daughter ate hers without) and it's even more flavorful.  My son loved the sauce on burger and everyone ate theirs up. This is a meal where the sauce and the burgers can be pre-made the night before and cooked for dinner the next day.

Hummus Turkey Burgers
recipe from Edesia's Notebook

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients:
¾ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
½ cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced small
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tsp dried dill
1 lb. ground turkey
¼ cup prepared hummus, plus more for topping if desired
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
4 hamburger buns
Lettuce
Tomato

Directions:
Combine Greek yogurt or sour cream, cucumber, feta, garlic, and dill in a small bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to be used.

In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, ¼ cup hummus, cilantro, and coriander. Mix until just combined. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into patties.

Grill burgers over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Place burgers on buns and top with lettuce, tomato, prepared tzatziki sauce, and additional hummus, if desired.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Recipe Shared At:
Tasty Tuesday @ 33 Shades of Green
Totally Tasty Tuesdays @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Show Me What You Got Tuesdays @ Our Delightful Home

Tangy Meatloaf Burgers

Every other Thursday night is a little crazy in our house because my daughter has her Girl Scout meetings from 5:45-7 PM at the school.  So I have to get her fed before she goes to the meeting.  Last Thursday was even more challenging because I volunteered to be a meeting helper so I had to make sure that we had all eaten!  I ended up pre-making the burgers earlier in the day and let them sit covered in the fridge until I was ready to cook them.  Then, while I was cooking the burgers I heated up some french fries in the oven.  This meal ended up being quick, easy, and tasty.  I used the meatloaf mix for the burgers because I feel like ground turkey tends to be a little dry (or maybe that's just me overcooking it!).  These burgers were super moist!  Plus, it gave me an excuse to use up all of the duck sauce packets that we get with Chinese take-out. As you can see from this picture, I did not garnish our burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onions.  I do not like lettuce on my burger and I'm not buying lettuce just for my husband's burger!  I had saved the half of the onion to slice into rings and soak in the water, but forgot about it in the refrigerator.  Honestly though, I did not think that these needed the extra onion.  I thought they were almost too oniony and was surprised that my daughter didn't complain.  Next time I might try sauteing them first before adding them to the meat mixture.  I started each of the kids with half of a burger and was pleasantly surprised when my daughter ate her half and asked for more! My son ate half of his half but of course ate all of his french fries! I printed the original recipe, as is, but I don't have an indoor grill pan.  I ended up microwaving the burgers for a couple of minutes and then cooking them the rest of the way through in our cast iron skillet. If you pre-make the burgers the night before, these can be a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

Tangy Meatloaf Burgers
recipe from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:
1 small onion (1/2 sliced into rings, 1/2 diced)
1 pound meatloaf mix (ground pork, beef and veal) or ground turkey
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup duck sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 potato buns or other rolls, split
Lettuce, sliced tomato and pickle slices, for topping
Sweet potato chips, for serving (optional)

Directions:
Preheat a grill to medium high. Soak the onion rings in a bowl of cold water. Meanwhile, combine the meatloaf mix with the diced onion, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg, paprika, 1 tablespoon each ketchup and duck sauce, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Gently form into four 1-inch-thick patties; make an indentation in the center of each.

Brush the patties with the olive oil and grill until marked on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ketchup and duck sauce in a small bowl for brushing; set aside a few tablespoons. Turn the patties, brush with the ketchup mixture and continue grilling until cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Toast the buns, if desired.

Spread the buns with the reserved ketchup mixture. Drain the onion rings. Serve the patties on the buns; top with the onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles. Serve with sweet potato chips, if desired.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This recipe is shared at:
Foodtastic Friday
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating
Friday Favorite Finds @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen
Simple Meals Friday @ Mexican Wildflower

Blue-Cheese Burgers

I cannot believe that today is the first day of September!  We are enjoying these last few days of summer and the kids are excited to be heading to 1st grade and preschool! 

Recently, I've made and eaten some pretty tasty burgers!  I'm not a huge burger eater, but every now I'm really in the mood for a good one.  I know my daughter doesn't like blue cheese but I've seen different variations on a blue-cheese burger and decided it was about time that I made one.  All I did with this recipe was omit the blue cheese from her burger.  I posted the original recipe serving amounts, which makes 8 burgers.  I just halved it to make 4. We all really enjoyed this burger and sauce.  I was happy to get my blue cheese burger fix! 

Blue-Cheese Burgers
recipe slightly adapted from all*you, May 2012

Ingredients:

Burgers:
2 pounds ground beef
1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 ounces blue cheese
8 hamburger buns
8 slices of tomato

Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons chopped pickle
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:
1. Make burgers: In a large bowl, combine beef, shallot, salt, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Using your fingers, mix gently but thoroughly. Divide meat mixture into 16 disks. Portion cheese into 8 small disks and place in the center of 8 hamburger disks. Top with remaining hamburger disks, pressing to seal.

2. Make sauce: In a bowl, combine ketchup, dressing, pickle and hot sauce. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

3. Preheat grill to medium. Grill hamburgers for about 7 minutes (for medium-rare), turning once. Remove from heat and let rest for 2 minutes. Grill buns, cut sides down, for 30 seconds.

4.  Serve burger with desired amount of sauce on top.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Italian Meatball Sliders

This recipe got moved up on my "to make pile" sooner after I saw a reader's rave review in my most recent issue of Cooking Light.  It worked out perfectly also that I had 8 ounces of leftover pork from another recipe and 2 sausage links in the freezer!  I was able to use our own basil that was grown on our deck.  These were really easy to make and tasted soooo good!  The kids enjoyed them too, another plus.  I would definitely make these again!

Italian Meatball Sliders
recipe slightly adapted from cooking light, March 2012


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, finely diced
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces lean ground pork
2 (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
12 slider buns, toasted
12 basil leaves

Preparation:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add garlic and shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shallots are softened, stirring frequently. Combine shallot mixture, ricotta, and next 6 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; flatten each meatball slightly.

2. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add meatballs to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning once. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until meatballs are done. Top bottom half of each bun with 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce, 1 meatball, 1 basil leaf, and top half of bun.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Asian Burgers

Restaurants offer so many different and interesting types of sandwiches and wraps that I rarely order a burger when eating out.  I don't often make them at home either.  But every now and then I'm in the mood for a good burger, especially when I saw this recipe.  My family enjoys eating almost anything with Asian flavors (could it possibly be due to me being Korean??!!).  I thought that these burgers would be juicy and flavorful.  Unfortunately, I found them to be pretty dry (which could be due to me overcooking them) and lacking a bit in the flavor department.  I've made other variations of "Asian" burgers in the past that were much tastier.  I've made marinated cucumbers as a sid dish before but serving them on the burger was different.  The kids at their cucumbers on the side and dipped them in salad dressing.  I served these with french fries and the kids ate all of their dinner but I wasn't really impressed with these burgers.

Asian Burgers
recipe slightly adapted from parents.com

Yield:  6 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef

2 scallions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
English muffins, split and toasted
1/2 medium seedles cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
Rice vinegar

Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix together the beef, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Shape mixture into six 1/2-inch thick patties.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties about 5 minutes per side or until done (160 degree F).

3. In a small bowl, toss cucumber with a bit of rice vinegar.

Serve burgers on English muffins topped with sliced cucumber.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Burgers with Mango Salsa

I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to make these burgers.  The major fact being that I don't like beans!  The last dish I think I made with beans were bean burritos.  My son, the picky eater of the family ended up loving them!  In an effort to not pass on my eating dislikes to the kids, I try to make an effort to expose them to all kinds of foods....even ones that I don't like.  Since we try to eat meatless once a week I decided to make these burgers.  They were pretty easy to make and while they were cooking in the oven I was able to make the salsa.  The salsa really helped me enjoy these burgers because if I had to eat them plain, I wouldn't be fan.  The salsa was so tasty I could probably eat the whole bowl of just that! The kids, not fans of avocado, picked all of it out of the salsa (more for me!).  But they each ate the half of a burger I gave them.  This recipe made ended up making 8 burgers for me.  I could have made them a little larger, as seen in the picture below, but was happy with the size.  Since I wasn't a big fan of these, we ended up freezing three of the burgers for my husband to eat in a few weeks when me and the kids go up to my parent's beach house in Rhode Island and he stays home. 

Black Bean Burgers with Mango Salsa
slightly adapted from Cooking Light, April 2010

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups chopped peeled mango (about 1 medium)
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
6 hamburger buns

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Place black beans in a medium bowl; mash with a fork. Stir in 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro and the next 6 ingredients (through egg whites). Shape bean mixture into 6 (1/2-inch-thick) patties. Arrange patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, carefully turning once.

3. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro, mango, and the next 4 ingredients (through minced garlic) in a medium bowl. Place a patty on bottom half of each hamburger bun; top each with 1/3 cup salsa, and top half of bun.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Recipe Repeat: Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers

I made these burgers for dinner Wednesday night, before we headed down to Maryland.  I've made them once before and they were a big hit.  They were easy to make and very flavorful.  Beware that these are not the neatest things to eat.  They are pretty big with all the "stuff" on them, which ends up falling out.  The kids couldn't get the whole sandwich in their mouths!  I eventually ended up eating this with a fork and knife! 

Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers
Recipe adapted from EveryDay With Rachael Ray, September 2008

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 apple, such as granny smith, cut into 12 slices
8 slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup whole-berry cranberry
4 english muffins, split and toasted

Directions:
1.In a bowl, combine the turkey and poultry seasoning. Form into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the center of each to prevent it from bulging.

2.In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 6 minutes on each side for medium. Top each with 3 apple slices and 2 cheese slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes.

3.Place the cooked patties on top of the english muffin bottoms.  Top with the sliced cranberry sauce and cover with the top muffin.


Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up!  (My son ate all the "stuff" but didn't eat much of the burger)