Turkey Burgers

It's burger and grill season, and I'm happy to share a new turkey burger recipe I read about over at Mom on a Mission.  We had these over the weekend, and they met the approval of the eaters around my table.  In fact, we liked them so well, I put together a batch for our freezer this afternoon.

Ground turkey has been much more reasonably priced recently than ground beef.  Last week, I found lean ground turkey on sale at Marc's for $1.99/lb.  I picked up 3 lbs and made a batch of meatballs in addition to 2 batches of these turkey burgers.  My freezer is well stocked for busy summer days ahead.  The burgers came together in just about 10 minutes of prep time and 15-20 minutes of grill time.  We enjoyed them for lunch on Saturday and topped them with our favorite burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and mayo).  One pound of turkey yielded 6 bigger patties and 2 smaller patties, just perfect for our family of 5 with a couple leftover for lunches.

This turkey burger recipe contains shredded zucchini and cheese mixed in with the ground turkey, kind of like the gourmet stuffed burger patties you find in the butcher shop of the grocery store.  I wasn't sure how the the addition of the zucchini would affect the taste or texture of the burger.  I'm happy to share that the zucchini made the burgers very moist and juicy, and the kids didn't seem to notice too many green specks in them.  I put the burgers on the buns before I served them, so they didn't have too much time for close inspection.  That might have helped.  My middle one did notice the addition of the basil flavoring saying "it tasted a lot like that new pizza crust", so if your kids don't like basil, maybe leave that out or substitute parsley.  The bread crumbs kind of held it all together, but it did give the patty a bit of a meatloaf/meatball texture.  For the cost, ease, and taste, however, this is a recipe that will be making a repeat performance in our meal schedule.

Here's the recipe:

Turkey Burgers
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and shredded (about 1 cup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp bread crumbs

Pick up ground turkey on sale for 1.99/lb or less

1.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with a fork (or your hands) until well combined.
2.  Divide meat mixture into large balls, compressing mixture slightly as you form the ball.
3.  Flatten each meat ball into a patty, about the width of your palm, making a slight indentation in the center (this keeps the patty from shrinking and swelling during grilling)

Make an assembly line on your kitchen cabinet and get ready
to stock your freezer with a meal for the grill

4.  Grill for 8-10 minutes per side until cooked through.

or

4.  Freeze individual patties between sheets of wax paper and place in ziploc bag.
5.  Thaw completely in frig overnight.
6.  Grill for 8-10 minutes per side until cooked through.

Serve turkey burgers on buns with your favorite toppings.




Grilled turkey burgers
(this one did not get the pretty grill marks on it;
must have been why it was last picked on the plate!)

What's your favorite way to top a grilled burger?



Italian Sliders

I love to try out new recipes!  In our weekly menu plan, I usually try out some new recipe on Saturday because that is the one day of the week where we are usually not heading out the door or in the door right around the dinner hour.  I can have time to figure out how to adapt a recipe to fit our tastes/needs without worrying so much about a time table.  This week, we had a busy Saturday morning, but the girls each enjoyed a playdate at our house in the afternoon leaving me some time to tinker with a new recipe.

I first read about these Italian hamburgers on She Cooks this summer.  As I read the description, I was intrigued and I have been waiting to try these out.  I found some slider buns on sale at Kroger last week and also had a pound of ground round in the freezer, so I thought I would try to make a slider version of her big burgers.  It seems that sliders (mini burgers) are all the rage at restaurants these days.  My girls love to order them at Texas Roadhouse.  They are the perfect size for little hands, and the bigger eaters can eat two (or three if they are really yummy!)

Let's just say that these Italian sliders were devoured by my hungry crew amidst licking lips and fingers.  The patties were moist and juicy, and the marinara sauce topping was the perfect accompaniment.  I did not have fresh basil, so I used some flat leaf spinach, but these will be divine in the summer when my basil plant is in full bloom!  They tasted a bit like a flattened meatball, but the garlic toasted slider buns made these burgers worthy of being served at a restaurant.  They would go great with the garlic parmesan fries, but we ended up just having salad and chips and a peach cobbler for dessert.  All the eaters agreed, "This is a keeper, Mommy!  When can we have them again?!"

Here's the recipe:

Italian Sliders
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1 pound of ground round (I had 1.17 lb package)

Additional ingredients, not pictured

slider buns (just mini hamburger buns; Kroger sells them as a store brand item)
olive oil
garlic salt
1/4 lb mozzarella/provolone cheese
1 cup marinara sauce
basil or spinach leaves



1.  In a large bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic, parsley, basil, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
2.  Add the egg and milk and mix well.
3.  Crumble the ground meat over the egg/milk/spice mixture and mix with your hands until it's all combined.
4.  Form meat into 10-12 patties and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
5.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 until patties are cooked through.

6.  On a separate baking sheet, open the slider buns and brush the insides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.

7.  Warm about 1 cup of marinara sauce in the microwave.

8.  When the burgers are cooked, pull them out of the oven and top with some cheese.  (I used shredded because that is what I had; I think sliced might work a bit better but I was able to get a combination of the mozzarella and provolone using shredded which was great!)

9.  Return the burgers to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

10.  Lightly toast the buns in the oven.  (You can put them on the top rack while you melt the cheese on the burgers.)

11.  Place the cheese topped burgers on the toasted bun and add a spoonful of marinara sauce and a few pieces of spinach or basil.

Serve with your favorite mixed greens and a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar (or Italian salad dressing) and chips or fries.  This meal could easily be served at any bar/grill type restaurant for a fraction of the cost. (minus the greasy fingerprint on top of the bun; I was trying to get the dinner on the table for a hungry crew after their afternoon playdates.  Once again, just reminding you that this blog is about real people eating real food in real time!)

Italian Sliders
Served up with a side salad and some chips, this could be served at your local bar/grill

What's your favorite restaurant style recipe that you've learned to fix at home for a fraction of the cost?