19

Jun

Garlic Turkey Sliders

Friends. Sliders. Dinner.

I’m on a slider kick as I try to incorporate–little by little–protein via meat back into my diet. My stomach is just weird about meat, so I’m taking it slowly. In small doses…like in sliders. And it’s working. But why keep the slider recipes to myself? It’s time to share.

Sliders are these little nuggets that are on so many menus at our neighborhood bars and grills lately. They are delicious, sometimes gourmet, burgers without the commitment of a honkin’ Texas-sized monstrosity. Isn’t that good? Isn’t that great? And these little burgers are great as appetizers, for kids, or for cookouts (on the grill or inside on the grill pan!). Note: I made these one night (using 1.5 pounds of turkey), and Matt and I reheated these for lunch or dinner for 4 more days! AKA They make great leftovers. YESSS. On to the food…

Garlic Turkey Sliders
Enough garlic to taste it, but not enough to lose friends over. These sliders are made with lean turkey (but you can sub ground beef, lamb, buffalo, chicken, soy crumbles even). Just be sure to adjust your binder–less or more eggs or breadcrumbs. Serve on the ‘bun’ of your choice (see below for ideas) and watch them disappear.

Makes 12 sliders = 4-6 servings

4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1 pound of ground turkey (90/10)
1 large egg
2 green onions, chopped (1/4 cup-ish)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

Chop the garlic and onions. Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, spray with nonstick cooking spray and add the garlic and white onions. Let cook for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through.

After cooked, add to a medium bowl, along with the turkey, egg, green onions, rosemary, salt and pepper, red pepper (optional), and breadcrumbs. Use a spoon or get tough and use your hand to stir around with your hand until all ingredients are combined.

Form the patties in your hand (about the size of an egg, 1–2 ounces of meat) and pack into a patty shape. Place them on the hot grillpan and let cook 5 minutes on each side. (I cut into the first one that is “ready” to make sure it is cooked through…no pink!)

Serve hot on a ‘bun’ and top with your favorite condiments. Yum!

Sliders ‘Buns’
This can be a tricky question because slider patties are much too small for regular hamburger buns…here are some easy ideas:

  • Baguette sliced and toasted (see pic above)
  • Whole wheat bread sliced into quarters (2 slider buns/slice)
  • Store-bought slider buns (in the deli or bread aisle)
  • Hawaiian rolls
  • Small dinner rolls

And for a little fun…check out the hail we were surprised with in Dallas last week!
Ours was only grape-sized, but some got baseball-sized hail. Crazy summer weather…

We went to the Rangers-Astros game yesterday. It was SO STRANGE to hear people cheering when an Astros player struck out. We were totally outnumbered. I do love the ‘Stros…maybe next time on winning, too. It was fun either way.

Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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27

Oct

How about a turkey burger, shall we?

The following is to be whispered in Texas…I’ve never been big on beef burgers. I appreciate the American cultural significance…drive-ins and roller skates and all that. I also love the varieties of meats (and non-meats) used, as well as the creativity in ingredients, pairings, the such (see HOPDODDY on the Restaurants page). The idea of burgers are kind of amazing. I like eating anything on a deliciously hot and fresh homemade bread/bun. However, my body’s not so big on the beef. (Okay, I’ll admit it, I can’t do beef anymore…ever.) But, before you go and feel sorry for me by eating a 2 lb. Cow-on-a-bun in my honor, please don’t. Save your limited artery-clogging space for chocolate macaroons (I’ll post them later) or a variety of pumpkin-infused sweets (which I’ll also reveal someday…promise), something sweet and delectable…not a mooing entree!

So let’s make a turkey burger. Simple, easy, tasty.

Quickie Turkey Burgs (Trivia: Burg is German for “castle”)
serves 4 grown-ups (1 burger will be bigger than the others…for the sweaty griller)

1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB dried basil
1 t. chili powder
Dash of salt
Dash of thyme
4-6 crackers, crushed
1 TB mayo (optional)
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (optional)

Carefully mix all ingredients together in a bowl, using a spoon or your hands. Form 4-5 patties and put on a plate. Let flavors come together by chilling raw burgs in fridge for 1 hr. Grill and eat.

Potent Notables: Turkey burgers tend to fall apart on the grill. That’s why I’ve added a few club crackers (crushed) and some mayo (egg whites keep the meat together, just like in baking). You can use breadcrumbs, most any absorbent bread/crackers crushed, or an actual egg white if you’d rather.

Happy eating! Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

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07

Aug

Guilt-free Green Lasagna

Okay, normally green lasagna makes you think of those 3 week old leftovers in the back of the fridge that never quite made it to the trash. Ick. This lasagna was Matt’s idea, and it’s some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Not only is the cheese melty and strategically placed to make your tastebuds happy, but it’s actually quite healthy with all sorts of veggies and good stuff. And there aren’t 300 ingredients in it, like in a chefs lasagna, so you don’t have to spend $8,000 on all of the ingredients.*
Kids can help you make this tasty dinner, and it’s enough for two casserole dishes (16 generous adult-sized portions, or one hyper 3 year old’s entire messy birthday party).

Guilt-free Cheesy Lasagna
Makes two 9X11 pans of lasagna, 16-18 servings, or can be easily halved
INGREDIENTS:
2 large jars marinara
2 12-oz packages of wheat (or whole grain) lasagna noodles
1 pound ground turkey
5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly (remember the razor blade that sliced paper-thin garlic slices in Goodfellas?)
1 16-oz bag frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 16-oz bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 TB Italian seasoning 
1 TB dried or 3 TB fresh basil 
Dash of black pepper
Dash of red pepper
1 quart low-fat ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella

GADGETS/UTENSILS:
1 large pot
1 large skillet/wok with lid
1 large bowl with ice cold water
sharp knife
wooden spoon
tongs
spatula
plate
2 casserole dishes (AKA lasagna pans, 11X7, 12X8, 13X9) 
INSTRUCTIONS:
step one: Boil a large pot of water and cook lasagna noodles, 5 at a time. 
step two: In the meantime, brown the turkey in a large skillet and drain, if needed. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the garlic and a drizzle of olive oil and let the turkey soak up the flavors for a couple of minutes. Add broccoli and spinach and let cook for a few minutes. Then stir in marinara and seasonings. Cover and put on medium-low to let flavors unite. Preheat the oven to 350 now and take the cheeses out of the fridge.
{a small learning moment}
{Depending on the flour in the noodle, lasagna boils for 7-11 minutes. Tongs are the safest (avoid boiling water burns) but can be slippery.}
step three:  When the first batch of lasagna noodles are cooked (soft to the touch by a tongue, but not falling apart), transfer noodles to big bowl of cold water. This prevents sticking and frustration while assembling the dish. Leave the noodles in the cold water for a minute and lay flat on a plate. Repeat this cooking process with the next batch of noodles until all are cooked. (Trust me, this goes by faster than it sounds.)
step four: Time to assemble. This goes by really quickly with a buddy. Layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta (use the spatula), noodles, sauce, noodles, ricotta, etc. Of course, layer how you like. Just be sure to top the lasagna with lots of mozzarella, 2 cups per dish. Spray a sheet of foil with nonstick spray and top the casserole dishes (spray side down, to keep cheese from sticking to foil). Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly on top. Let sit for 10-20 minutes and serve. Yum.

Hope your weekend has been loverly. We had a bunch of dear and not-so-near friends visit for a couple of days. So much fun!
 

Happy cooking and happier eating! 

*Disclaimer: a slight exaggeration, but only slight. 🙂

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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