Lentil Burgers

 This was my first attempt at homemade veggie burgers...and they were delicious! I received a free sample of lentils in the mail and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. I had searched several recipes when I found this lentil burger recipe. They sounded delicious to me but I wasn't sure how Nick would like them. I tried them anyway, and even this meat lover was happy with them, which is a good thing because they will definitely be made again!

 Lentil Veggie Burgers (adapted from Kath Eats Real Food)
Makes 3 burgers
Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked lentils (I used 1/2 cup uncooked and cooked them in water and veggie broth)
• 2/3 cup chopped veggies (I used yellow pepper, carrot, celery, green onion)
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp pecans
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
  
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until all blended together. 
3. Form into 3 patties. 
4. Place patties onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes on each side. 
 

Oprah's Favortite Turkey Burger

Oprah. She's everywhere. I never imagined her name would be on my blog, and I kind of preferred it that way. Oh well- I digress. She does have good taste in turkey burgers! My friend, Clint, INSISTED that I try this recipe because they are the BEST turkey burgers. Well...yes. Yes, they are. They are not quite as easy as these (which are also yummy), but they really do have a great flavor and are worth the extra effort if you have the time. I wasn't sure how I would feel about them because they contained some sweet ingredients, and I'm not a big fan of sweet with meat, but these really didn't taste sweet because all the flavors were balanced out really well. Put these on your menu next time you make turkey burgers!
The original recipe can be found here, but the recipe as I made them (scaled down and a couple minor changes) is below.

Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger (serves 4)
Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 1 Tbsp thinly sliced green onions
• 2 Tbsp thinly sliced celery
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp jalapeno hot sauce (we didn't have Tabasco, but I loved the jalapeno sauce!)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp Major Grey's Chutney (found near mustard/condiments in grocery store)

Directions:
1. Saute onions, celery, and apple with olive oil in a skillet until tender. Set aside to cool.
2. Combine sauteed veggies/apple, ground turkey, hot sauce, lemon juice, and Major Grey's Chutney in a bowl. Add a dash of salt and pepper, and mix until thoroughly combined. 
3. Shape into 4 burgers of equal size.
In the original recipe, the burgers are grilled, but we do not currently have a grill so we cooked them in a cast iron skillet with great results. Directions for each method are below.
For Grill:
1. Refrigerate burgers for 2 hours. (They will hold together better on the grill.)
2. Place burgers on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
For Skillet:
1. Heat cast iron skillet over medium low heat and spray with cooking spray or olive oil to prevent sticking. 
2. Place burgers in pan and cook on each side until thoroughly cooked through. It was about 6 minutes per side for us. Be careful not to overcook because they will dry out. You may want to cut one in half to make sure middle is done though.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
We ate them with lettuce, tomato, light mayo and more hot sauce. Delicious! 

Turkey Chili Burgers

I am always looking at new turkey burger recipes to try but rarely do I actually stray away from my go-to recipe. I saw a recipe for Chicken Chili Burgers on this blog that I read pretty often so I decided to make them... with a few changes of course! One change I made was to use ground turkey breast instead of chicken. While they were good, I think in the future I would stick to chicken or ground turkey that is a mixture of light and dark meat as they were a little bit dry. Or maybe mix in a little bit of actual chili....hmmm, something to try in the future! Anyway, I liked the addition of the beans for both texture and nutrition.  Also, the flavoring was pretty subtle so if you love spicy, you may want to add extra spice. We topped them with reduced fat white cheddar with jalapenos, which was delicious!

We enjoyed them on buns from Nature's Pride that I received as a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Nick was quite excited because we got both white AND wheat buns! These buns were huge! I thought the wheat one was pretty good, and Nick really liked the taste and texture of the white ones.

 Ingredients

•  3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 small onion, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp diced green chiles
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper  
• Reduced fat jalapeno cheddar cheese (or your own favorite)

Directions

1. Slightly mash the kidney beans and then add all remaining ingredients. 
2. Mix together so that all the spices are incorporated pretty evenly into the meat.
3. Form into 4-5 burgers, depending on how big you want them. (We made 5 and they were plenty big).
4. Grill or cook in a skillet (with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil) over medium heat until cooked through. During the last couple minutes, place cheese on burger so it can melt (we put ours on a little late...as you can tell by the photo but it was still good!)

Eating Well Avocado and White Bean Wrap

When I saw this recipe in Eating Well, I thought it looked like something I would really like, but I was a little hesitant because I wasn't sure if a vegetarian wrap was something Nick would be thrilled about. But since he is up for trying almost anything, I decided to make them. I am so glad I did! It really exceeded my expectations, and even Nick really enjoyed it! The white bean and avocado mixture was so creamy and was complemented well by the tangy crunch of the slaw. I will definitely make these again in the future. The original recipe can be found here. I only made a couple small changes by reducing the amount and type of oil and eliminating the cilantro because we don't like it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons minced red onion
4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Directions
1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage and carrot; toss to combine.
2. Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.
3. To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches

I was trying to think of something to do with the eggplant that we had left over from the roasted eggplant towers and decided to make some sandwiches. I was really surprised at how good they turned out! I think I said about three times during dinner how much I liked them. Nick liked them too- I had made him one chicken sandwich and one eggplant, and he actually liked the eggplant better! I will definitely be making these again in the future for a quick, casual dinner.

Ingredients-
Whole wheat bread (I recommend using the bread from a bakery rather than typical sandwich bread)
Roasted red pepper, sliced (I roasted ours, but you can buy the jarred kind to save time if you want)
Roasted eggplant slices (See this post on roasting eggplant)
Pesto
Olive oil mayo (or light mayo)
Tomato, sliced
Crumbled goat cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Toast bread in a toaster or under the broiler.
3. Spread a thin layer of mayo on one slice of bread
4. Spread a layer of pesto on top of the mayo.
5. Place slices of eggplant, followed by roasted red peppers, and tomatoes on the bread.
5. Sprinkle goat cheese on top of tomatoes.
6. Place sandwiches (open faced) under the broiler to slightly melt the cheese.
7. Remove from oven and top with second piece of bread.

Chicken Gyros

Last night, Nick and I tried something new for dinner- Chicken Gyros! I had seen them on a few different blogs lately (Annie's Eats, Elly says Opa, and Lovestoeat's Weblog), and everyone seemed to like them so I thought we would give them a try! They did turn out well! (By the way, see this post for the pronunciation key :) ) My pictures don't really do them justice, but you get the point.

Also, they were normal sized, but I think they look miniature in comparison to Nick's hand.


For the tzatziki sauce
Ingredients:
16 oz. nonfat greek yogurt (you don't have to use nonfat)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 cloves garlic, or finely minced (I kind of wished that I had only used 1 but its up to you)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Shred the cucumber, and then drain the water off. (I did this by putting the cucumber over a very fine strainer and pressing to release the water. I read that you can also wrap it in a towel and squeeze to remove the water).
2. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.


For the Chicken
Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used chicken tenders and cut them into thirds)

Other ingredients:
Pitas (I think the softer they are the better)
Diced tomato
Thinly sliced onion

Directions:
1.Combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well.
2. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
3. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (We broiled them for about 15 minutes, but it will vary depending on your oven and the size of your chicken pieces)
4. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
6.Heat pitas.
7. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions.
8. Serve immediately.

Blackened Tilapia Sandwich

This is a quick and easy recipe that never disappoints. I use Zatarain's blackening spice mix, but you can use whatever kind you like. I like it because it has just enough spiciness but it isn't too hot. I also use fat free tarter sauce to cool the spice a little.


Ingredients:
* 2 tilapia filets
* Zatarain's blackening spice mix
* wheat buns
* lettuce
* tomato slices
* fat free tarter sauce

Directions:
1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Sprinkle both sides of tilapia with blackening spice.
3. Place tilapia in skillet and cook about 3 minutes per side or until fish is opaque and can be flaked with a fork. ( I always cut my piece in half to make sure it is cooked through because obviously you want it to be done, but you don't want to cook too long because it can dry out)

BBQ Turkey Burgers

These BBQ Turkey Burgers are from Cooking Light. I love turkey burgers and think I should branch out and try new recipes, but I always keep coming back to this one because I know it's good! It also comes together really fast so it is a great recipe for a weeknight meal. For the BBQ sauce, I use Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue because I like the hint of sweetness, but you can use your favorite sauce.



Ingredients

* 1/4 cup finely diced onion
* 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, divided
* 2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
* 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
* 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 pound ground turkey (I use the 99% fat free and they aren't too dry)
* Cooking spray
* 4 large leaf lettuce leaves
* 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
* 4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns ( I like to use whole wheat)

Preparation

Combine the onion, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, breadcrumbs, and the next 5 ingredients (breadcrumbs through turkey) in a medium bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1 1/2 inch-thick patty.

Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Place patties in pan; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done.

Place 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, and 1 patty on the bottom half of each bun. Spread each patty with 1 1/2 teaspoons barbecue sauce. Cover with top halves of buns.

Salmon, Dill, Tomato Sandwich

Ingredients:
Sandwich-
12 oz salmon
Dill
Whole wheat/whole grain bread (we used whole grain baguette style bread)
Tomato
Cucumber

Dill Sauce:
1/4 cup fat free greek yogurt
1 Tbsp light mayo
2 Tbsp minced onion
1/4 tsp beau monde seasoning
1/2 tsp dill (dried or fresh)
salt
pepper

Directions-
1. Sprinkle salmon with dill, salt, and pepper.
2. Broil salmon until it flakes easily with a fork.
3. While salmon is cooking, mix together dill sauce. (All measurements are approx. so season to liking).
4. When salmon is done, flake into medium size pieces.
5. Assemble sandwich by putting sauce on both sides of bread, layer tomato slices and salmon. Top with second piece of bread.