Veggie-loaded Turkey Burgers & Some Very Exciting News

I've made some version of these yummy, healthy burgers about a half a dozen times. Each time has been kind of a haphazard "throw in all sorts of herbs and spices and veggies until you're bored with it" endeavor, but since this blog makes it look like I should know what I'm talking about, this time I actually payed some attention to what went in, and how much. (Also, the one time I made them for anyone but just the two of us they ended up a bit over-garlicky, and I'd like to avoid this in the future with an actual game plan).

This recipe calls for two appliances: a small food processor (I used my Ninja), and a George Foreman Grill. Neither are necessary to the success of the recipe, though, and hand-mincing and pan-grilling or baking will work beautifully also.

With 1.3 lbs of turkey, this recipe yielded 5 good-sized burgers, and they freeze very well.

Ingredients:

1-ish lbs ground turkey - I used a 1.3 lb package

1 clove garlic, chopped

.75 tsp. seasoned salt - or .5 tsp salt and pinch each of garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tbs. dry parsley

1 tbs. dry cilantro

1 tsp. prepared mustard - that is, not the dry type. I used Dijon.

.5 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

.5 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

.25 onion, or 1-2 green onions

1 rib celery, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped 

1-2 tbsp. breadcrumbs

slices of the cheese of your choice

Directions:

1. Process garlic, onion, oil, mustard, herbs and spices in food processor until blended.

2. Add bell peppers, celery, carrot, and/or other vegetables and process until vegetables are minced

4. Break up ground turkey in a large bowl, add the vegetable mixture, and mix well

5. Form meat mixture into patties. If the mixture feels too wet, add breadcrumbs one tablespoon at a time combining between additions until you achieve the desired consistency. I used one tablespoon.

Since I am not fussy but I am impatient, I like to mix the burger mixture with my (clean) hands. It's faster, and I am convinced it is also more effective than mixing with a spoon or spatula. Plus you're going to have to make the patties with your hands anyway, so you might as well get in there sooner rather than later.

I cooked these on our George Foreman Grill for 10 minutes. At about 9 minutes I opened and unplugged the grill, placed the cheese slices on top, and let them melt before serving. When I feel like meddling I hold the grill lid about a half-inch above the cheese to make it melt faster. We used low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella.

There doesn't seem to be any limits to the vegetables you can use in these burgers. This was the first time that I used celery and carrot, and they did give them a decidedly more "vegetabley" flavor (according to Brady), but we both agreed they were just as delicious as ever. For texture and nutritional kick, next time I think next time I will try adding mushrooms. Adding a couple naturally-absorbent, fiber-packed mushrooms will probably eliminate the need for the breadcrumbs. You could also try zucchini, eggplant, or even greens like kale or spinach, though tough greens may need to be steamed and pressed ahead of time.

So maybe next time it'll be mushrooms, spinach, a little Feta, and Swiss on top. Maybe on crusty bread instead of a roll? With a side of baked oven-fries? Good thing I'm blogging this or I'd forget the next time I went to make a burger...

Brady mentioned this evening that he's never had burgers like "mine" in any other context. After being reassured that this was, in fact, a good thing, I started to think it was kinda cool to have a signature burger. And though I do sometimes make beef burgers (with lots of Worcestershire sauce), I'm glad that my "signature" is a healthy one. (I only made the ones with beef, cheddar and bacon the one time, so that doesn't count. Right?)

We ate these with a zucchini and tomato salad. Together, these would be a great meal for a summer evening. I often serve veggie burgers with steamed green beans, I think because of their similarity in shape to French fries. Somehow that seems right. But this salad was also great with the burgers: simple and fresh.

I can just about always count on Brady to pick a beer that will complement a particular dish, which we often indulge ourselves in on weekend nights. This was a GREAT pairing with Stone IPA.

Veggie-loaded turkey burger with zucchini and tomato salad & Stone IPA.

Despite my zeal for all things whole-grain, I can't resist a fresh, delicious-smelling bakery roll. Which is why we ate these burgers on fresh, delicious-smelling rolls. Which I did not bake. And I regret nothing.

Quote of the Day: "Chris: Have you ever tried a turkey burger?
Ron: Is that a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger? If so, yes, delicious." ~ Parks and Recreation

Now for the more EXCITING part. I know you were curious. Which could be why you read this post in the first place. So I'll tell you. My fantastically beautiful, brazen and brainy big sister Alexandra became engaged this morning to her equally fabulous manfriend, Sebastian, of Sebastian Ebarb Designs. I know, right? Big news. It also happens to be her 25th birthday!

Since Sebastian is a staff member and student at the School of Visual Arts with another year to go, and Allie is about to graduate from Brooklyn Law School and take (PASS) the Bar Exam, their late spring/early summer wedding is probably two years away. And after a rather obvious "You know you're my maid of honor, right?," I think it's about time I find out just what a maid of honor is supposed to DO. My guess is "a lot," but I don't think there is anything that I wouldn't do for her. Except wear an ugly dress, but she wouldn't do that to me anyway. So here's to new chapters!

Crock Pot Falafel from Crockpot 365

I have Stephanie O'Dea, better known in some circles as The Crockpot Lady, to thank for many of my favorite go-to recipes. Between her adventurous cooking and frank reporting, her blog is pretty great.

And in my opinion, one of her best - and most surprising - recipes is falafel that you cook in your crock pot.*

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 Stephanie's Recipe:

Ingredients

1 15oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

- 1/2 onion, chopped

-1 T dried parsley

- 2 cloves minced garlic

- 1 egg

- 1 t kosher salt

- 1/4 t black pepper

- 2 t ground cumin

- 1 t ground coriander

- 1/4 t cayenne pepper

- juice from 1 lemon 

- 1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs 

- 2 T olive oil (for the bottom of your crock)

Directions

Drain garbanzo beans. Dump them into a mixing bowl and smash them with a fork. Set aside.

Get out your blender or food processor. Blend together all of the spices, the onion, the garlic, the egg, and the lemon juice.

Pour on top of your smashed garbanzo beans. Use your fork to mix together, and add the breadcrumbs slowly until the mixture is wet and sticky but can be formed into balls nicely. I needed 3/4 of a cup of breadcrumbs.

Pour 2 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crock pot stoneware insert.

Form squished golf-ball sized patties of falafel. Dip each side into the olive oil and then nestle into your crockpot. It's okay if they overlap or are on top of each other.

Cook on high for 2-5 hours. You will know that the falafels are done when they turn brownish-golden. You can flip them halfway through the cooking time if you feel like it, but they will brown on top even without flipping.

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My "mise." Silly little lemon juice container not pictured, because I feel kind of lame about it.

See? EASY. And honestly, out of sheer laziness I sent my chickpeas for a spin in my food processor until chopped instead of mashing them. I still do recommend mixing the ingredients in the order she describes, though. (I just dumped the chickpeas out after chopping and added them back in later). I use a Ninja Master Prep and apart from a somewhat annoying-to-clean lid design, I'm a big fan.

This is one recipe that I follow without messing around with it. Which is a pretty big compliment.

And by "not messing around," I mean that I only changed the following:

- I always cook with dry beans, so I cooked my chickpeas the day before. (Wonderfully, chickpeas don't need to be soaked). The equivalent of a 15 oz can is just under 2 cups of cooked chickpeas. Dry beans are MUCH cheaper by volume, and I hugely prefer soaking and cooking them to wondering exactly what goop my beans are canned in, and why they taste like nickels.

- I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice instead of a fresh lemon, just because that's what I had on hand.

- Instead of the half onion, I used a bit of white and a bit of red onion, and instead of Kosher salt I used regular, for the same reason as the lemon juice substitution.

Happy little falafels cooking in my 2-quart crock pot.

I served them in wheat pitas with lettuce, tomato, and a quick tzatziki I made with fat free plain yogurt, a little lemon juice, dried dill, and salt and pepper.

Truthfully, I've never had "real" falafel - that is, the deep-fried kind. But, Brady insists that these taste just the same, except obviously not the fried part. Even better!

* If you want to get particular, "CrockPot" is a particular brand of the general appliance variety known as the "slow cooker." I grew up calling them all crock pots, so that's what you get. But whatever you call them, they are magical and fantastic, and definitely NOT just for soup.