Chipotle Apple Turkey Burgers.

IMG_2231

 

I’m obsessed with all of my new cookbooks!  Ideas galore and I have to admit, everyone needs some inspiration here and there.  This recipe is inspired from The Sprouted Kitchen.  I didn’t make the aioli to top the burgers for several reasons, one – I’m not a fan of aioli sauces, two, I’m eating very VERY healthy lately and I didn’t want to add the calories.  And finally, these burgers were so flavorful that nothing needed to top them!  Honestly, it’s just crazy.  I made these as sliders (meatballs would also be fun) so they would be awesome to serve at your Super Bowl party or dinner.  Kids love them, adults love them and hey, we really don’t need to be consuming that much meat.  I filled our plates up with a mixed green salad with fresh strawberries and sweet potato strings that I baked.  Served the burgers on whole wheat potato buns and let the food fest begin!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Granny Smith apple, grated with the largest holes on a box grater
1.25 lb of ground lean (92%) organic turkey
1 teaspoon of Chipotle chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons of freshly minced parsley

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the celery, onions and garlic for about 6 minutes.  Then set aside to cool.  In your stand mixer, add the remaining ingredients.  Blend with the paddle attachment.  Then add the cooled ingredients.  Blend again.  The texture will be stickier than expected.  I believe it’s from the water in the apples.  Form into burgers or sliders (whichever you prefer) and let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  On your grill or grill pan, get it nice and hot, add the burgers and cook until the temperature reaches 175.  If you wish to top with cheese, add that in the pan and cover for a few seconds until the cheese melts.  Serve with or without a bun.  Enjoy!!

 

PinterestShare

Sweet & spicy dry rub pork tenderloin.

Get your grills fired up!  It’s officially bar-b-quing season, especially with these balmy temperatures.  This sweet & spicy pork is great for a weeknight dinner option or for a party.

Dry Rub Ingredients:

1 tbl kosher salt
2 tbl of brown sugar
1 tbl chili powder
1 tbl of smoked paprika
3/4 tbl of garlic powder
1 tsp of dried tarragon
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of rosemary
1 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc baggie or bowl.  Then add the meat of your choice.  I used it on two pork tenderloins.  I then refrigerated the rubbed meat for 4 hours and then grilled on a gas grill until it reached 145 degrees for an internal temperature. Remove from the heat and tent with foil for 10 minutes.  The temperature will continue to rise a bit.  Slice and serve.

PinterestShare

Apple sage stuffed pork over Chobani apple cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes.


Apples & pork are truly one of my favorite food combinations.  I paired the pork up with mashed sweet potatoes (that I purchased from the farmer’s market on Tuesday).  And thanks to Chobani sending me a ton of wonderful yogurt today, I thought I would try adding  the apple cinnamon to the mashed potatoes and so glad I did.  It added another layer of that wonderful apple flavor to the dish.

Pork:

5 boneless pork filets (you can use 4-6 for this recipe), created a pocket with my filet knife being careful not to go all the way through the meat to the other side.
1/4 c of chopped onion
2 tsp of butter or substitute butter product (I used I can’t believe it’s not butter)
1 c of chopped apples
1/2 c of Panko bread crumbs (or regular if that’s all you have in your pantry)
1 tsp of dried sage

Over a medium flame, heat your butter till melted. Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Then add the Panko.  Mix until the butter and onion is absorbed and toasted.  It should look like this:

Then sprinkle with sage.  Once cooled down a bit, stuff your pork (pocket you created with your filet knife) and then close and seal with a toothpick or two.  Repeat until done.  Set aside.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a skillet over medium flame, drizzle some olive oil or a pat of butter.  Once hot, add the pork and brown on each side.  This should take 1-2 minutes.  Then remove and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until no longer pink.

Sweet Potatoes:

6 medium sized yams, washed and cut into larger size pieces
1 6 oz cup of Chobani Apple Cinnamon yogurt
2 tbl of Cinnamon butter spread (you can use regular butter)
1 tbl of light brown sugar

Directions:
Bring a large Dutch oven with about 4 qts of water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook until fork tender.  Before draining, remove about 1 c of the water that the potatoes were cooked in and set aside.  Then drain the potatoes and add them to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment on.  Then add the butter and brown sugar.  Mix until creamy.  Add the Chobani yogurt and continue to blend.  Taste test and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Spoon into a serving bowl and cover until ready to serve.

For plating…
Add the sweet mashed potatoes as a bed and the pork on top.  Sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground pepper.  Enjoy!

 

PinterestShare

Shish Kabobs.

Who doesn’t love a good shish kabob?  Seriously, everything is cooked on the stick… it’s the perfect meal, right?!  Ha.  Well today is the first day of spring and I couldn’t wait to fire up the grill.  Hubby is attending some dinner tonight so I thought it would be a fun dinner for the kids.  Plus, today is Farmer’s Market day so I stocked up on lots of fresh, delicious veggies and from my favorite Mennonite farmers – I got fresh hot Italian turkey sausage.  This meal is not only economical, but so good!

If you’ve never made shish kabobs, this post is for you!  First you need your metal or wood skewers.  Wood skewers can be found at your local grocery store!  Metal and wood are also available at your local kitchen specialty stores like Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel or Sur la Table.

If you opt for wood, like I do, make sure you soak your sticks in water (completely submersed) for about 2 hours.  This will prevent the wood from burning on the grill.  Then you want to cut up your veggies of choice and meat to approximately the same size so that it all cooks in the same amount of time.  Skewer alternating veggie/meat etc.  This time I used zucchini, red and orange peppers, onions and turkey sausage.  You can also prepare these ahead of time and soak in a marinade for 4-24 hours.   Vegetarian option… just stack your favorite veggies.  Cherry tomatoes work great too!

Grill and flip as necessary to achieve even cooking.  I served on a bed of organic quinoa.  Yum!

 

 

PinterestShare