Recipes

Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

May 15, 2013 by Rebecca 13 Comments

Asian Salmon Burger with Wasabi Mayo | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Disclosure: This is part of my continuing series as a member of the Kraft Tastemakers team. All recipes, opinions and wasabi are my own.

My tastebuds are controlled by the weather. When it’s cool, chilly or downright cold, I want hearty, stick-to-your-ribs fare. When things start warming up, though, my body says, “Don’t weigh me down!”

It’s getting toasty out there, folks, so it’s time to lighten things up a bit. Fish is a perfect way to accomplish that deliciously. It’s satisfying, protein-packed, fast, and simple. It’s a wonderful solution for the on-the-go family in the summer.

Salmon is a crowd-pleasing fish choice under most circumstances, but when it’s turned into a burger, it can convert even the most entrenched fish-haters.

A food processor makes fast work of breaking down the fish. Admittedly, when you’ve pulsed the fish into a chunky puree, it looks like you might be going down the wrong road, but stick with it because it’s so darned good when it’s all said and done!

When it comes to serving these beautifully moist salmon burgers with a hint of ginger, you have a couple of options. The kids like them on toasted whole wheat hamburger rolls with just a smear of Wasabi Mayonnaise. The grown-ups in our house like them wrapped in a tender lettuce leaf with a dollop of Wasabi Mayonnaise, some Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad, and some Asian Pickled Carrots.

Asian Salmon Burger with Wasabi Mayo | www.foodiewithfamily.com

The lettuce leaf makes a fabulous lower-calorie and lower-carbohydrate substitute for a bun. (Ya know, for the second and third burgers you eat. If you’re like me, that is…)

Either way, they are fabulous.

Serve these up on Memorial Day for a surefire hit! How will you eat them?

Visit Kraft Recipes for more Memorial Day friendly sandwich recipes!

Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Rating: 51

Asian Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Crunchy, flavourful, Asian Salmon Burgers with a hint of ginger and scallion in them are as easy to make as they are delicious. Topped with a dollop of Wasabi Mayonnaise that can be as mild or as wake-you-up as you wish, and served on a toasted bun or lettuce leaf (for an even more waist-line friendly option) these are a surefire crowd pleaser and a wonderful addition to your Memorial Day fare.

Ingredients

For the Salmon Burgers:

2 pounds salmon fillets, skin and bones removed carefully.
1 3/4 cups panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole wheat, plus more if needed
1 bunch green onions, washed
¼ cup Kraft mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickling liquid from a jar of pickled ginger (Gari)
Oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable) for pan frying

For the Wasabi Mayonnaise:

1/2 cup Kraft mayonnaise
1-3 tablespoons wasabi paste, according to taste

Optional Ingredients for Serving:

Whole wheat buns, toasted ~or~ tender lettuce leaves (like butter or red leaf lettuce)
Asian Pickled Carrots
Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad
Pickled ginger

Instructions

To Prepare the Burgers:

Cut the salmon into 2-inch chunks and put into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the fish is broken down into chunky puree. It should still have pebble sized pieces (about ¼-inch) in it.

Scrape this into a bowl.

Cut the root end from the green onions, slice in half lengthwise, turn them 90° and slice them very thinly. Put this into the bowl with the salmon, ½ cup of the panko bread crumbs, mayonnaise, and pickled ginger liquid. Mix until uniform.

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Divide the salmon mixture into 8 mounds and form those mounds into patties that are ¾-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1-8 hours before cooking.

Pour the remaining panko bread crumbs onto a plate. Gently lift and place each salmon patty on the bread crumbs, press down lightly to help the panko stick, flip the patties over and repeat.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When it is very hot, add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl it to coat.

Ease the panko crusted patties into the pan. A 12-inch pan should hold 4 patties at a time and still give you room to manoeuver the spatula when it comes time to flip them. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the first side is deep golden brown. Carefully flip the patties using a wide spatula. Be cautious because the oil will want to splatter. Fry the second side for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown and firm around the outer edges. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate or platter. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and repeat until fried all of the salmon burgers.

To Prepare the Wasabi Mayonnaise:

Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl and use a fork or small whisk to stir in the wasabi paste, starting with 1 tablespoon. Taste the mayonnaise and adjust with more wasabi if you want a stronger flavour.

To Serve the Salmon Burgers:

If you’re watching how much bread you eat, serve the Salmon Burgers on a tender lettuce leaf topped with a dollop of the Wasabi Mayonnaise and any other optional toppings you’d like. If you want to eat it burger style, put a patty on top of a toasted whole wheat bun, spread some wasabi mayonnaise over the burger and top as desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/15/asian-salmon-burgers-with-wasabi-mayonnaise/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Disclosure: This is part of my continuing series as a member of the Kraft Tastemakers team. All recipes, opinions and wasabi are my own.

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, seasonal

Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | Make Ahead Mondays

May 13, 2013 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush | www.foodiewithfamily.com

In the post below, I provide an affiliate link to Sumac -which can be hard to find for purchase- from Amazon.com. I receive pennies on the dollar for purchases made on Amazon if you click on the link. You can definitely gather your own sumac, dry it, and grind it, but sumac isn’t in season right now and we want salad!

Iiiiiiiiiiit’s salad time! And crouton time! I have a two-fer for you on this glorious (rainy here) Make Ahead Monday.

How much do you love salad this time of year? Maybe I should rephrase that. How much do I love salad this time of year? I’m nutty nuts over it.

I’m a definite crouton girl, too, so today is extra fun for me. I guess I should call today a three-fer because the garlic pita chips recipe I’m sharing does double duty all by itself. It serves as some world-class croutons, to be sure, but it’s also PERFECT for dipping into the summer standard hummus or whatever dunkable goodies you like best.

Do you love pita chips, too? I’m a little bonkers over them personally. They’re in the Bagel Chip category for the guys and me. I hear people crunching and munching on them from the moment the pan comes out of the oven until I hear hands swishing around for whatever leftover crumbs are rattling around at the bottom of the jar.

Baked Garlic Pita Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

When I get a fresh batch of pita chips out of the oven, my first order of business is to set aside enough to make a massive batch of Fattoush. Fattoush -for those of you who aren’t lucky enough to live where there is great Lebanese food available- is my favourite summer salad by a mile and a half. Crisp Romaine lettuce is the base for this mega-refreshing herbed salad with a garlicky lemon, sumac, and oil dressing.

Sumac for Fattoush | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Now… A word or two on sumac. No: it’s not the poisonous kind. Poisonous sumac* you want to avoid, clearly, but edible sumac grows widely (and wildly) in many parts of the United States and is not only perfectly harmless, but is also perfectly tasty. There are three varieties -smooth, staghorn and dwarf- that are safe to eat. One identifying characteristic that they share is the bright red or brown hairy clusters of fruit that are about peppercorn sized and in an arrangement like upside-down clusters of grapes. You can gather them before a rainstorm (which washes away the lovely sour, citrus-like flavour), dry them, and grind them for your own FREE sumac, or you can do like I did this time and buy a bag of sumac from Amazon.com. Given that it won’t the the right season for gathering sumac for a couple of months, and we need salad THIS VERY DAY, I’d say buy the sumac.

*For a while last week, I thought I might be allergic to sumac and it made me very sad indeed. As it turns out, I was allergic to a gin & tonic I had made with a new brand of gin. This made me very happy indeed because frankly? I could care less about that gin & tonic.

Why bother? Well, I suppose you could skip it if you’re feeling REALLY cheap or doubtful, but your salad won’t be the same. I promise you this. Sumac delivers a punch of citrus that’s like lemon on steroids. That’s part of what makes this salad such a powerhouse of summer refreshment. Everyone who has had a proper Fattoush is nodding their heads in agreement right now. They’re also quietly wondering when I’ll bring up the herbs. Give me a minute, I have to address the subject of properly preparing your garlic for the dressing first.

How to prepare fresh garlic for salad dressing:

There’s a trick to coaxing the best flavour from garlic for a dressing and turning it into a paste that will distribute itself evenly and it doesn’t involve a garlic press. In fact, a garlic press can’t even dream of doing this nifty procedure. Simply put, you peel and roughly chop your garlic cloves then scrape them into a pile and sprinkle a teaspoon of coarse kosher salt over them. Then you alternate squashing or smearing the pile with the broad side of your knife and chopping it. Every so often, you stop, scrape it back together and repeat. Are we ‘why bothering’ again? I can explain! The salt helps break the garlic down and soften it into a paste instead of the stringy little bits of garlic that come through a garlic press. This paste can be whisked or shaken into the dressing for a smooth finish instead of chunky or string-like bits of garlic showing up when you least expect them. If texture isn’t a concern, think about how wonderfully and evenly the garlic paste will infuse your dressing! Believe me, once you’ve tried dressing made with garlic prepared this way, you won’t want to go back!

How to smash garlic for salad dressing. | www.foodiewithfamily.com

This gorgeous garlic goes into a jar with all of your other dressing ingredients, is tightly lidded and then shaken. Done! You now have enough dressing for three gigantic salads or numerous smaller salads and it stores wonderfully for up to two weeks. Does that make this recipe a four-fer instead of the three-fer we were up to?

Fattoush dressing | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Back to the herbs! Whatever you do, don’t skip the herbs here. Mint and parsley are CRUCIAL to the overall flavour. If you haven’t had the salad yet, you might scratch your head a bit at me, but I wouldn’t steer you wrong. It doesn’t scream MINT or PARSLEY but I guarantee you that if you leave them out, the salad will fall flat.

And while I’d usually rather lose a tooth to crunchy croutons than let them sit and soften in the salad dressing, that’s part of the charm of Fattoush. The crunchy pita chips sit in the dressing and start absorbing the good stuff. If you’ve done a good job of dressing your salad -in other words, not drowning it in dressing- the chips will not become soggy, but will just become a little less jarring to bite. My favourite stage of pita chip softening is about one hour into the salad being dressed but I also love it as much as five hours after dressing. That makes this a fabulous salad to take on a picnic or for a packed lunch.

Please make yourself some Baked Garlic Pita Chips and try this Fattoush. It will rock your summer salad world!

Baked Garlic Pita Chips | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Are you a crouton lover? Do you like ‘em dead crisp or a little soaky?

Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Baked Garlic Pita Chips and Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad) | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Three recipes for the price of one! Fabulously crunchy Baked Garlic Pita Chips, super citrusy Fattoush Dressing, and wondrously herbal and lemony Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad.) This trifecta of deliciousness will bring you refreshment and happiness through the hot summer months.

Ingredients

For the Baked Garlic Pita Chips:

6 pita breads
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

For the Fattoush Dressing:

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
the juice of 2 large lemons, about 1/2 a cup
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground sumac

For the Fattoush (Crumbled Pita Chip Salad):

2 cups Baked Garlic Pita Chips
1 large heart of Romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
1 English (seedless) cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a sweet or Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced in half moons
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried mint)
1/4 to 1/3 of a batch of Fattoush Dressing

Instructions

To Make the Baked Garlic Pita Chips:

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut the pitas into 1-inch thick strips. Lay the cut pitas in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the cut pita with the olive oil. Sprinkle evenly with the garlic powder and salt. Place the pan in the oven and bake , stirring every 15 minutes, until crisp all the way through and deep golden brown. Begin checking the pita crisps for doneness at about 45 minutes. Mine usually take an hour. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to two weeks.

To Prepare the Dressing:

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic and use the broad side of your knife alternately to squash the garlic and chop the garlic until a thick paste forms. Add that to a pint sized mason jar. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the jar, screw the lid tightly in place, and shake hard. Refrigerate until ready to dress your salad.

To Prepare the Salad:

At least 10 minutes, but up to 6 hours* before serving, remove the core end of the Romaine heart. Slice the heart in half lengthwise, then turn 90° and chop across those slices to create bite-sized pieces of Romaine lettuce. Add that to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the mixing bowl. Shake the salad dressing very firmly, pour about 1/3 of it over the contents of the mixing bowl and use your clean hands to toss to cover everything evenly. Let stand anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

**As the salad sits, the pita crisps will begin to soften. At 10 minutes, they are still very crunchy. The longer it sits, the softer they get. My favourite point to eat fattoush is when it has been sitting for about 1 hour.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/13/baked-garlic-pita-chips-and-fattoush-crumbled-pita-chip-salad-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Happy Healthy and Wise, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, salad, seasonal, Vegetarian

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

May 10, 2013 by Rebecca 13 Comments

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

I find Mother’s Day a surprisingly difficult subject about which to write. I’ve started and stopped this post at least five different ways. I’m a mother (of five boys, thankyouverymuch) and I’m a daughter, and we’re talking about Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, so what’s the problem?

The problem is that there as many views on Mother’s Day as there are mothers in the world. Besides that, there is a whole group of folks who think Mother’s Day is a made up ploy to sell more greeting cards. How do you hit the right note for everyone? Short answer: you can’t.

I can’t speak for motherhood as a whole, because I’m just one member of the club, so I’ll just tell you what this holiday (made up or not) set aside to honour moms means to me.

It means…

…my kids trying REALLY hard to get along. They try so hard, that sometimes they have to yell at their brothers who forgot to try really hard for a minute or two and were caught sitting on the couch.
…tepid herbal tea in bed delivered by a small boy child “who made it himself” with a look of adoration on his face. (My husband usually follows this up with a secret cup of strong black tea. Good man.)
…my husband and sons exhort each other to “WORK HARDER FOR MOM!” while attempting to clean the house with military enthusiasm.
…offers of fishing complete with promises to bait my hooks for me.
…the opportunity to get the first turn at ‘Halo’ first today, even though I’ve never played it before.
…baby carrot and dry cereal snacks arranged artfully on plates.
…handmade cards with silly drawings on them and a couple of discreet hearts.
…the remote control is shoved reverentially into my hands after dinner with an encouraging, “Go ahead! You pick what we watch.”

I feel loved every day of the year by my husband and sons, but watching their efforts to make me feel extra special on Mother’s Day is especially touching. Does it end up being a spa day for me? Oh gosh no, but I figure my imperfect efforts at mothering and their imperfect efforts at showing their appreciation are pretty much the perfect match. This motherhood thing is crazy good.

After many requests for strawberry cake that DIDN’T use strawberry gelatin for pinkness and flavour, I finally got down to business and knocked it out of the park. The solution is thawing frozen strawberries and pressing them through a sieve to release the juices. This strawberry juice is reduced in a pan to make it stronger and then added to a standard white cake recipe. (White cake so no yellow yolks interfere with the gentle pinkness imparted by the strawberry concentrate!) Don’t pitch those strawberry solids that were left in the sieve, though! Whip those into the frosting! Granted, you won’t have a perfectly smooth frosting, but how can you go wrong with little bits of strawberry laced through your frosting? That all sounds good already, right? I didn’t leave it alone, though… I opted to make these cupcakes Strawberry Lemonade by adding lemon extract to both the cake batter AND the frosting. The result was a tender, mildly strawberry and mildly lemon cake with rich strawberry lemon frosting studded with tiny pieces of REAL strawberry.

Strawberries for Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

It’s not WHIZZBANG strawberry like a cake mix would give you, but then a cake mix rarely tastes like real strawberries and lemonade as these cupcakes do.

Before I drop this most wonderful cupcake recipe in your lap, I want to offer a little prayer for all the mothers out there this weekend.

May you have the vision to enjoy every stage of motherhood.

May you have the chance to unwind, appreciate your blessings, and may a famished rabbit hop by to help you eat all of your baby carrot appetizers.

May the coffee or tea you are served in bed be as strong as the love and admiration your family has for you.

May the hands that offer you a cupcake be covered with honest dirt and not something worse.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Happy Mother’s Day, friends.

XO Rebecca

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Not made with strawberry flavoured gelatin!)

These light and fluffy Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes use only real strawberries (no flavoured gelatin mixes!) to provide the pretty soft pinkness and delicate strawberry flavour they deliver. The strawberry lemon buttercream topping them is studded with real strawberries, too!

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

1 pound frozen strawberries, microwaved just long enough to get them thawed and juicy
16 tablespoons (2 sticks or 8 ounces, by weight) butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 ounces by weight) granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon extract
5 large egg whites
2 3/4 cups 11 ounces, by weight) cake flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour, if necessary)
up to one cup whole milk

For the Strawberry Lemon Frosting:

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces by weight) butter, softened to room temperature
4 cups (1 pound, by weight) powdered sugar
The strawberry solids left from the cupcake recipe, mashed thoroughly with a potato masher or pastry blender
up to 6 tablespoons of whole milk
2 teaspoons lemon extract

Optional:

Fresh strawberries for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes:

Put a fine-mesh sieve over a heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in the strawberries, and press the strawberries to release as much juice as you can. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, reduce the strawberry juices until you have about 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup and it is darkened and thick. Pour those into a liquid measuring cup and add enough whole milk to bring the level to 1 cup. Use a fork or small whisk to combine the two until even. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a batter paddle, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Add one egg white at a time to the butter mixture and beat well after every addition, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Add 1/3 of the flour to the butter mixture. Mix until evenly combined, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add 1/3 of the strawberry milk and mix until even. Repeat this process until you reach the final addition of strawberry milk, which should be stirred in by hand to prevent overmixing.

Prepare 24 cupcake liners (either free-standing on a pan or in cupcake/muffin tins). Scoop batter into the cupcake liners until each is about 2/3 full. Tap the pan on the counter once or twice to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Carefully turn the finished cupcakes out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

To Prepare the Strawberry Lemon Frosting and Frost the Cupcakes:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer) beat the butter on high until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until incorporated. Then, with the mixer on high, beat in the strawberry solids, lemon extract, and the milk -1 tablespoon at a time- until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Use an offset spatula to smear the buttercream on the cupcakes or load it into a pastry bag with a big tip to pipe on the frosting.

If desired, garnish finished cupcakes with whole or sliced fresh strawberries.

Store leftover cupcakes covered lightly in the refrigerator.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/10/strawberry-lemonade-cupcakes-not-made-with-strawberry-flavoured-gelatin/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Breakfast, cake, dessert, kid friendly, party food, Vegetarian

Skinny Jeans Pizza {Zucchini Pizza}

May 8, 2013 by Rebecca 11 Comments

Skinny Jeans Pizza {Zucchini Pizza} | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Have you ever tried jamming yourself into a pair of skinny jeans? I did last month.

Ugh.

Let’s just say the results were less than what I’d hoped to see after the work that went into pulling them up. Shoot, getting them off was as tough as getting them on in the first place. I needed to take a nap and eat some chocolate to salve my soul after that experience.

This, in part, led me to the grudging conclusion that PERHAPS I can’t eat the way I used to when I was *GACK* younger. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty fit. I work hard at it… but the effect of eating eight tacos or as many pieces of pizza for dinner is now less than desirable unless you’ve lost all your chairs in an oddly targeted fire and have nothing to sit on and are trying to pad your posterior for greater comfort. I think my point is clear.

I will not give up eating WHAT I want, I just have to show a little more control around it. In other words, I need to consume less of it. And we are coming into warmer weather which means we’re on the go a little more and feel a little less like spending hours in a hot kitchen producing food that makes us feel VERY full indeed. (Sometimes. On the other hand, I’m looking forward to my annual Fried Chicken Birthday Feast at the end of blazing-hot July.)

Satisfy Pizza Cravings on Busy Nights the Healthy Way!

Tasty food that is fast, healthy, and doesn’t make you feel weighed down is the order of the day. Skinny Jeans Pizzas to the rescue! These pizzas use good ole zucchinis (which are about to become abundant to the point of being nearly viral) cut in half lengthwise and topped with some classic pizza toppings; mozzarella and Romano or Parmesan cheeses, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperoni are what we use, but put whatever you’d like on a pizza on top. Much like ‘real’ pizza, this is customizable! Here’s the thing… these can be as healthy or as indulgent as you’d like. Load as much or as little grated cheese on them as you want! Ditto the pepperoni. Those sun dried tomatoes? Pile them on! Just be sure you have a little cheese over them or they’re likely to scorch a bit. Handily, you don’t have to soak the tomatoes if you put them next to the pizza sauce on the zucchini. This is because they’ll absorb some of the liquid given off by the sauce and zucchini as they cook.

Skinny Jeans Pizza {Zucchini Pizza} | www.foodiewithfamily.com

One pan, thirty minutes, super healthy, totally satisfying.

Important Note! Let’s be real here… If I eat eight of these like I would slices of pizza, I won’t be fitting much more quickly into those skinny jeans… But I don’t NEED eight halves of zucchini and furthermore, I don’t think I could eat that many. Even if I did eat eight halves, though, I’d still come out ahead of regular pizza in the calorie count. And goodness people, I’m not replacing or giving up regular pizza in our menu rotation; it’s my life blood! I am, however, looking for ways to maintain my healthy weight instead of creeping upward as I was doing. These more than satisfy that pizza craving on busy nights in a waist-line friendly way when the alternative to homemade is dialing it in to the local pizza place. Moderation, moderation, moderation!

…Except for dark chocolate.

Rebecca

Skinny Jeans Pizza {Zucchini Pizza}

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Skinny Jeans Pizza {Zucchini Pizza}

One pan, thirty minutes, super healthy, totally satisfying. Top halved zucchinis with pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and sun dried tomatoes. If pizza just isn't pizza without pepperoni for you, add a couple of slices. Bake 'til bubbly and satisfy your pizza cravings the fast and healthy way!

Ingredients

3 medium sized (about 8-inches long) zucchini
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pizza sauce (Homemade or purchased
1/2 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Optional Toppings:

sun dried tomatoes (Homemade or purchased)
thin pepperoni slices
minced fresh parsley and/or basil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray ~or~ use an unglazed stoneware rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

Slice the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Remove a little disc from any protruding parts of the zucchini to help it lie flat on the pan without rocking from side to side. Arrange the zucchini halves -skin side down- on the prepared baking sheet.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce on each zucchini half and spread it evenly over the top. If using sun dried tomatoes, arrange them over the pizza sauce, reserving a couple for the top. Scatter the shredded cheeses evenly over all of the zucchinis. If using pepperoni, put no more than three pieces on each zucchini half.

Place the pan in the hot oven and immediately lower the temperature to 375°F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the zucchinis are tender, but still have enough body to be lifted from the pan without falling apart.

If desired, garnish with minced parsley and/or basil immediately before serving.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/08/skinny-jeans-pizza-zucchini-pizza/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian

Light Marinated Broccoli Salad with Grapes | Make Ahead Mondays

May 6, 2013 by Rebecca 14 Comments

Marinated Broccoli Salad | www.foodiewithfamily.com

I’m a lucky woman. I’m married to the King of All Geeks, also known as The Evil Genius. He has an imagination that is only second to Harold and his Purple Crayon. He is never bored. He is fiercely loyal, can fix anything, and can build anything I ask him to build. He’s an adventurous eater. He loves vegetables; his standing order with sandwiches, salads, and any side dishes is “run it through the garden!”

When he had his birthday last week, I knew a big romantic salad* was in order. I lightened up a marinated broccoli salad that I saw around the interwebs a couple of years ago for the occasion. The salad in question had bacon, cheese, in some cases almonds, and lots of mayonnaise. Don’t get me wrong, I love bacon, cheese, almonds, and mayonnaise, but that was not what I was going for on this particular day. I wanted light, refreshing, flavourful, and bright. Bacon and cheese are a lot of things, but bright and refreshing are not amongst them.

*Name that movie!

How to tame raw onions:

Because red onions have a habit of repeating on you, I quickly pickled them by letting them rest in the rice vinegar while the rest of the ingredients were prepared. This took the edge off of the sulfurous onions and rendered them tangy and sweet. If you love raw onions but hate the after effects, this is a great way to tame them!

Red onion for Marinated Broccoli Salad | www.foodiewithfamily.com

Yes, this recipe makes A LOT! It’s true… but I’ll tell you straight up that The Evil Genius and I ate an entire batch by ourselves with no help whatsoever from the honyaks in two days. That’s right. We ate eight crowns of broccoli between the two of us in two days. Even if you’re not as nutty nuts as we are for salads and vegetables, I urge you to make the full amount because this salad holds for an entire week in the refrigerator and just gets better as those days pass. In fact, if you can make it a day before you plan to eat it, you’ll be rewarded with a salad that is mind-bendingly good.

Broccoli and grapes for Marinated Broccoli Salad | www.foodiewithfamily.com

What alchemy turns bite-sized broccoli florets into something so irresistible? It’s a combination of the mix-ins (sweet red or black grapes, thinly sliced red onions, and shredded carrots) and the tangy dressing (mild rice vinegar with just enough mayonnaise to make it lightly creamy, black pepper, just a touch of sugar, and salt. Easy peasy!) If you’ve never had broccoli and grape salad before you might think I’m bonkers right now, but I promise you, it’s delicious! On a hot day, there really isn’t anything more refreshing. I could make a meal out of a bowl of Marinated Broccoli Salad and a slice of hearty bread. If you’re feeling like you need a little something more, this is the perfect accompaniment to grilled pork, chicken, fish or beef. It goes with everything I’ve tried it with thus far! Heck, I even topped a hot dog with it and was happy with the results.

Are you a vegetable maniac?

Rebecca

Light Marinated Broccoli Salad | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Crunchy, refreshing, and simple, this Marinated Broccoli Salad has sweet grapes and carrots, quickly pickled red onions and a tangy dressing made of rice vinegar and mayonnaise. While it is great on its own as a light lunch it is also the perfect accompaniment to grilled pork chops, chicken, fish, or beef.

This salad is great for up to a week in the refrigerator, if it isn't eaten first!

Ingredients

1 medium red onion
3/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
2 cups red or black seedless grapes
8 crowns broccoli
2 small to medium sized carrots
3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise, (start with the smaller amount)
1 tablespoon sugar (I use raw sugar)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided (or more to taste)
black pepper to taste (I use a full teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.)

Instructions

Halve the red onion, peel it and cut from near the root end to the blossom end at 3/4-inch intervals leaving it intact at the root end. Turn the onion 90° and slice across the cuts so you have thin slices that are about 3/4-inch long. Add them to the bottom of a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt and pour the rice vinegar over the onions. Stir well and let stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Begin by halving the grapes. If they are particularly large, you might want to quarter them. Once they are all halved or quartered, transfer them to the mixing bowl on top of the onions but do not stir yet.

Next, cut all the broccoli florets away from the stems. Reserve the stems for another use (*See Notes) and cut the florets down to bite sized. They should be roughly the same size as the pieces of grape. Scrape the broccoli into the bowl on top of the grapes, but again, do not stir yet.

Use a large hole side of a box grater (like one you would use to grate Cheddar) to grate the carrots. Add those to the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss until everything is evenly combined and a thin dressing has formed from the rice vinegar and mayonnaise. If you want it creamier, add a little bit of mayonnaise at a time. Remember, though, that as the salad sits in the refrigerator, the vegetables and grapes will release some liquid and increase the amount of dressing in the container.

Transfer to a tightly lidded container and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving but preferably overnight. Toss before serving to re-distribute the dressing.

Leftovers stored in a tightly lidded container in the refrigerator will last for at least 7 days.

Notes

*If you do not have an immediate use for the broccoli stems, just cut them into pieces that are roughly 1-inch in size, put them in a resealable freezer bag and stash in the freezer for the next time you make cream of broccoli soup. I believe the best cream of broccoli soup has lots and lots of broccoli stems in it!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/06/light-marinated-broccoli-salad-with-grapes-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Roasted Garlic Rustic Sourdough Boule

May 3, 2013 by Rebecca 11 Comments

After the time I spent at King Arthur Flour’s Blog & Bake™ last week, I came home prepared to fling flour and bake my tush off. Oh, would that baking one’s tush off was an actual possibility. Sadly, I find that most of my baking actually adds to my overall girth since I’m unable to restrain myself around a fresh loaf of good bread. That loaf you see above is a perfect example of what renders me weak in willpower and wobbly in the knees.

You’re looking at a Roasted Garlic Rustic Sourdough Boule. This particular bread is not one we prepared at Blog & Bake, but it makes use both of King Arthur Flour’s rustic sourdough bread recipe and the sourdough starter that I bought at their Baker’s Store. The starter they sell is pedigreed, people; it is descended from one that was born somewhere in the mid-1700s. This means -at least to me- that it’s doubly wonderful. We’re talking about baking with sourdough AND history.

Are you breadphobic?

One of the things I’ve learned over the years here at Foodie with Family is that many people have anxiety that sometimes borders on phobia about baking with yeast. For those of you who are a-okay with yeast baking, please skip to the next paragraph. For those with breadphobia, allow me to offer you some words of encouragement. When you measure your ingredients the right way and follow instructions to the best of your ability, homemade bread seldom turns out inedible. It may not be pretty, it may not be exactly what you hoped, but there are very few occasions when it is too yucky to eat. In those cases, you find a neighborhood dog and make a lifelong friend or break it up and toss it out for the birds. All is not lost; review what you did, what could’ve gone wrong and try again. Someone or something ate well as a result of your efforts. I firmly believe that everyone can bake given the desire to do so and time. I’m here for you and willing to answer any baking questions and so are the experts at King Arthur Flour. In fact, they have a FREE Baker’s Hotline. You can call them at 802-649-3717 or chat live online with their baking experts who can answer simple or complicated baking questions with equal aplomb. I assure you they won’t laugh at any questions, so don’t be shy. We’ll get you baking yeast breads in no time at all!

How to form a rustic loaf of bread

I prepared the rustic sourdough as directed by sheet of instructions included in the purchase of the sourdough starter and decided to change it up a smidge. This was mainly due to the fact that I had already prepared four loaves of rustic sourdough bread according to their recipe (What? Obsessed? Me?!?) and wanted something a little different to dunk in that evening’s soup. The jar of roasted garlic in the refrigerator called to me and we were off and running.

There are a couple of notes you may find helpful when preparing this gorgiferous, crusty, chewy, roasted garlic -studded sourdough bread.

Instead of adding the roasted garlic cloves to the dough, we pat the dough out after the first rise and roll the cloves in before forming the boule. This allows us to have more visible garlic in the finished product instead of smashing it into oblivion while kneading the dough. After we roll the dough up into a long tube, we still have to form the ‘boule’ or dough ball. We do this by pulling the long end toward the center of the loaf, rotating the dough about 45°, gently pulling and folding that toward the center, rotating 45° and repeating the process until we get a wad of dough that is roughly round in shape.

Now that you have the dough all bunched up, we flip it upside down so the smooth side is up and cup the dough ball -hands like blades at a 45 degree angle to the countertop- and rotate the dough ball, first pushing with one hand and then pulling back toward you with the other. If you’re doing it correctly, you’ll feel the dough ball firm up and see the ‘skin’ of the dough tighten.

Don’t overdo this because you don’t want all the roasted garlic bursting through that taut surface of dough. If a few pop through here and there it’s alright, though!

I score the tops of the loaves before baking them to allow them to expand without tearing as they bake. It doesn’t hurt that it makes it painfully pretty to look at when it’s done.

If you leave them like this, you get hearty, classic, chewy, mild-sourdough loaves with cloves of roasted garlic throughout and a shatteringly crisp crust. I’m fond of gilding the lily, however, by brushing the finished loaves generously with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkling with super-fine sea salt. It renders the super-crunchy crust a little softer and chewier. If you’re not a fan of a softer crust, skip this step, but I actually prefer the softer crust for sandwich making purposes. Besides, I take any reason to get garlicky olive oil and salt on my fingers so I can lick them afterward.

What can I say? I’m easy to please.

This bread is sturdy enough to hold up to sandwich fillings, toasting and topping with a fried egg, or serving alongside soups and stews to help sop up that last little bit of whatever deliciousness is in your bowl.

Oh, and hey. If you had leftovers that were getting a touch on the stale side, you could turn them into the world’s most enviable croutons.

I have to know! How would you serve this bread?

Rebecca

Roasted Garlic Rustic Sourdough Boule

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves

Roasted Garlic Rustic Sourdough Boule

A classic, chewy, full-flavoured, rustic sourdough bread gets a little dressed up with roasted garlic cloves that are rolled into the dough when it is shaped. After baking, the loaves are brushed in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with super-fine sea salt.

Recipe adapted from and with thanks to King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

1 cup (8 1/2 ounces by weight) ripe sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces by weight) body temperature water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (no need to dissolve either in water first.)
5 cups (1 pound, 5 1/4 ounces by weight) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1 cup roasted garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Optional:

extra virgin olive oil for brushing and super-fine sea salt for sprinkling over finished loaves

Instructions

Whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.) Add to that the sourdough starter and water and mix with a bowl scraper, sturdy spoon or dough hook until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, flour your hands, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Alternatively, you can use the dough hook to reach the same state. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy and marshmallowy in appearance and texture. If you gently poke a finger into the dough, an indentation should remain when your finger is removed from it.

Turn the dough onto a lean counter, cut in half (don't rip it, pretty please!) with a bench knife or other sharp knife, and pat each half into a rough rectangle or oval that is about 1/2-inch thick. Divide the roasted garlic between the two dough shapes and spread evenly over the dough. Roll each piece of dough into a log starting with a short side.

To form each piece into a boule or ball, gently tug and pull one coiled end toward the center. Tuck it in place, rotate the dough about 45° and repeat. Continue rotating, pulling and tucking toward the center until you've gone all the way around and your dough is roughly in a ball shape. Flip it over so the smooth side is up and nestle your hands around the dough with your hands at a 45° angle to the counter. Roll the dough between your cupped hands, alternating pulling with one hand and pushing with the other, tightening the dough ball as you go. When the surface is taut, carefully lift the dough ball and place it smooth side up on one side of a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough log, placing the finished ball so that there are at least 6 to 8 inches between the two. Cover them lightly with a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes.

While the dough balls are rising, preheat the oven to 425°F with an empty cast-iron or other heavy, oven-safe frying pan on the floor of the oven. Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove top.

Immediately before baking, use a sharp knife or blade to score an 'X' or scallop shape about 1/4-inch into the surface of the bread dough. This allows the bread to expand without tearing as it cooks.

Working quickly, slide the parchment lined pan with the boules into the oven and carefully pour about 1 cup of the boiling water into the empty pan. Be cautious because this will generate a great deal of steam VERY quickly! Close the oven door immediately and set the timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the water pan from the oven, close the door and reset the timer for an additional 10 minutes.

The bread should be deep brown, very firm and measure at least 195°F at the center of the loaf with an instant read thermometer. Transfer the finished loaves to a cooling rack. If desired, brush generously with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the surface with super-fine sea salt. Let cool completely before slicing.

Store leftovers at room temperature wrapped in a tea towel.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/05/03/roasted-garlic-rustic-sourdough-boule-blog-bake/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Bread, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Bread, budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, frugal gifts, party food, traditional food

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

April 29, 2013 by Rebecca 5 Comments

Today’s Make Ahead Mondays recipe makes use of a recipe for Ham Balls that I shared about two and a half years ago. The recipe by itself remains one of our family’s all-time favourites. It gets a little new life breathed into it in the form of the stir-fry shared below. The ham ball recipe will hook you, but the stir fry recipe will make you love me. Best yet, with a stash of ham balls in the freezer, you’re only about fifteen minutes away from that pot full of deliciousness pictured above. Who loves you? Me! MWAH!

This is one of those meals that reinforces the value of having some meal building blocks stashed in the freezer at all times. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I can’t and/or won’t do once a month cooking. I’m far too fickle and what sounds good the day I put it in the deep freeze sounds abhorrent just days later. Aside from just plain being capricious, once a month cooking tends to rely on casseroles and I’m -while not anti-casserole- not a huge casserole lover. I sometimes think that the freezer is the most misused gadget that lives in every single home.

That meal in the picture above, though? I could eat that six ways from Sunday and that makes great use of the freezer as do many Make Ahead Mondays recipes. Ham balls are fabulous to freezer both because after eating them like a gluttonous pig for Easter Sunday dinner and a couple of days beyond, I’m anxious to stash them beyond my sight so I don’t eat myself ill. Popped into a heavy-duty resealable zipper-top bag with the air squeezed out, they take up very little freezer space and are there waiting for the inevitable day a few weeks later that I once again crave them.

Usually, that craving involves gussying them up a bit as in the case of today’s drool-worthy dish: Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry. I love this dish brimming with the sweet and salty ham balls, crisp-tender rainbow bell peppers and onions, tart pineapple pieces, all enrobed in an Asian-inspired sauce of chicken stock, soy sauce, Sriracha, and sesame oil. This beautiful meal is thrown together faster than it takes the pot of rice or noodles on which you’ll serve it to be done. The ham balls are already fully cooked, so they don’t need much more than a heat-through to be table ready. In order to keep from having warm ham balls with mushy stir vegetables and pineapple, we cook them separately and combine them at the end. This keeps our meat hot, sauce just-thick-enough, and vegetables crisp-tender… just the way it oughta be.

I mentioned noodles or rice just a second ago, so I want to address that for a moment. Serve it on whatever you want, obviously, but I’m partial to using rice here because it soaks up all that luscious sauce.

Friends, if you don’t already have post-Easter ham balls stashed in your freezer, I encourage you to whip up a batch toute de suite. If you make a full sized batch (or even a double batch!) you’ll have enough for a big, hearty ham ball meal AND a couple of batches of Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry. I call that a delicious return on your time investment!

XO,

Rebecca

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry | Make Ahead Mondays

The whole family loves this dish brimming with the sweet and salty ham balls, crisp-tender rainbow bell peppers and onions, tart pineapple pieces, all enrobed in an Asian-inspired sauce of chicken stock, soy sauce, Sriracha, and sesame oil. This beautiful meal is thrown together faster than it takes the pot of rice or noodles on which you'll serve it to be done because it makes use of previously cooked ham balls.

Ingredients

3 medium sized bell peppers, any colours (I prefer one each of red, orange, and green.), stems and seeds removed and thinly sliced into strips
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced into strips
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola, peanut, vegetable or grapeseed oil, divided
24 frozen or refrigerated ham balls along with any syrup with which they were frozen or refrigerated
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks packed in juice (*See Notes), drained with the juice preserved
1 to 1 3/4 cups low-sodium or home canned chicken stock or broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-3 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce, depending on heat preference
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
hot cooked rice or noodles for serving

Instructions

Pour the pineapple juice into a 4-cup capacity liquid measuring cup. Add enough chicken stock or broth to bring the liquid level to 2 cups. Whisk the sesame oil and Sriracha into the pineapple juice/chicken stock mixture and set aside. In a separate small bowl, use a fork or whisk to create a paste from the soy sauce and cornstarch. Set this aside as well.

Add the teaspoon of canola (or other) oil to the bottom of a high-sided, large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Toss in the sliced onion and stir fry it until fragrant and beginning to take on just a tinge of colour round the edges, about 2 minutes. Add in the thinly sliced bell peppers, garlic, and salt and stir fry,still over high heat, until the pepper strips are hot all of the way through, but still very crisp.

Transfer the peppers, onions and garlic to a heat proof bowl and set aside, uncovered. This prevents the peppers from overcooking.

Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining teaspoon of oil, heat until shimmery and add the ham balls along with any syrup with which they were frozen or refrigerated. Lower the heat to medium high and stir until the syrup has boiled and reduced to a dark, very thick and sticky consistency. Add the pineapple chunks to the pan and quickly stir fry.

The pineapple should become coated in the sticky ham ball syrup. Whisk the reserved cornstarch and soy sauce paste into the pineapple juice and chicken stock mixture then pour over the ham balls and pineapple and stir.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then drop the heat to medium low and simmer until it is thick enough to leave a trail when you pull your finger through it down the back of a spoon. Return the peppers, onions and garlic to the pan, toss to distribute everything evenly and cook just until the peppers and onions are hot all the way through again.

Serve over freshly cooked hot rice or the noodles of your choice with additional soy sauce and Sriracha.

Notes

*Do not use pineapple chunks packed in syrup if you can avoid it. If that's all you have handy, drain and rinse the pineapple chunks and discard the syrup. In place of the pineapple juice you would've used, use all chicken stock or broth. It won't be quite as tart as it would've been, but it'll still be delicious.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/29/sweet-and-sour-ham-ball-stir-fry-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

April 24, 2013 by Rebecca 28 Comments

Turkey burgers usually suffer from an identity crisis. They’re shaped like a burger, they’re made from ground meat, they’re served on buns, but -good golly- they are usually shoe leather dry and sorrowfully bland. The dry bit is because we all like our stomachs where they are in the shape they’re already in and in order to keep them there, one must cook turkey to the requisite safe temperature (165°F in the thickest part, thankyouverymuch). This means it’s gonna take a while.

Because of this, turkey burgers need to have added moisture be it in the form of water, broth, egg, blahblahblah. When this happens, they’re unfortunately prone to falling apart which means that most people don’t want to bother grilling them because it’s a serious pain in the tuckus to avoid the fally apparty* nature of the juiced up ground meat.

*Don’t even give me grief for that. Can you think of a better way to describe it?

To add more body back into the burger, lots of folks add bread crumbs in as a binder which puts us back at the point we were trying to avoid: dry burgers.

HOWEVAH, there’s a solution. Not only does the solution taste great, but it also adds veggies to your burgers which ups the healthy quotient of the sandwich. Win/win, right?

How to Keep Your Turkey Burgers Moist:

Here’s how it’s done; we very gently wilt spinach in hot olive oil that is flush with roasted garlic. Are you happy yet? Roasted garlic always makes me happy! The roasted garlic is another flavour boost for the poor flavour-deficient turkey bird. Notice I said gently. You don’t want to cook the spinach down to mush… You’re going to stop at the point where the spinach has gone from a big old pile like this:

…to a little old pile like this. Please notice that the spinach isn’t mush and still has some body.

At this point, you gently load the spinach into a colander over a plate and let it drain WITHOUT squishing, squeezing or otherwise molesting the spinach. Because we’re letting the spinach take some of its naturally abundant liquid with it, the spinach stores the liquid until the meat heats up on the grill and releases it INSIDE the burger. That way we don’t have sloppy, wet, fally aparty (Yes, I said it again.), sorry turkey burgers.

Let it cool like this until it’s room temperature. Right here? I usually pop it in the refrigerator overnight in a covered container. You could carry on with the burgers immediately, but I like my spinach cold before I mix it into the burger meat. Whether you cool it or proceed toute de suite, the next step is the same: chop the spinach roughly. We’re not talking itty bitty spinach morsels here, we’re talking about just breaking it up so you can distribute it through the meat a little more evenly.

Mix the chopped spinach into the meat with the crumbled feta, some black pepper, and a bit of salt. Oh hey! That feta brings moisture and flavour to the party, too!

Divide into four or six even balls and form into burgers.

How to Keep your Turkey Burgers from Falling Apart on the Grill:

Okay, here’s one of my never-skip-steps for turkey burgers. After forming the patties, I put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer while I’m preheating the grill. I don’t heat that grill ahead of time, because that little rest in the freezer (unlike beef, which you’d want to cook closer to room temp) helps hold them together in their initial slap onto the grill. This in turn gives the meat a chance to firm up under heat before you go messing with it and flipping it over. Don’t just take my word for it, though; give it a try.

Now I’m about to tell you something that you’d better not ignore. When you gently ease those patties onto the heated and oiled grill you want to be sure you’re putting each one exactly where you want it to stay for six minutes, because you are not even to THINK about moving those until the six minute mark. This is your truest hope of keeping the burgers intact. After six minutes, the meat will have cooked enough to hold together when you flip it. And once you flip it? DON’T TOUCH THAT GRILL for at least eight minutes (unless it’s to lower the heat because you got hungry and antsy and upped the temperature too much.) Turkey needs a little more finessing on the grill than beef, there’s no getting around it, but it tastes so good when it’s done right.

And let me tell you these smell insanely good while they’re grilling. How good do they smell?

Let’s just say my turkey burgers bring all the chickens to the yard.

XO Rebecca

Spinach and Feta Grilled Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 bag baby spinach (6 ounces)
4 cloves roasted garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
4-6 hamburger buns (I like whole wheat here.)
extra olive oil for oiling the grates and brushing the buns before toasting.

Optional Garnish:

mixed greens
mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta

Instructions

Pour the teaspoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid over high heat. When it is shimmery and hot add the roasted garlic to the pan and stir for about 10 seconds or until it's fragrant. Add the spinach all at once and flip it a couple of times with tongs. Turn the heat off, add the lid and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, flip a couple more times, add the lid and leave for 1 more minute. Use the tongs to gently transfer the spinach and garlic to a colander on a plate. Let it rest until room-temperature. Either chill in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or proceed to the next step.

Roughly chop the wilted spinach and garlic so you can more easily mix it through the ground turkey. Add it to a mixing bowl with the turkey, feta, salt, and pepper. Gently but thoroughly mix everything together until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Form into 4 to 6 burger patties that are at least 3/4 of an inch thick. Place the formed patties onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and let it rest in the freezer while you preheat your grill.

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Soak a wadded paper towel generously with olive oil and use tongs to rub it over the clean grill grates, heavily oiling them. Ease the burger patties onto the grill and do not move them for 6 minutes, leaving the cover of the grill open. After 6 minutes, flip the burgers just once and let them continue to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the burgers release from the grill and the interior temperature of the thickest part of the burgers reaches 165°F. Transfer the burgers to a clean plate.

Brush each of the insides of the buns with olive oil and toast them directly on the grill just until they have grill marks. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the buns to a clean plate or baking sheet.

Serve each burger on a bun topped as desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/24/spinach-and-feta-grilled-turkey-burgers/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com