Spinach Turkey Burgers

Usually burgers, for us, means Summer....but you know, when the Fall weather starts coming around, as much as I love it, sometimes I yearn for a juicy burger straight from the grill.

It so happened that last week I was craving burgers, and I also got some reduced price meat at my commissary so burgers went on the menu plan.

I have tried so many different variations of burgers, cheesy or bacon, barbecue, spicy, mild, you name it.  I do however really enjoy Turkey and decided to go with that, I will use the other ground beef for something else later on in the week.

This recipe comes from one of my Taste of Home cookbooks, and I don't have to tell you how much I love Taste of Home, if you've been following my blog for a while you will know that to be true.

These were SO good, and I made double the recipe which yielded me some extra burgers for us for lunch and for my husband to take to college today.

Spinach Turkey Burgers

1 cup stuffing mix, finely crushed
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pound ground turkey
4 sandwich buns, split
Cheese slices, lettuce leaves and tomato slices, optional

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the stuffing mix, broth, Italian seasoning,
salt, pepper and half of the spinach (save remaining spinach for
another use). Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into
four 3/4-in.-thick patties.
Grill, uncovered, over medium-hot heat or broil 3-4 in. from the heat
for 3-4 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads
165° and juices run clear. Serve on buns with cheese, lettuce
and tomato if desired.

Yield: 4 servings.

Turkey, Chourico and Bacon Kabobs

I love the warm weather and I'm all about grilling outside, but today I realized a little too late that I didn't have any charcoal for the grill.

No problem, you can pop these in the oven at 450 F for 30 minutes or until the turkey is cooked and the bacon is crispy. SO SO good!

This is not a recipe I got anywhere, I just threw a couple things on the skewer and spiced it up, baked it and VOILA. Kids love these, which tells me next time I need to make double of what I made today.

TURKEY, CHOURICO AND BACON KABOBS

2 turkey breasts (they need to be thick, not the thin ones)
1 chourico
Bacon slices
Onion
Salt
Worcestershire flavored Pepper
garlic powder
paprika
olive oil

Cut the turkey into big chunks, wrap a slice of bacon around it and put it on a skewer. Follow with a slice of Chourico. Repeat with another piece of bacon wrapped turkey and another chourico slice. Continue until you have 3 pieces of each, top with a few slices of onion.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Repeat with the remaining skewers. I got 6 out of 2 turkey breasts.

Drizzle with olive oil and bake in a 450 F oven for about 30 minutes or until turkey is cooked and bacon is crispy.

Serve with a salad.

Leftovers Thanksgiving Pot Pie!

I'm sure like me, there are many of you with refrigerators brimming full with leftovers from the Thanksgiving feast.

Usually you may just keep eating them for the next few days or some may even toss them out, but what about using them in a Pot Pie, a big family sized pot pie?

The beauty of this is that you can use whatever you have on hand.

LEFTOVERS THANKSGIVING POT PIE!

Turkey, cut into bite size pieces (I used all the leftover breast meat I had, save the legs and wings for another meal)
Green bean casserole (if you don't have any leftover, just use a can of green beans)
Stuffing
Gravy
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder
Heavy cream
Refrigerated Puff Pastry or Pie Pastry


Mix the turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing and gravy in a big bowl. Add one can of cream of mushroom and salt and pepper, garlic powder.

Stir well, pour mixture into a greased casserole dish or 13x9 baking pan.

Pour heavy cream over the top, I used about a cup.

Remember what I said about using what is on hand? All I had was Puff Pastry shells, not the sheets, so I those on top. If you have the sheets use them or roll out the pie crust to the right size needed.

Pop in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the pastry is brown and cooked through.

It is SO good, chock full of the flavors you love. My kids had seconds and said it was the best pot pie they ever had.

Tonight's dinner, I'm going to take the leftover turkey legs and wings and roast them in the oven. I'll have the recipe up for you later today.

Mock Turkey Cordon Bleu!

We all know that a good Cordon Bleu has the ham and cheese rolled *inside* the chicken or turkey, but during one of my busy days I came up with this inside out cordon bleu which the family loved.

Hope you enjoy it too, it is super quick to put together and really tasty.

Mock Turkey Cordon Bleu

Turkey Tenderloins
Ham
Cheese
Heavy Cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste


Grease a baking dish and layer the turkey tenderloins on the bottom.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Place a layer of Ham followed by the Cheese and then pour about a cup of heavy cream over.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes or until turkey is done, the cheese is melted and browning and the cream is bubbly.

Serve with mashed potatoes. We like to use the creamy gravy on top of the potatoes. Enjoy!

Printer Friendly Recipe

Turkey Tenders!

My kids LOVE chicken nuggets and chicken tenders, and while I do make those for them a lot, I sometimes like to change it up a bit and use Turkey instead. 

They can't really tell the difference and it's cheaper than the chicken. What's not to like right? 

 

TURKEY TENDERS

 

2 lbs turkey breast cutlets 

flour 

salt and pepper 

garlic powder 

milk 

vegetable oil 

 

 In a big ziploc bag, mix the flour, salt and pepper and garlic powder. Shake to mix well. Cut the breast cutlets into strips. 

 

 

 

Pour some milk into a medium bowl. You don't need a lot, just about a cup or so, if you need more you can always add. Dip the strips into the milk and then dump them into the flour mixture. 

 

 

 

Close the bag and shake it up well to coat every side.

 

  

 

Fry in vegetable oil about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. 

 

 

 

Serve with Ranch dressing or Honey Mustard or whatever your family prefers. 

 

 

 

My favorite, Honey Mustard....YUM! Kids prefer the Ranch dressing, which is also really good. 

 

Barbecue Turkey Chili!

I've been enjoying the Taste of Home Crockpot Cookbook and I've found quite a few great recipes in there. Today, it's raining, it's cloudy, it's dark and gloomy and it's a bit nippy and I'm feeling a little under the weather, so this chili was the perfect meal for tonight's dinner. 

 

All you need are a few cans of this and that and you're set. Serve with some cornbread and you have a tummy warming, filling, comfort meal. I doubled the recipe because hubby loves having leftover chili to take into work. 

 

BARBECUE TURKEY CHILI

 

Ingredients: 

* 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained 

* 1 can (15-1/2 ounces) hot chili beans 

 * 1 can (15 ounces) turkey chili with beans 

* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained 

* 1/3 cup barbecue sauce 

 

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until heated through and flavors are blended. 

 

Lazy Sunday Crockpot Chili!

It's been raining all night and day and it's the perfect weather for a hot bowl of chili with some cornbread. This is how I make my Turkey Chili..... 

 

 

Lazy Sunday Crockpot Chili

 

A couple of you have commented on my crockpot because I use the base on the stovetop....yes, that's what I'm doing and no you're not imagining it. I have a Crock-Pot Versaware Pro which I LOVE. One of the main features is that the base can be used to brown meat on the stove top, it can also be used in the oven, in the refrigerator etc. It's wonderful and really cuts down on dishes when you have those crockpot recipes that call for the meat to be browned before hand. 

Now for the recipe: 

In a skillet, or the base of the crockpot, brown 1 pound of ground turkey in olive oil with 1 cup chopped onion and some crushed garlic or garlic powder. Season with oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons (mild) curry powder and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cook for a few minutes until well blended. 

 

Here's my curry powder, I have it sent in from South Africa. 

 

Add one can diced tomatoes, one 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. 

 

Mix everything together and then transfer to a crockpot OR if yours is like mine, just transfer the base to the crockpot, add two cans of red kidney beans. 

 

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, spoon into bowls and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve with some homemade cornbread muffins or tortilla chips.

Turkey Tenderloins in a cream sauce!

Living in Portugal, one of the most common meats used is Turkey, from tenderloins, to steaks, breasts and thighs. I love using Turkey, it's healthy, it's tasty and it's cheaper than chicken and beef. So for dinner tonight I made a delicious Turkey Breast Tenderloin, smothered in cream, mushrooms and bacon. YUM!

 

Turkey Tenderloins

 

4 Turkey Breast tenderloins, sliced thinly 

1 small onion, chopped finely

olive oil 

salt and pepper 

lemon juice 

garlic powder 

heavy cream 

Half a package of bacon, sliced 

1 small can of mushrooms, sliced 

 

 

Cut the tenderloin breasts into strips, season with salt and pepper, garlic powder and lemon juice.  In a skillet, add a little bit of olive oil, add the turkey and cook over medium heat until cooked through and starting to brown.  

 

 

Remove from pan and add the onions, mushrooms and bacon. Cook until onions are tender and bacon is starting to crisp.  

 

 

Add the heavy cream, about 2 cups.  Return the turkey to the skillet and let it all simmer together for about 5 minutes or until warm. 

 

 

Serve with mashed potatoes.