Barbecue Turkey Burgers

Looking for something new to throw on the barbecue? Here's a nice, lighter twist on a hamburger.  The ground turkey is combined with some flavorful spices like garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. It all pairs really well with the BBQ sauce spread on the bun that the recipe calls for.  My kiddos all gobbled this up--even my baby (well....not so baby at 18 months).  Sometimes I have a hard time eating a "healthy" version of something when you're comparing it to the original.  But that's what makes this recipe so great with the use of bbq sauce over ketchup as the condiment.  It was a unique, flavorful, yummy version of a hamburger.  

Barbecue Turkey Burgers from "The Best of Cooking Light: Everyday Favorites" 

1/4 C chopped onion

1/4 C barbecue sauce, divided

2 T dry breadcrumbs

2 tsp prepared mustard

3/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 lb ground turkey

Cooking spray

1. Combine onion, 2 T bbq sauce, breadcrumbs, and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions (I did 6).  Shape into hamburger patties.

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

3. Place 1 lettuce leave, 1 tomato slice, and 1 patty on bottom half of hamburger bun.  Spread each patty with 1 1/2 teaspoon barbecue sauce.  Cover with top halves of bun. 

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

I have been trying to shake up our menu lately with a protein besides chicken.  So I went on the search for something that was healthy (and not chicken) and was so excited when I came across these.  These. Are. So. AMAZING!  I made these for my family and we couldn't stop drooling over them and eating every last one.  My kids and husband were begging for more long after they were gone.  It was the kind of meal where kids and adults are arguing over who gets the last one. And so I made them a few days later for a family BBQ and they were inhaled.  I love the turkey combined with scallions, cilantro, sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce.  It creates such a flavorful Asian-inspired dish.  I also loved the dipping sauce drizzled over the turkey meatballs.  We found it a little strong to dip in--but perfect if half the sauce was poured over them.  I know I've mentioned before that I will go weeks and usually months before repeating a dish.  But I WANT to make these again and again.  I could have them on our menu every week and not get tired of them.  And that's quite an endorsement for us!  I also paired it with this yummy Asian Cabbage salad for a full, delectable meal.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping sauce from Skinnytaste.com

Servings 4 ; Size: 3 meatballs ; Weight Watchers: 7 pts+

1/4 C panko crumbs

1 1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey

1 egg

1 T ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

3 scallions, chopped

1 T low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping sauce

4 T low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T water

1 chopped fresh scallion.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, 1 T soy sauce and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well.  Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish.  Repeat with remaining meat mixture.  Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce and remaining 2 tsp of oil in a bowl.  Add scallions.  Transfer meatballs to a serving dish.  Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 T sauce (I did half the sauce drizzled over).  Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 T per person.  Chances are you won't use all the dipping sauce.  Makes 12 meatballs.

Leftover Turkey?

...try this turkey & cranberry braid! I'm sure I'm not alone in trying to find new, innovative, delicious ways to use up all that Thanksgiving turkey. This uses the same braid idea that I used in a previous post (check here for pictures on how to make the braid). We made this tonight and it was awesome! The flavors of the turkey, craisins, and delicious swiss cheese go together so well. My hubby was a little bit leery about the craisins being in it--but declared that he wished there were even more and that it added the right amount of sweetness. And, as much as I love turkey, I was glad to be able to use up the last of it for this recipe. It was the perfect ending to our yummy Thanksgiving leftovers!

Turkey & Cranberry Braid from "The Pampered Chef All The Best"

2 pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls

2 C chopped cooked turkey

1 1/4 C shredded swiss cheese

1/2 C sliced celery

1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries

3 T snipped fresh parsley

1/2 C mayonnaise

2 T honey dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, combine turkey, 1 cup of the cheese, celery, cranberries, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, and black pepper; mix well.

2. Scoop filling evenly over crescent rolls. Finish braid as directed in previous post. Brush braid with egg white. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.