Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Kristin's Infamous Goat Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Infamous, you ask? Well, Meredith loves em! I figure if my recipe travels more than 100 miles that it must be infamous...

Sadly no pictures, but its the recipes here that matters, right?

Ingredients:
Makes about 4 burgers
  • 1 package of ground turkey (about 1.5 lbs)
  • 1/2 small package of chopped, frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
  • 1 small package of goat cheese (I believe they come between 5 and 6 oz.) *Don't use the spreadable kind, it doesn't hold up to the heat of cooking
  • 1 handful of fresh herbs, washed and chopped (I use basil, sage and oregano because that's what I grew this summer)
  • 1 T Canadian Steak Seasoning (Sometimes called Montreal Steak Seasoning)
  • Whole wheat buns
  • Green leaf lettuce
I cook mine in the oven, but these would also work on the grill or even sauteed in a pan on the stovetop. If baking, preheat oven to 400F.

Mix all ingredients together (minus the cheese, buns and lettuce obvi) in a large bowl and patty up into round burgers. Smash burgers flat and scoop one spoonful of cheese into middle of burger. Fold the rest of the meat around the cheese into a ball. Place burgers on greased baking sheet and smash down a bit into a flattened burger shape (watch out to not let cheese seep out).

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. If cooking on the stove top, I would just saute them in a small amount of olive oil at medium heat.

Top with your favorite condiments (I recommend a small amount of Lite Mayo) and the lettuce.

Enjoy!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan

I have made this easy cauliflower soup plenty of times, and have been "perfecting" it as I go. I saw this post on Becks and Posh this morning that made me decide to try a creamier version using butter instead of oil.
  • 1 head of cauliflower, separated into flowerets and rinsed
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 t (more of less depending on how you like spice) red pepper flakes
  • 1 to 2 T Smart Balance Light butter spread
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 T lite mayo
  • 1/4 cup or less grated Parmesan cheese
  • sea salt to taste
Start by browning the onions in heated butter in medium sauce pan. After onions are browned, add cauliflower, water (only fill water until t covers about half of cauliflowers), salt, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook covered until cauliflowers are very soft, for me it was about 15 minutes.

Add mixture to blender or food processor and blend until smooth and few lumps remain. Stir in mayo and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2 large bowls.