Thai Turkey Burgers - save a pig, eat a turkey

I got this recipe at a grocery store early 2012. They were demo'ing it and I was very brave and tried it. I loved it. I actually met the woman who created the recipe, really nice lady. She'd be so proud if she knew I blogged her recipe and that you were reading it. So proud.  Here goes...

1 pound ground turkey, I use breast

½ cup cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 t freshly grated ginger

3 green onions, thinly chopped

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sesame oil (I use vegetable because I don’t use the sesame oil fast enough and it gets rancid)

1 T toasted sesame seeds

About 1 t salt, if desired

Buns, toasted with butter, if desired – I like hearty, crusty buns, like Ciabatta

Combine everything except the ground turkey and mix well. Add the ground turkey and lightly mix.  Form into patties, I get 4 good size patties from a pound of ground turkey. I use my new kitchen scale and each patty is about 4.5 ounces. Get a scale! They are so cool! 

I cook them in a non-stick skillet with a tiny bit of vegetable oil, probably about a teaspoon swirled around the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, the heat should be hot enough for them to sizzle, but not so hot that they burn. When they are nice and brown and done cooking, remove them from the pan to another dish and let them rest for 5 minutes.  Resting allows the juices to settle inside the burger and it makes them moist and yummy. If you have a thermometer, they should be at least 165 degrees. I stack them together in the pan to test them, you can’t really check one burger, it’s too thin.

To toast sesame seeds, just put them in a pan, I usually use a saucepan. Put them in dry and turn on the heat.  Watch them carefully and stir them and after about 2 minutes they will turn light brown and that means they are toasted. When you do this the first few times, be sure to watch them carefully because burnt toasted sesame seeds stink. Worse than burnt toast. 

Serve with:

Chili Lime Mayo 

½ cup mayo, I use light

1 T Sambal Ground Fresh Chili paste or any hot chili sauce 

Zest of one lime 

Juice of one lime 

¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Serve with burgers.

This is really important! 
I found the coolest way to peel ginger. COOLEST WAY! Rub the fresh ginger with the edge of a spoon and the peel comes right off.  You won't believe it when you do it, it's so easy and it works! 

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Thai Turkey Burgers

                                                       

Hot Pizza Dip

I sold Pampered Chef for several years and this is a recipe I would make at my kitchen shows.  It's really easy and everyone loves it.  Plan on giving out this recipe, everyone wants it.

I'll add a picture next time I make it. 

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened. I always use generic

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 8 oz. can pizza sauce, I use Ragu or Kroger bottled sauce

2 T sliced green onion

1 t Italian seasoning

¾ cup (3 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese

2 T chopped green pepper, if desired 

Combine cream cheese and Italian seasoning, mix well. Spread in bottom of a baking pan.  Combine cheeses and sprinkle half of cheese mixture over cream cheese. Spread pizza sauce over cheese. Top with remaining cheese, onions and peppers. Bake 15 – 18 mins. or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbling around edges.

My method: I always double or triple this recipe. Always. I usually use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese. I buy the jar of pizza sauce, I think it's 14 oz., and use the whole thing for one recipe. I layer all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook it for about 2 hours until it is bubbly on the sides. It might get bubbly before 2 hours, so check it, you don't want it to burn, just get warm and the sides bubbly. I swirl it around just a little bit so it all blends together after it is done warming. I serve it with cubes, or tiny slices, of French bread. I usually make bread with my Valtrompia bread tubes from Pampered Chef. I'll post that recipe one day soon. I don't add the green peppers, they don't like me.

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Hot Pizza Dip

Apple Nut Ring

This is another recipe from Pampered Chef that I made all the time at my kitchen shows and at home. It's easy and really inexpensive and again, everybody loves it. I always use generic biscuits and they are just fine. The recipe calls for a Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker, but you could probably use a metal or glass pan. It doesn't even need to be round. The recipe states to bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 400°.  That's way too long for my oven, it takes about 19 minutes for them to bake at my house. Watch them carefully after about 15 minutes to make sure they don't overcook. I don't use raisins because I don't really like them. I use almonds for the nuts because I love them and it's my kitchen, so I use almonds. You could use walnuts or pecans or almonds or whatever nut you like.

2 tubes refrigerator biscuits 
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted - I use margarine 

3/4 cup sugar  

1 T cinnamon
2 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
1/3 cup chopped nuts

1/4 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 400°.  Separate biscuits into 20 pieces.  Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip biscuits into melted butter, then roll in sugar mixture.  Arrange biscuits in a single layer in baking dish. Place an apple slice between each biscuit and around outer edge of baking dish. Mix nuts and raisins with remaining sugar mixture and sprinkle over top. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.

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Apple Nut Ring

I have these handy gadgets that make this recipe easier to prepare. You might have these cluttering up your kitchen and you never use them, now you know what to do with them.

Apple/Peeler/Corer/Slicer 

My grandma had one of these! That's how long they've been around. The stand doesn't come with the APCS, but the APCS will attach to a counter top, or a table tob. I love my stand, but I could live without it. You need to use firm apples with the APCS, Granny Smith are perfect.

This is a Zyliss cheese grater and it works great for grinding nuts.  The recipe uses chopped nuts, and I use them sometimes, but I mostly use grated nuts. My grandma had one of these, too! Hers was metal and it had three different drums, I don't think it was Zyliss.  I loved that thing for grating cheese. It makes me feel close to my grandma when I use these gadgets. She loved gadgets. 

Exciting way to peel fresh ginger! (I have no life)

I found the coolest way to peel ginger. COOLEST WAY! Rub the ginger with the edge of a spoon and the peel comes right off. You won't believe it when you do it, it's awesome!

Is it wrong to break off a piece of the fresh ginger at the store? I hope not, because I do it. 

Try my Thai Turkey Burger recipe because it calls for fresh ginger and now you know how to peel it. It's awesome! 

Lasagna with White Sauce

This is a recipe from Taste of Home Magazine and I’ve had it for at least 15 years. It sounds difficult, but it’s not. You don’t even need to cook the noodles. Really. The recipe says it will serve 10 – 12 people. ?????? I can eat a fourth of it myself. Those must be some TINY people. You could probably use a packet of White Sauce mix from the grocery store, but it's so easy to make it homemade, try it. 

1 pound ground beef, could use ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped

1 can (14 ½ ounces) tomatoes with liquid, cut up

2 T tomato paste

1 beef bouillon cube

1 ½ t Italian seasoning

1 t salt

½ t pepper

¼ t ground red or cayenne pepper

WHITE SAUCE:

2 T butter or margarine, (I use margarine)

3 T flour

1 t salt

¼ t pepper

2 cups milk

¾ cup water

1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

10 – 12 uncooked lasagna noodles

In a dutch oven, or big pot, cook beef and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender; drain.  Use a spoon to break the meat into tiny pieces. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon and seasonings.  Cover and cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Add milk gradually; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and cook for 1 minute. Add ¾ cup water. (I add the water to give the sauce a little more moisture since the noodles aren’t cooked.) Remove from the heat and stir in half of the cheese; set aside.  Pour half of the meat sauce into an un-greased 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with half of the lasagna noodles.  Cover with remaining meat sauce.  Top with remaining noodles.  Pour white sauce over noodles.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until noodles are done.  Let cool for about 10 minutes before you cut into it. 

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Lasagna with White Sauce