Turkey Burgers and Special Sauce with Asian Twist

As you may of guessed from my blog I am not red meat eater.  I eat poultry and fish and find that there is so much variety in the foods I can make and eat.  Michael is a red meat eater so for burgers he usually opts for a angus beef or some other beef variety.  But I have to say he really liked this recipe having left-over burgers two nights in a row as a late night snack!  I think it will be hard to be happy with the frozen pre-made burgers after trying all these great recipes.  The ginger in the burger and sauce give it a unique flavor that's sure to please even your picky red meat burger eaters and it's from Cooking Light so you know it's not horrible for you ;-)

Recipe Modifications

• Used 1.5 lbs of ground turkey, one of the packs from Costco.  I never get the super-lean meat you want a little fat
• 1/4 + 1/8 cup of green onion
• 3 large garlic cloves
• Added 1 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 3 tsp ginger
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Froze the burgers on a cookie sheet for two hours prior to cooking.  Wait until they really have time to cook before flipping.  You'll see the sides start to brown.  Cooked over medium heat on outside grill and did not spray with cooking spray
• The special sauce made way more than we needed.  I'd half the recipe next time.  Added 1 1/2 tsp of ginger to the sauce instead of 1/2 tsp

Ingredients

Burgers

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound ground turkey breast

Cooking spray

1/2 cup Special Sauce

4 (1 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns

4 curly leaf lettuce leaves

Special Sauce

3/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

Recipe

These recipes come from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

Click Here for Recipe for Burgers

Click Here for Recipe for Special Sauce

Turkey Burgers with Spinach and Feta

I had some left over hamburger buns to use up and if you know my family you know we hate to be wasteful.  So I decided to try my hand at making some turkey burgers.  It was raining out so we decided to pan fry them and they were a bit sticky anyway so I think that's the best method for this recipe.  They turned out amazing!  The next time I make them I think I'll add some hot sauce to kick them up a notch more, we like spicy foods.  Of course we served with french fries and topped with fresh tomatoes, lettuce and a touch of mayo.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of chopped onion

4 garlic cloves

2 cups fresh baby spinach

19-20 ounce package of ground turkey, not the super light kind you want a little fat

1/4 cup pasteurized eggs or 1 eggs beaten

4 ounces feta 

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste - optional

hamburger buns

burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, pickle) and condiments (mayo)

Recipe

1. Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onion is slightly caramelized (slightly browned), around 4 minutes
2. Add spinach and cook until wilted, around 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat
3. Combine turkey, eggs, feta, worcestershire, pepper and hot sauce (optional).  Add onion mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Heat large skillet over medium heat.  Form meat mixture into patties and place in pan.  The patties should not be too think and only the width of a burger bun.  
5. Do not turn until they are nicely browned, 4 or 5 minutes depending on temperature.  You will notice the patties shrink and edges appear cooked.  Then allow the other side to cook until browned.  You can turn once more for a few minutes to ensure they thoroughly cooked.  If you wait let them brown before flipping they will have amazing flavor and actually be more moist.   
6. Place on buns and top with your favorite toppings