Originally I thought the whole Quarantine/Covid-19 would have allowed me extra time to focus on cooking and sharing these recipes with you, but obviously that was not the case. Maybe forcing me to stay home and cook caused the opposite reaction for me? I just wanted to go out and have someone else do the dishes! Oh well. Now that the super hot temps are starting to back off I’m finding some additional inspiration. This recipe was so easy and I had quite a few people asking me for it – so I’ll do my best.
I started with a package of chicken thighs, this time I used bone in skin on – that is what I had on hand. I put them in a zip lock bag with the following marinade. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper and lemon juice. I’ll do my best to give you amounts, but I really just started mixing until I liked how it tasted. I marinated in the fridge for most of the day. Sorry – I didn’t take as many pictures for you this time!
I chose to use a cast iron skillet for this one – any oven/stove safe dish should work. I placed my chicken thighs in the cast iron and put in the oven at 400 degrees. I set the timer for an hour. When checking on them around 30 minutes I found the tops were nicely browned so I decided to cover with foil and cooked only for another 15. I didn’t even check the temperature like normal, but remember the temperature for chicken is 165 degrees. Also – they will keep cooking after (especially in the cast iron) so if you are close but not quite there that is ok!
Once removed them from the oven, I moved them to a platter and placed my cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat. I scrapped the bits off the bottom of the pan and de-glazed with a dry red wine. (you could also use white wine or chicken broth – I just had an open bottle of cooking wine already). Let this simmer for about 10 minutes until you have a thicker sauce consistency.
Lastly, I poured the sauce over the chicken in the serving platter before serving and I sprinkled with some dried thyme.
We really enjoyed this and it was very easy to put together. This time we decided to have roasted carrots and sauteed spinach with dinner. Hope you enjoy as well!
Roasted Honey Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or a little more)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 pieces chicken thighs
- 2 cup dry red wine (or white wine or chicken broth)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Mix together the first 6 ingredients with a wisk. Place your chicken thighs in a zip lock or other container and pour the marinade on top. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24 hours. *I like to shake the bag several times through the day.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place your chicken in a cast iron skillet (or oven/stove safe pan). Be sure to get as much of the marinade as you can in the pan as well. Place in oven and set time for approx 30 minutes.
- Check on your chicken at 30 minutes or so and if they are a beautiful brown, cover with foil. Cook another 15-30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 or close.
- Remove from oven. Place the chicken in a serving platter and your skillet on the stove with the remaining marinade.
- Turn the stove to medium/high heat. Scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan and deglaze with a dry red wine. I needed approx 2 cups to get the sauce amount and consistency needed, but start with about 1 cup. Simmer for about 10 minutes until you have a thicker sauce consistency.
- Pour your sauce on top of the chicken in the serving platter, coating each thigh. Sprinkle with dried thyme. Enjoy!
Brown Butter Sage Roasted Radishes
Radishes are so pretty and very easy to grow! These beauties all came from our little backyard garden. I planted the Easter variety – which is just a multi pack. My favorite is when you are surprised with the watermelon radishes. I just think they are so beautiful! There are a lot of things you can do with radishes and typically that involves simply slicing them thin or eating whole. I wanted to share something a little different with you this time.
This is super simple. Quarter your radishes or halve if smaller. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
Melt a stick of butter in a pan. Add sage leaves and simmer until the butter starts to froth and turn a little brown.
Remove the sage leaves and place on a paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
Pour the melted butter on top of the radishes and stir to coat well.
Place your sage leaves on top of the radishes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until the radishes are fork tender. The last minute, turn your oven to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
Brown Butter Sage Roasted Radishes
Ingredients
- 1 dozen radishes approx
- 1 stick butter
- 1 bunch sage leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Quarter or halve your radishes. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a pan on stove. Add sage leaves and simmer until butter starts to froth and turn brown. Remove sage leaves and place on paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
- Pour butter over radishes and stir together to evenly coat.
- Place sage leaves on top of radishes and cover pan with foil.
- Bake in over at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until radishes are fork tender (check in 15 minutes).
- For the last minute, turn over to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
“George’s” Chicken Soup
We are having just a couple of cooler days in the desert before we shoot up toward the 90s next week. The cooler days combined with being stuck in the house made soup sound like just the thing for dinner. One of our favorite soups both David and I enjoy is from George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, CA. If you have never been – it’s worth it! The views are incredible and if the seals and sea lions are plentiful, they are just high and far enough away that the smell won’t ruin your appetite!
This recipe is a pretty close play on their soup, which you can find their recipe online as well! We just made a few small changes. To start, we are using leftover pulled chicken. I am loving having all of the smoked meat leftover as there are so many different meals you can create! You can find my beer can chicken recipe on this site as well – make 2 or 3 at a time, pull the meat apart and freeze what you don’t eat for later!
Next, heat some oil in a pan and add your diced veggies, carrots, celery, onion and broccoli (stems and florets). I used approx 2 cups of each. I made a big batch as we like this leftover too! Cook for about 5 minutes until veggies are starting to soften. Add about 2 tablespoons each of basil, thyme and oregano (Mediterranean or Greek/not Mexican). Stir and cook together for a few more minutes. Heat your pan up slightly and add some white wine to de-glaze the pan, about 1 cup or a little more.
Next, add in chicken broth or stock – I used about 6 cups in this batch. Stir together well and simmer reducing the liquid by about 1/3. Add in your chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes and then add in 2 cans of black beans, drained, 3 tablespoons of worcestershire and hot sauce (your favorite brand). Simmer until you are ready to eat.
Before you serve, add in about 2 cups of coconut cream and mix together well. That is just about it! I like to add a dollop or two of Greek yogurt on top to add a little extra creaminess and cool the temperature down slightly. Enjoy!
“George’s” Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced broccoli stems included
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 tbsp basil
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp oregano Greek or Mediterranean
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock
- 3-4 cups shredded chicken, or cubed preferrably smoked
- 2 cans black beans drained
- 3 tbsp worcestershire
- 3 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 cups coconut cream
- greek yogurt, non-fat/plain optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in pan and add diced veggies. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add about 2 tablespoons each of basil, thyme and oregano. Stir and cook together a few more minutes. Turn heat up slightly and add white wine to de-glaze the pan.
- Add in chicken broth, stir together well and simmer until liquid has reduced by about 1/3.
- Add in chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes and then add in beans, worcestershire and hot sauce.
- Simmer on low until ready to serve.
- Add in coconut cream and stir together, cooking for a minute or so.
- Enjoy! Add a dollop or two of yogurt on top if you like!
Tomato Basil Bisque
I’ve always loved tomato soup, especially paired with a fancy grilled cheese. I’ve found that it freezes well, so when I have extra tomatoes from the garden this is one of the things I make with them. I’ve made quite a few different versions of this, some spicy, some sweeter and some with cream and some without. This one is somewhat in between all of the versions – feel free to play with your seasonings or amounts as with all of my “recipes.”
Seems like most of my recipes start out with this… 2 tbsp of olive oil heated in a pot, add 1 onion, diced and 6 small garlic cloves, minced. Heat until the onions start to sweat. In this pot I used 3 small, sweet bell peppers, diced and added to the above.
Next, I added my basil. You can use fresh or dried. I love basil so I dumped quite a bit of it in my pot. I used fresh from the garden and cut up with my herb scissors. Of course you can chop, tear or sprinkle in your dried as well. Next, I took my heirloom tomatoes – about 7-8 medium to large – and quartered them or smaller. Add these to your pot.
Yum.. I could eat these just like that! If you like spicy – I add a dash or two of cayenne pepper here. Cook the tomatoes down for about 15 minutes and then add in about 1.5 cups of chicken broth. Cover and simmer for up to 2 hours. It should look something like this..
Then, I break out my immersion blender. This makes life so much easier! Just start blending until it’s a smooth consistency. *If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can scoop out your soup and use a regular blender. I’d wait for it to cool enough first so that you don’t risk your glass cracking. Then put it back in the pot and bring back to a simmer.
After blending, I let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and then I stir in some heavy cream. You could use a regular heavy whipping cream, a nut based like an almond cream or a coconut cream. I used about 1/2 cup in this pot. You can add slowly and taste as you go. Either serve right away or wait until cool and pour in a zip lock bag for the freezer.
If you freeze with the cream, it’s important to note that you will want to re-heat the bisque very slowly on the stove so that the cream does not curdle. ~Enjoy!
Tomato Basil Bisque
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 small garlic cloves, minced
- 3 small sweet peppers, diced
- basil A LOT
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 7-8 large heirloom tomatoes
- 1.5 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1/2 cup heavy cream regular or coconut cream
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pot. Add onions and garlic – heat until onion begin to sweat.
- Add diced peppers and your basil – liberally.
- Quarter your tomatoes (or smaller) and add to the pot. Top with cayenne pepper if you choose. Cook down for about 15 minutes.
- Add your chicken broth, cover and simmer for up to 2 hours.
- Use your immersion blender until you have a smooth consistency. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in your heavy cream. Serve immediately, or let cool completely and pour in zip lock bag to store in the freeze for future.
Lemon Ginger Veggie Chicken Bowl
We’ve been super busy this summer.. job changes including lots of studying for David, company, travel, more company, etc. Finally we have a week at home with just us and decided we are staying in and keeping it simple for dinner all week. Time to RESET! I had some chicken already marinated and in the freezer and for whatever reason we kept skipping over the lemon ginger marinade. So I pulled it out to thaw and while at the salad bar at the grocery store over lunch grabbed a few ingredients to add!
The Lemon, Ginger chicken is a simple marinade: Olive oil, ground ginger, crushed red pepper flakes and lemon juice. Throw your chicken breasts with these ingredients into a zip lock bag and in the freezer. When you are ready to use, just pull out the morning of to thaw!
Next, I added about 1.5 tablespoons of ghee butter to my pan and heated over medium. I added in one bunch of broccolini – roughly chopped/separated into large “bite” size pieces. Stir into the melted ghee and sprinkle with a touch of salt, garlic powder, crush red pepper flakes and ground ginger.
I saw some gorgeous chanterelle mushrooms at the store earlier and grabbed them just in case.. so I threw them into the mixture as well. They were fairly small already – no need to chop. I then squeezed in the juice of one (juicy) lemon, a small bit of honey and some meyer lemon olive oil. If you don’t have meyer lemon, regular is fine as we already added fresh lemon juice. Stir over medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes.
Then I added riced cauliflower. I used a bag of frozen from Sprouts and threw it in straight out of the freezer. Stir this together well over medium-high heat for another 4-5 minutes, then lower to a simmer and cover.
I didn’t grab any good pictures of the chicken for you, but they were just simple, organic chicken breasts with some non-colorful marinade. We grilled them over medium-high heat on the grill until they reach a temperature of 160 degrees. The optimal temperate for chicken is 165 degrees, but taking it off the grill slightly early and allowing to cool a few minutes before slicing will bring it to temperate and not lose all of the juice.
Lastly, I decided we needed just a touch of a sauce or something to drizzle on top of the bowl. So I made a creamy ginger sauce. I mixed together the following in a small bowl: approx 3 tbsp of Greek yogurt (non-fat), 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, 1.5 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 squeezed lemon, ground ginger, garlic powder and just a dash of salt. Mix together until creamy.
Slice your chicken and place over top your veggie mix in a bowl. Drizzle with your sauce. And – enjoy! 🙂 We only used maybe 1/2 of the sauce or left – so we’ll see how long it keeps in the fridge.
Lemon Ginger Veggie Chicken Bowl2
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts large, organic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes approx
- 4 tbsp ground ginger approx
- 1.5 tbsp ghee butter
- 1 bunch broccolini roughly chopped/separated
- dash salt
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 1.25 cups chanterelle mushrooms approx
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil
- 12 oz riced cauliflower frozen (1 package)
- 3 tbsp greek yogurt non-fat
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
Instructions
Lemon Ginger Grilled Chicken
- To make your marinade, mix together the following ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil, juice of one lemon, 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes and 2 tbsp of ground ginger.
- Place chicken and marinade in zip lock bag and marinate over-night or place in freezer for future use.
- Thaw chicken before grilling. Grill over medium-high heat until chicken is 160 degrees. Let rest for 4 minutes before slicing. (you could also cook in oven or on stove and just look for the same temperature)
Lemon Ginger Cauliflower Veggies
- Heat about 1.5 tbsp of ghee butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add in your broccolini and stir for 3-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle with a dash of salt, 2 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of ground ginger and 1 tbsp of crushed red pepper flakes. (go light on the pepper if you are sensitive to heat/spicy)
- Add your mushrooms, 1 tbsp of honey, juice of 1/2 lemon and 1.5 tbsp of meyer lemon olive oil. Stir together another 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Pour your bag of frozen riced cauliflower into the pan (you can also use fresh!). Stir together well and reduce to a low/simmer heat and cover. Cook until your veggies are to your liking. I was multi-tasking and left them on a little longer than normal for us, but about another 12 minutes overall.
Creamy Ginger Sauce
- Mix together the following ingredients until smooth and creamy: Greek yogurt, coconut aminos, 1.5 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil, 1 tbsp of honey, ground ginger, 1/2 squeezed lemon juice, garlic powder and just a dash of salt.
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ok – I realized this is extremely similar to a recipe I have already posted. However, it turned out quite a bit different. Just a few small changes this time. I guess I will leave both recipes up so you can see the variations and pick what sounds best to you!
I know I have given several “zoodle” recipes already, but it’s summer time and there is nothing better than garden fresh veggies! I was visiting my parents last week and picked up lots of goodies at the local farmers market including these beautiful heirloom tomatoes, zucchini and yellow summer squash. This recipe is a favorite of mine and it’s so easy!
You can use any size tomato for this recipe – so if you are growing multiple varieties and want to use cherry tomatoes and large heirlooms go for it! If you have cherry tomatoes, I like to cut in half and if they are larger, just cut down accordingly – maybe into quarters. Spread them on a jelly roll pan. (that’s a baking sheet that has a lip around the sides) Drizzle on some olive oil, red wine vinegar, about a tablespoon or a little more of minced garlic, a dash of kosher salt and some red pepper flakes. The pepper adds some nice heat, if you are sensitive to spicy, then go light on the pepper flakes, but don’t worry we will balance out the heat later. Shake the pan around to make sure your tomatoes are all coated. Throw in the oven set at 375 degrees and bake until they are starting to burst. (cutting them in half saves some time here)
Next, let’s make our “zoodles.” And – oops! I forgot to take a picture so here is an old one so you can see what type of “zoodles” I used this time. My mom bought the same spiralizer I have and I thought it had the blade for the noodles that are more like spaghetti style set up, but it was the ribbon blade and I decided that was even better! I actually used about 3 small zucchini and one larger yellow summer squash combined.
Squeeze any excess water out by placing between paper towels. These really didn’t have much excess water as they were super fresh! Heat some ghee butter (or olive oil if you prefer) over medium-high heat and add your “zoodles.” Stir well to coat in your butter and then cover. I actually added a dash of water to help mine steam as I said these were super fresh and had almost zero excess water. If your zucchini is watery you won’t need to add any! These took about 10 minutes to cook through.
Once your tomatoes are starting to pop, you can pull them out of the oven and add to your cooked veggies. I use a spatula to scrape all of the bits from the pan as the juices make a nice, light sauce for summer.
Stir together your veggies and the “sauce” and then add some crumbled goat cheese. This makes for a super creamy, but still light sauce and also helps cut a little of the heat from your crushed red pepper flakes.
I like to sprinkle a little extra on top of each bowl just before serving. That’s it – I hope you enjoy! I’ve also made a similar sauce on top of regular pasta if you have been “zoodled” out like my husband would say.
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ingredients
- 3 small zucchini
- 1 medium yellow, summer squash
- 1.5 pints tomatoes any size, add more if you like
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp chrushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp ghee butter can substitute olive oil if you prefer
- 5 oz goat cheese approx
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut your tomatoes into pieces and spread on a jelly roll pan. Add your olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss together to coat the tomatoes well and put in the oven.
- Make your zoodles. We used the ribbon blade on the spiralizer and loved the texture for this recipe. Squeeze any excess water between paper towels.
- Heat the ghee butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add your zoodles and stir to coat them in the butter. Cover with a lid and let steam for approx 7-10 minutes. The cook time will depend on the water content of your veggies. (the more water the faster they will cook).
- Once your tomatoes are starting to burst, remove them from the over and add to your cooked zoodles. Use a spatula to scrape off all of the extra bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Crumble the goat cheese and add about 1/2. Stir together well. Add more of the cheese to taste and top with a few crumbles before serving if you like. ~Enjoy!
Peach Caprese Salad
I hadn’t even thought about posting/sharing this one.. I was assuming it was universal. But.. I had multiple people ask for the recipe. So – here goes nothing. This may be my shortest/easiest one yet. And not many pictures to share outside of the above.
Fresh peaches.. I mean it’s summer. We were grilling leg of lamb and I wanted a nice, refreshing, light side. I grabbed a few fresh peaches from the store. Sliced into small pieces. In Arizona, mid-summer, gardens don’t grow so amazing… I mean, I can’t complain. My tomatoes are still growing, but most of them are smaller. So.. I didn’t have the large gorgeous heirlooms to slice for caprese. Instead, I just do a bite size caprese. Slice/dice your peaches.. then same thing with your tomatoes. I bought the pre-made mozzarella in the little pearls/beads. You can also slice/dice larger mozzarella. Next, Basil. That is one thing that is growing so well for me this year. I have an abundance planted with my tomatoes under my shade cloth as well as about 10 volunteer plants that have popped up throughout the garden. Maybe I can thank the birds, maybe the wind, maybe the bunnies?? Either way, I’m happy! I just tear the basil or use some herb scissors if you have them. Mix your peaches, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella together. Drizzle with some fresh, local honey and some good quality balsamic.
That’s it – enjoy! So fresh, so yummy, so summer.. I’m not even putting a recipe card together for this one 😉
Refreshing Broccoli Slaw
This is the slaw I was telling you about – the one we topped the Turkey Burgers with! This was pretty simple and turned out really yummy! I used the bagged (or boxed) broccoli slaw to start. It holds its crunch better 🙂 Still, when making slaw I like to make ahead a few hours if possible to let the flavors really mix together.
This is the base that I started with. Mostly broccoli with a few carrots and red cabbage mixed in. Next, I very thinly sliced some fresh radish. About two small ones. Same thing with a cucumber. I had a 1/4 of one left so I used that and another.
Add those to your bowl of broccoli slaw. And lastly, before the dressing I threw in some raw, organic kraut. Basically it’s fermented red cabbage. Fermented foods are good for your gut! I found the jar at sprouts in the refrigeration section. Here is a picture and link to their website for more information on the products!
After mixing those together well, we make the “dressing.” I started with my meyer lemon olive oil. This is something I will be keeping in my pantry from now on. I only used about 1 ounce. I then added in another ounce of citrus champagne vinegar. This is another item we keep on hand. Especially because we make our own salad dressings – as we all should. So much tastier and better for you! Next, I added in some dill weed and some greek yogurt. Probably about 2 tablespoons of the dill and about a 2/3 cup of yogurt. And the final touch, pure maple syrup. I’m also guessing about 2 tablespoons. You can start with less and add more to taste. You can use an immersion blender to mix this or just a tiny whisk works great too. Just mix together really well until it looks like this…
Mix Pour this into your bowl of slaw and stir together really well. Let it sit in the fridge to incorporate. Preferably a couple of hours, but at least 30 minutes. Enjoy it alone as a side or as a topping on your burger!
Refressing Broccoli Slaw
Ingredients
- 12 oz broccoli slaw
- 2 radishes
- 1.5 cucumbers
- 1/4 cup raw, organic kraut red cabbage
- 1 oz meyer lemon olive oil
- 1 oz citrus champagne vinegar
- 2/3 cup greek yogurt plain
- 2 tbsp dill weed
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Thinly slice your radishes and cucumbers. Mix together in a bowl with your slaw and kraut.
- Mix together remaining ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy texture.
- Add your dressing to your slaw mix. Stir together thouroughly. Sit in the refrigerator to let incorporate for at least 30 minutes, but 2+ hours is best.
- Enjoy alone as a side or as a topping on a burger or anything you can imagine!
Better than beef burgers (turkey)
We really enjoy a good turkey burger. I have some old go to recipes that we like, but I decided to change it up this time. And I’m glad I did – they turned out fantastic! Luckily I was silly enough to make a dozen so we now have a few packs in the freezer to enjoy in a week or so. I think you can cook Turkey burgers just about any way: grill, stove top, oven. We usually grill, but it was close to 120 degrees yesterday!! So – I used a cast iron griddle on the stove. It may have helped me keep them together a little better as well? I have one like this ..actually I think it might be that exact one. We like to use it on the grill for breakfast too. Oh.. I should share a few of our favorite grill breakfast recipes soon! Anyway – the burgers..
I had a huge box of fresh spinach so of course spinach turkey burgers are a thing. I decided to chop it up and leave fresh (not cooked). Just a rough chop worked fine. I threw that into a large mixing bowl.
Then, I had some beautiful jalapenos from the garden. As you can see they were red/turning red. I don’t know if it’s a wives tale, but I swear it’s true.. the longer they stay on and the hotter/drier it is outside the hotter the pepper. I diced them pretty tiny and added to my bowl of spinach. I then threw in a little Himalayan salt and some fresh cracked pepper.
So then I’m shuffling around the kitchen and pantry trying to figure out what I want to do with these and see some sun-dried tomatoes. I had both jarred and dried. I decided on the dried ones. I chopped them up as much as I could – those weren’t easy to chop. I might suggest a magic bullet or something similar for next time. Of course these need some cheese. I’ve used several kinds in the past and really debated on what type would go best with this burger and I landed on the classic feta.
Throw that all in your bowl and it’s looking like a really yummy and beautiful salad! I debated eating some for lunch! Lastly, before the turkey, I added some olive oil. I chose to use my Meyer lemon infused olive oil. Just a drizzle. Mix it all together really well.
Then, I got out my 3lb package of turkey.. yes that’s right, 3lbs. I started by adding in half and mixing together. Use your hands! I realized I had used such a large bowl that I probably added too much of the above so I went ahead and used the entire package of turkey. Praying these would turn out okay enough to freeze some for future. Trust me – they turned out so good I had to get this recipe written down quickly!
After mixing in your turkey really well – make your patties. These are about 1/4 pound patties. I was making these ahead so they would be ready to go when we got home from a little after work outing together so I put them in the fridge with some saran wrap over. When ready – I heated my griddle on high over my stove (using the grated side, not flat) and cooked on each side for approx 5 minutes. Don’t press down while cooking. You will squeeze out the juice. Just get your pan super hot and flip when ready. I also made a slaw that we served on top of the burgers (my husband with a bun and mine without). I’ll share that recipe with you next! The additional side that night was grilled pineapple – yummy! We also cooked that on top of the cast iron griddle. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. Let me know what you think!
Better than Beef Burgers (Turkey)
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh spinach give or take
- 2 jalapenos
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 oz sun-dried tomatoes not in oil
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil meyer lemon infused if available
- 3 lbs ground turkey
Instructions
- Wash and chop the spinach. Add to large mixing bowl.
- Seed and dice the jalapenos and add them to bowl.
- Add salt (Himalayan) and pepper to bowl.
- Chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Also add them to bowl.
- Add Feta Cheese and olive oil and mix well.
- Add ground turkey mixing well, use your hands.
- Make your patties. You should have about 10-12 total patties around 1/4 lb each. Make sure you get them formed well so they don't fall apart on the grill, but don't work with them too much either. 🙂
- When ready to cook – heat your grill or griddle to a high heat. Cook on each side for approx 5 minutes. This will depend on how large you make your patties. Enjoy!
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in the garden. I have had success with them both in the Midwest as well as in Arizona. Currently I am growing.. jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, bell peppers, anaheim, about 6 banana pepper plants (because they grow so well and there is soooo much you can do with them) and then what I thought was pepperoncini, but still have yet to determine what they actually are. I have stuffed all varieties, but find my favorites for this recipe are the banana, poblano , bell and anaheim peppers. I had one large poblano, a couple very large anaheim and quite a few medium size banana peppers ready to go so that is what I used this time around.
I cut the top off of each pepper, slit almost all the way down, but not cutting in half and remove as many seeds as you can. These are all pretty mild peppers so you don’t need to spend too much time worrying about removing each one. Then, I took some tomatoes, also from the garden, and squeezed them into a bowl. They need to be ripe enough for this, that you can actually squeeze them. I then threw in some of my dried oregano (also from the garden) – it has become one of my most favorite spices. I am growing extra right now so that I will have plenty to dry and store again before I use it all up! Next goes in the fresh parsley (a can is fine as well if you don’t have fresh). One thing I have learned about Italian cooking is that all of the best Italian recipes are heavy on fresh parsley. A few sprinkles of some smoked paprika and some fresh ground pepper finish of your mixture in the bowl.
I used ground pork again, you can use whatever ground meat you prefer or keep on hand. I like the mild flavor of the pork in this recipe and it also tends to be one we have on hand the most. I diced up a few of my smaller peppers and threw them into a tiny bit of oil and heated for a minute before adding my pork. Cook the pork all the way through and then add in your tomato and seasonings from earlier.
Stir together until heated through. Then, we stuff the peppers. Line the stuffed peppers in a baking dish. Top them with your favorite marinara sauce. Homemade is great, canned is just fine. If I am going to use a jar one of my favorites is the Sprouts Brand – organic, tomato basil. Come to think of it, I probably should have added basil in our spices above. I guess the sauce will help make up for that!
Try to spread your sauce out as evenly as possible, covering as much of the peppers as you can. This will help them become a little softer as they cook. Lastly, sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on top. I baked these at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. We seem to think these are very filling and one large pepper is more than enough for a meal for myself! They are pretty darn good leftover as well.
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 dozen peppers assorted sizes and kinds
- 6 fresh tomatoes medium size, approx
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh or jar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ground pepper
- 25 oz marinara sauce fresh or jarred (standard jar size)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the top off of your peppers and cut a slit down one side, almost all the way down. Wash out and remove seeds.
- Squeeze your fresh tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Peel and all. Add your spices including: oregano, parsley, paprika and pepper.
- Dice a small pepper or two (that you aren't stuffing) and add to the stove with just a bit of oil. Heat for a minute before adding your ground pork. Cook through.
- Add your tomatoes and seasonings from your bowl to your cooked pork and stir together until heated through.
- Stuff your peppers and place them in a baking dish. You can squeeze them up next to each other.
- Top with your marinara sauce. Spread evenly and cover as much of the peppers as you can. Sprinkle the top with fresh, shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!