Recipe for Stuffed Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Mmmm, little pockets of goodness tucked inside a moist, delicious turkey burger!  These are a little too fragile for the grill.  They cook up quickly in a pan with a little olive oil for browning.  Make sure not to overcook or they will be dry.

Servings: 3
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/4 lb. ground turkey or turkey breast
• 1/4 cup julienne cut sundried tomatoes in olive oil
• 1/4 cup crumbled low fat feta cheese
• 1 heaping TBSP finely chopped basil
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper 

Method:

• Pour a very fine layer of olive oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium high heat.
• While pan heats, mix tomatoes, feta and basil together.
• Divide turkey into 6 equal balls and flatten them.
• Spoon 1/3rd of tomato mixture on 3 of the pieces of turkey and then top each of them with one of the plain pieces of turkey.
• Gently press around the edges to form a sealed burger.
• Sprinkle a few drops of olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Cook over med high heat 4-5 minutes per side, until no longer pink inside.

These were just perfect for an evening when we wanted a light but flavorful supper (to make up for overindulging the evening before!).

You can stuff all sorts of different things in these turkey burgers and stuffed burgers are my favorite way to eat ground turkey-I find it too dry otherwise.

Here are some other ways I've served them-Enjoy!

Olive and feta turkey burgers

Stuffed turkey burgers with goat's cheese and roasted red peppers

Blue Cheese, pistachio and cranberry turkey burgers (my personal favorite)

Inside out turkey cheeseburgers

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Recipe for Another Summer Super Salad Inspiration

We enjoyed the last summer super salad so much that I've pretty much added it to the weekly rotation.  This version has refreshing and juicy watermelon mingling with blueberries, feta and mint, a simple vinaigrette and a summer staple-grilled chicken.  Once again, Mr. ELEB did his magic on the grill and contributed perfectly cooked chicken breasts.  A quick vinaigrette whipped together in the blender, a toss together of the watermelon, blueberries, feta and mint, and dinner was on the table in just about 30 minutes.


Time: 30 minutes or less
Servings: 3

Watermelon-Blueberry Drizzle
Ingredients:

• ½ cup seedless watermelon cubes
• ¼ cup blueberries
• 5 mint leaves
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt

Method:

• Blend together (in blender) until no large chunks remain-it will be watery but will thicken up with 15 minutes in the fridge.

Watermelon, Blueberry, Feta Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 cups seedless watermelon cubes
• 1 cup blueberries
• ½ cup (or more) low fat feta cheese crumbled
• 10 mint leaves (or more), finely sliced; more for garnish
• Salt (if needed, to your taste)

Method:

• Gently mix all ingredients together.  Add sprinkle of salt if needed when serving.

To prepare:

• 3 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
• 3 cups romaine (or other lettuces), shredded into bite sized pieces
• Sprinkle lettuce with watermelon blueberry drizzle and mound in center of serving platter.  
• Place chicken breasts over lettuce. 
• Sprinkle chicken with watermelon blueberry drizzle.  
• Surround lettuce and chicken with watermelon, blueberry and feta salad.  
• Garnish with mint.

A hit on all fronts!  What summer salads are you putting together?

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Recipe for Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Kalyn’s Kitchen was one of the first food blogs I started reading on a regular basis.  Kalyn has great healthy and flavorful recipes which tend to adhere to the South Beach Diet principles.  Even if you aren’t dieting, there are some amazing recipes on the site. 

This chicken recipe uses Kalyn’s recipe for roasted red pepper dip with feta and mint as the sauce for baked chicken thighs (you could also use breasts).  It’s fabulous as a dip and great as a cooking sauce.

From Top Left:  Roasted red pepper Sauce; ready for oven; out of oven.

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat


• 1 ½ cup roasted red pepper dip (recipe below)


• Cooking spray

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.


• Spread a few TBSP of dip across bottom of casserole dish.


• Lay chicken on top of sauce.


• Pour and spread remaining sauce over chicken.


• Bake on 350 for 20 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered .

Roasted Red Pepper Dip (modified slightly from Kalyn’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red bell peppers, drained well


• 1 tsp minced garlic 


• 4 oz low fat cream cheese


• 4 oz low fat feta cheese


• 1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt 


• 3 TBSP finely chopped fresh mint 


• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice


• Salt to taste

Method:

• Add all ingredients except salt to food processor and process until smooth.


• Taste and add salt if needed.

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Recipe for Quinoa Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, Mint, and Almonds

Even though it is warm/hot year around here in Maui, there is something about summer that just makes me want fresh, tasty salads.  This quinoa salad is great. Simple to make, yet complex in taste.  It is great as a side dish to grilled meats or alone as a meatless main course option.






Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 as a side dish


Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups water (or broth)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tsp salt, plus more for serving
• 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¾ cup chopped toasted marcona almonds

Method:

• Bring quinoa, water, garlic and salt to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes (or per package directions).
• Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
• Stir in red peppers, mint, feta and almonds.
• Taste for salt and add as needed.
• Serve at room temperature.

I used some of my homemade roasted red peppers but you could certainly use jarred. Don't skimp on the mint, feta or almonds!


What summer salads are you making?
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