Friday Edition: Yummy Finds

I don't know about you, but I have had an unexpectedly busy week.  Work was busier than I expected, which is a good thing.  And on the home front, we decided to have a couple of families over for a BBQ this weekend, so I have been trying to plan that (I haven't gotten very far:  I have napkins and beer).  Plus there were minor things, like feeding my friend's cat every night and having the Toddler's daycare close on Tuesday because they lost power.  Just little random things that made it an unexpectedly busy week.

But now it is Friday!  And not just any Friday - the Friday before a three-day weekend! 

I hope you have some fun planned for the weekend.  And I hope that fun involves food.  Like I said, we'll be having a BBQ.  Since there will be a lot of kids involved we will be having hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken.  Just the usual fare for a 4th of July BBQ.  What will you be feasting on?

In honor of the holiday, I found some yummy looking burgers to share with you!

First is a Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Burger from Southern Living magazine.  This is the kind of burger that the Husband would love since it has bacon on it!  I have to admit, it looks sinfully good.  But Southern Living also has a bunch of other yummy sounding burger recipes, and even a recipe for homemade hamburger buns!

photo via Southern Living magazine

The next burger is from Clean Eating magazine and its called a Smothered Cheeseburger!  That title isn't something I usually expect to see in Clean Eating and I am also not used to seeing a picture of a very tasty looking burger:



photo via Clean Eating magazine

Both recipes have inspired me.  On one hand I am inspired to eat healthy and on the other hand I am inspired to live it up and wrap some burgers in bacon!  Maybe I will compromise and make the burger patties from Clean Eating and top them with turkey bacon?  That sounds good to me to!

Happy 4th!

Burgers and Fries

I really love a good burger.  What is even better is a good burger with GREAT fries!  The Husband and I have been trying to get to Five Guys forever, but just haven't gotten there.  We plan to go this Friday for dinner.  Hopefully it works out this time!

In the meantime, I made my Oregano Turkey Burgers with sweet potato fries.  And a side of green beans!  If you have the turkey defrosted, this is a pretty quick meal.  The longest part is the prepping of the fries.  So if you are really short on time, you can just buy a frozen bag of sweet potato fries (I recommend Alexia Sweet Potato Fries!! So yummy).

Oregano Turkey Burgers:
Ground Turkey
dried parsley
dried oregano
garlic powder

 - I didn't put measurements because you can make as much or as little as you want and season it to your liking.  I love oregano, so I pour it on.  If you don't have garlic powder, you can use some garlic salt (but adjust accordingly).  I season so every spoonful of turkey has some green in it:

I used 2.3lbs turkey meat and was able to get 11 burgers.  I grilled 6 and froze the remaining.  We added Swiss cheese to the grilled burgers, and we loved that!  We've tried mozzarella, but like Swiss the best.

For the sweet potato fries, I just cut the potatoes into thick match sticks, drizzled with olive oil and some salt and cooked until just brown at 350F. 

It took me a couple attempts at making fries to master the "match stick cut".  So in case you are still trying to figure it out, this is what I do:

1. After peeling the potatoes, I cut the potatoes in half (I use one potato per person, and that gives us leftovers)

2. Cut the halves in half so you now have quarters

3. Slice the quarters.  Depending on the size of the quarter, I usually get 3-4 slices

4. Flip the slice so the skinned side is perpendicular to the counter.  Then slice the potato several times to form thick match sticks

Ta-da!  Fries!

If you like them spicy, you can season them with chili powder, cayenne pepper and a little salt.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake. 

Enjoy!