Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers

As usual, I was craving burgers tonight.  Hadn't had one in over a week.  Ryan and I decided to go with turkey to be a bit healthier.  Then we thought adding some spice would be good...unfortunately the jalapeno we bought was really mild.  But the burgers were still yummy in my tummy!!  I forgot to take a picture of my burger all made up, so I'll try to get one of the leftover tomorrow.

Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers
Patties:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1/2 c. shredded cheddar
• Spices--use best judgement:
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• smoked paprika
• chili powder
• sea salt
• pepper

Other Ingredients:

• 4 whole wheat buns
• condiments (ketchup, BBQ, mustard, etc)
• fixings (pickles, lettuce, tomato, etc)

To make the patties, combine all of the patty ingredients.  Divide meat mixture into four balls.  Press each ball into a patty.  Grill until cooked through.  Place on a bun and top with your favorite condiments and burger fixings.  

Parmesan Turkey Burgers and Yellow Squash

My sister made these burgers for the first time years ago.  I never even thought about making burgers out of other ground meat (besides ground beef) until she had me try these.  The recipe is quite basic, but feel free to try adding or substituting other ingredients to it.  Different toppings also can add new and exciting flavors.  Ryan and I are constantly making up "new" burgers.  We love experimenting.  For a base, we switch between ground beef, turkey, chicken, or pork.

The Original Parmesan Turkey Burgers
Makes 4 turkey burgers

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 T chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/8 t salt
• 4 hamburger buns
• Red onion rings

Heat grill for direct heat.  Mix together the turkey, Parmesan cheese, chives, pepper, and salt.  Shape into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick.  Grill patties for about 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, or until no longer pink in the center. Grill onion rings, if desired.  Serve patties on buns with onion rings.  Add extra toppings, if desired.  Be creative.  The first night Ryan and I ate these we added BBQ, tomatoes, and pickles to them (pictured above).  The second night, we just added Fire-Roasted Salsa to them, which made them pretty much the best turkey burger I've ever had!

Whenever we grill burgers, we like to also grill some vegetables to go with the main entree.  The day we made the turkey burgers, we grilled up some yellow squash.

Grilled Yellow Squash

• 1 yellow squash, cut in half length-wise
• Pepper
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Sprinkle pepper and seasons salt on squash.  Grill flesh side down until tender.  Flip over and grill for one more minute.

Black Bean Burgers

Many restaurants in Kansas City take pride in being vegetarian friendly.  I think that's really cool, and I'm not even a vegetarian.  In fact, steak is one of my all time favorite foods.  :)  Of course, I'm also very picky about how my steak is cooked, but I won't get into that here.

Back to the point, one day I ran into a blog called Guilty Kitchen.  With that kind of a name, why wouldn't I start following it?  The second day I start following it a Black Bean Burgers post shows up.  Although not a vegetarian, I had been wanting to try a veggie burger for about 6 months prior.  But I could never bring myself to order one at a restaurant in KC (mostly I was scared of the plain avocado on them).  Then I would see one of the beef hamburger descriptions, and go for it instead.  But when I saw the post on Guilty Kitchen, I decided to give it a chance.  Due to lack or dislike of an ingredient, I changed it up a bit.  Below is my version of Guilty Kitchen's Black Bean Burgers.

Chris's Black Bean Burgers (makes 4 burgers):

• 1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Salt and pepper 
• 4 slices of pepper jack cheese
• Large lettuce leaves (Romaine, Green leaf)
• Guacamole
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 4 buns, halved
• Sliced red onion
• 12 dill pickle slices

In a food processor, pulse half of drained beans, cilantro, garlic, red onion, and egg until mixed throughly.  Pour into a large bowl.  Add the rest of the beans, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Stir; then form it into four patties.  If the mixture is too runny either chill for a while or add more bread crumbs.  Chill the patties for about 10 minutes.  Preheat grill.  Grill patties about 10 minutes on both sides.  When patties are about 1 minute from being done, melt a slice of pepper jack cheese on top.  Toast bun, if desired.  Serve patties on buns with guacamole, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pickles.