13. Create an original turkey burger recipe

Ever get into a food slump?  At the end of the school year, we were.  I didn't have the urge to cook, and we were eating the same meals over and over again.  One of the meals that we definitely should not have been eating regularly?  Stouffer's meat lasagna.  I know, it's so easy.  And it tastes really good.  (But holy moly sodium level!)  With a husby with a little bit of a cholesterol issue (we want to watch it while we're young!) and a nice big kitchen, we should be making good meals.  Good = healthy, flavorful, fresh, and tasty. 

I did add a few things to our repertoire this Spring, one recipe from our lovely retired pastors who host people on their land in Wisconsin for rest and renewal.  Did I mention there are seriously angels in their custom timber frame house?  Go feel it for yourself!  Our stay there was delightful, and the meals they prepared for us started giving me the itch to try new things again.  I have made her sausage and lentil soup many times (good for leftovers the next day, as soup usually is), and I am looking forward to making her naughty sticky buns (butter + butterscotch pudding mix + croissants = what now?!). 

This summer, because of our new found love for all things ground turkey, I ventured to make a new turkey burger recipe.  We loved the ones from Whole Foods, so why not try ourselves?  I'm not a great baker (the chemistry eludes me-- I need the freedom of cooking).  But, I can hang with the innovative cooks in the fam.  For my recipe, I used chopped knob onions, an egg, fresh bread crumbs, fresh cilantro, 1/4 of a green jalapeno sans seeds, minced garlic, ground pepper, and my new friend, ground coriander seeds. 

Overall, it went well.  I added some Chihuahua cheese to the top and with my lovely grill master's help, we had a great meal.  I have to say, I'm really thrilled by the adventurous eating my husband has been partaking in these days.  We could be foodies one day!  [You may be thinking, foodie?  Slow down, girl.  It's turkey burgers.  But I was dealing with a "plain" eater, my friends.  This is incredible.  He put avocado and black beans on a TURKEY BURGER, people.  That had CILANTRO in it!  Applause please.] 

Next time, I will use a higher fat content in the ground turkey.  Fat begets flavor, as we know.  And, I will let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for a while before forming the patties.  This will eliminate the problem of the meat being a little too brittle.  But we tried it, and it was delicious!  Tonight, we had orange and ginger marinated tilapia with Cajun quinoia.  There is beauty in adventurous eating.

May you have eyes to see the beauty. --Meg Tess