Quick, easy, cheap turkey burgers!

I didn’t try ground turkey until recently. I always thought it sounded weird, and honestly a little bit sad: I love beef, especially good quality grass-fed beef. The grass-fed flavor can’t be beat. But I decided that for the sake of my caloric intake that I would try ground turkey, and I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing I ever made with it is still one of my favorites: turkey burgers. It’s super cheap, you can make a bunch at a time, and they’re incredible versatile. You can use them to replace beef patties (duh), crumble them for taco meat, or eat them plain, as the protein part of a meal. I usually do the latter and just eat the burgers with a little bit of Stubb’s BBQ sauce, no bun, served with a side of veggies and wild rice/quinoa pilaf.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey (I had to use 93% since that’s all Costco had, and I definitely like the 99% better)
• 1 shallot
• seasoning salt of choice, my favorite is Johnny’s
• coconut oil for the pan

1. Take ground turkey out of your refrigerator and set on counter. The warmer the turkey is, the less it will freeze your hands when you shape the patties later.

2. Peel your shallot, and dice it.

3. Put the turkey and shallot into a mixing bowl.

4. Shake a bit of seasoning salt into the bowl. I would rather go the route of under-seasoned than over-seasoned, because you can simply add more seasoning salt to the finished product.

 

5. Mix with either your hands or a spoon until the shallots and seasoning are well combined.

6. Roll mixture into balls, making them as even as you can. You can make as many as 10 patties, or as few as 3, depending on how big you want them to be. I roll them into balls first to better gauge the size. Once the balls are formed, press into patties.

I made about 9 or 10, but didn’t get a chance to take a picture until some of them were already in the pan.

7. Heat pan over medium heat, and add oil. Place your patties evenly around the pan with at least an inch between them, to allow room for flipping.

8. When just over half of the patty is cooked, and flip them (about 4-5 minutes). Cook until pink is no longer visible on the outside.*This is just how I cook mine, I don’t check the temperature because I’m lame. If you are concerned about them being completely done, cook them until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.*

9. Remove finished patties from pan and set on a plate. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to finish cooking/allow the juices to settle before serving.

And there you have it! The shallots add a great flavor and a small amount of difference in texture, while the seasoning salt rounds everything out. Enjoy!

 

-L

 

Veggie-packed, Paleo Chicken “Noodle” (Zoodle) Soup

I finally got a chance to make my chicken “noodle” soup! I know it’s the summer, but every now and then I like to ignore the season. Now, my camera is decent but nothing fancy, so the photos are good, but again nothing fancy.

Chicken noodle soup is one of my favorite foods. It’s my ultimate comfort food. It gives me an upside to dreary weather, it’s nourishing and satisfying and just delicious. And it’s my absolute favorite food when I’m feeling under the weather. But since I’ve started trying to eat better, I’ve wanted to figure out a way to make chicken noodle soup with some sort of veggie replacement for the noodles. Up until a few months ago I didn’t know what to use. But then it hit me: zucchini noodles! I’ve used them before as a spaghetti replacement for your standard spaghetti and tomato/meat sauce, and it was great. So I chopped them into smaller pieces and it worked out great! It’s the perfect way to maximize the nutrients in the soup without compromising its taste/texture.

This is a great soup to freeze for when you’re sick, or like me, if you have a migraine and have to sleep for 6 hours and ignore your stomach, then try to scrounge up food! Allow the soup to cool a bit so that it’s no longer hot, and ladle into quart size Ziploc bags or glass containers, and freeze. I advise bags or glass because heating a soup up in a plastic container might result in a very bubbly container.

Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 3 zucchini
• 5 celery stalks
• 3 large carrots
• 1 shallot
• 2 cups or more of kale leaves
• 3 cloves garlic (I used 5 because mine were the super tiny inside cloves)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 5-6 cups chicken broth or stock, or bouillon mixed into water
• 1 and 1/4 tbsps olive oil
• salt and pepper
• fresh parsley, chopped

Assemble your veggies!

1. Clean and prep your veggies. Dice the celery, carrots, and shallots, and mince the garlic. Tear the kale into bite-size pieces. Use a julienne peeler on the zucchini, and cut them into two-inch pieces. *I’m including the vegetable prep in the instructions so that if you’ve just bought your chicken, you can give it a chance to cool down so it won’t burn your fingers. If you did buy it just before cooking, take off the lid to allow it to cool down faster.*

Tons of veggies.

Dat kale.

2. Pull off the chicken skin and discard (or it eat if you like it), and pull all the meat off the bones, but don’t discard the bones. Shred the chicken by hand, and set aside. Keep the carcass in the freezer to use for stock in the future.

The chicken carcass, and the unshredded meat. I have the worst luck with rotisserie chickens, I always manage to get the ones that are still fairly pink. If this happens to you, add the chicken in a little sooner and make sure it’s completely cooked before eating.

I did my prep the day before cooking, so I put all my stuff into big bags to keep in the fridge.

3. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrots, shallots, and herbs and cook until softened, but just slightly more crunchy than you’ll want it. Add the zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for two more minutes.

Carrots, celery, shallots and herbs, moments after adding them to the pot!

4. Add the chicken stock to the pot, and increase the temperature to high. Add the chicken and kale to the soup. Cook until it reaches a soft boil, then lower to a simmer, and cook for a couple minutes longer, until the kale is tender.

Broth, chicken, and kale have just been added in. If you’re anything like me, you will have chosen a pot that’s too small because nonstick is just that much easier to work with.

The finished soup!

5. Ladle into individual bowls, top with fresh parsley, and enjoy!

So there you have it! My first recipe, and my proudest creation, chicken zoodle soup.