Curried Turkey Burgers

I am so incredibly behind on sharing my meals. I mean, hell, this dish was cooked on the 17th of the month - 2 weeks ago!

School has started and unfortunately (but predictably), homework overwhelms almost every second of my breathing life. If I'm not doing homework I'm in class. If I'm not doing either of those, I'm at work. And such is life. The good news is that even with school in session, I still have found time to cook myself dinner.

This burger was another request from one of my MFP friends. I really love turkey burgers. Because ground turkey can be so bland, I love all the different variations on a burger it can create with just a few shakes of spice jar.

I am sharing this burger with Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sundays! Yeah, yeah, it's not a soup, but they accept sandwiches and salads as well.

Curried Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

8 oz ground turkey

2 tbsp egg substitute

2 tbsp red onion, minced

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp curry powder

olive oil, for brushing

2 hamburger buns

tomato slices

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine the turkey, egg substitute, red onion, cilantro, ginger, garlic, bell pepper, cumin, and curry powder. Make 2 patties out of the meat mixture.

2. Brush the patties with a little bit of olive oil. Heat a skillet and cook the patties 5-8 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and cooked all the way through.

3. Place each patty on a bun and top with tomato slices (or whatever else goes on your burgers!)

CALORIES: 318 calories

CHOLESTEROL: 127 milligrams
FAT: 11 grams

Grilled Mozzarella "BST"

Rather than the beloved BLT sandwiches that are filled with bacon, lettuce, and tomato this sandwich features my favorite green: spinach.

When I was a little girl I hated spinach. I think part of this had to do with the fact that I really just loved potatoes and bread and would have preferred to eat starches over vegetables and secondly my mom used to buy this gross frozen spinach puree that I think looks like baby food. My brother was the lover of this spinach that made me want to hurl.

As I grew up I understood this as I just hated spinach period. Even when my mom would make dishes that involved fresh spinach, I was so repulsed at what I thought spinach was that I wouldn't even try it. It wasn't until I started cooking that I realized spinach was a lot more than some over processed frozen dish in the grocery store's freezer section.

In terms of my greens, I really don't like lettuce. I find it boring, flavorless, and I would just much rather eat something else. It also doesn't hurt that spinach is full of healthy ingredients to keep a girl strong and healthy (that girl being me of course).

Obviously this delicious sandwich will be submitted to Kahakai Kitchen's SOUPER (and sandwich and salad...) Sundays.

Grilled Mozzarella "BST"

Ingredients

6 slices bacon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups baby spinach

salt and pepper, to taste

1 dutch crunch roll, sliced and cut in half (to create 2 smaller rolls)

4 oz mozzarella

1/2 tomato, sliced

1/2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp (or cook in the microwave according to the directions on the package.) Set aside on paper towels to drain.

2. Keeping the oil from the bacon still in the pan, cook the garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange the spinach on the two bottom pieces of the roll. Top with bacon, mozzarella, and tomato.

4. Heat the oil in a skillet. Cook the sandwiches until golden brown on each side.

* serves 2

CALORIES: 402 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 38 milligrams
FAT: 22 grams
SODIUM: 611milligrams

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

My Friday lunch was delicious. I had chicken for dinner the night before and had just enough chicken left over to make this sandwich.

I originally was going to put it on a hamburger bun, but when I pulled the buns out they looked really small and also were getting kind of stale. I decided instead to cut one of the Dutch Crunch rolls in half, toast it, and use that instead. I have to say, I'm happy I didn't make it on the bun because I really love bread and I really love Dutch Crunch and I think if it was made on a hamburger bun it would have been far too messy.

This easily could have been a dinner and not just a lunch.
YUM YUM YUM - I'm definitely sharing this one with Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sundays!

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 tbsp Montgomery Inn barbecue sauce
2 tsp light ranch dressing
1/2 Dutch Crunch, toasted

1. Combine chicken, carrots, and barbecue sauce. Spread the ranch on the bread. Spoon the meat mixture onto the bread.

2. ENJOY!

Red Onion Steak Sandwich

I rarely make sandwiches. I should more, because they can be SO filling. They can also be really tasty. This sandwich was "all of the above". I was actually going to make this and bring it for work, but I had a lot of leftovers from the night before which I figured would be more suited for lunch and then instead of making the empanadas for dinner that I had planned (which would have also meant having to go to the store and getting pie crusts, since I was out of them), I decided to have the sandwich for dinner instead.

In the end, that was probably the most practical decision because these sandwiches were not neat in the slightest. I mean, I probably could have put less goodies on them, but the filled up aspect of it definitely made this a hearty meal. I don't think it would have been as good if there weren't a few onions and pieces of steal laying on my plate at the end. It was definitely a sandwich that creates an experience, that's for sure.

The slaw I made to go along with it on the other hand was sub par. I did eat it, but let's pretend like it's not even in the picture. Just focus on the dutch crunch roll stuffed with cream cheese, steak, and onions.

Tonight's sandwich is being submitted to Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sunday, which features not only soups but also sammies and salads.

Red Onion Steak Sandwich

Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 oz light cream cheese
2 6-inch dutch crunch rolls
1/2 lb steak, thinly sliced (I used a carne asada cut I get from the local Mexican carniceria)

Directions
1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat 3/4 tsp olive oil. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

2. In the same skillet heat 3/4 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Cook the steak until no longer pink.

3. During this time, toast the rolls in the oven. Once toasted and the rest of the ingredients are done, spread 1 oz of cream cheese on the bottom of each roll. Top with onions and then with the steak. Cover with the other half of the roll.

* serves 2

CALORIES: 492 calories
CHOLESTEROL: 95 milligrams
FAT: 19 grams
SODIUM: 911 milligrams