When I was pregnant with Jake, all I wanted to eat was pizza. I tried to shake it up by making as many different pizza-flavored dishes as I could find, but I’m pretty sure Mark was sick of pizza after first trimester.
This pregnancy, burgers have been the big hit. I joked with Mark early in the pregnancy that maybe it was a girl this time since I was craving something different – but I didn’t really expect to be right!
This pizza was one of my I’m-trying-to-pass-this-off-as-not-burgers-again meals. It was a huge hit here – and one we’ll make again even after the burger cravings are gone!
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. pizza dough
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. dill relish
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Dill pickle slices for topping
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef and onion. Drain the grease and stir in the Worcestershire.
Roll out the pizza dough and bake for 8 minutes. While baking, whisk together the ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and relish.
Once pre-baked, remove the crust from the oven, spread the sauce over evenly, top with the ground beef, cheese and pickle slices. Return to the oven for an additional 6-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and the crust is golden-brown.
In a lot of ways, this has been the perfect summer. We’ve had friends from all over visit, we made trips to Boston and Hershey and the shore, we introduced little man to swimming and ice cream and county fairs. We celebrated my 30th birthday, little man’s first birthday and our 6th wedding anniversary. I’ve also gotten back into a few things that had fallen by the wayside during the last year – mainly, working out and reading.
Instead of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I’ve been revisiting old favorites that I know I can whip together quickly. It’s been nice to have a few weeks to just cook and not worry about trying new things or photographing meals. The break was good for the soul and helped revive my drive to cook – my dinner plans for the next few weeks are more ambitious than I’ve felt in a while!
These burgers were, mostly, a “use up what you’ve got” recipe. I had turkey that needed to get cooked that day and some mint that I had forgotten to toss in another dish (oops), so when I saw this on Pinterest it became dinner for the night. I was still on “blogging break” when I made these so I half-heartedly snapped a picture before I dug in – but despite the lackluster snapshot, these were too good not to share! These are a really great summer burger.
Mango-Mint Turkey Burgers (from No Biggie) Makes 4
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 large mango, finely diced
1 Tbsp. mint, chopped
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp. steak seasoning
1 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash original seasoning
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
Buns, for serving
In a small bowl, whisk together the barbecue sauce and teriyaki sauce. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, combine the turkey, mango, mint, onion and seasonings with your hands. When thoroughly mixed, divide into 4 equal balls and shape them into patties. Brush the tops of the patties with the sauce mix.
Cook the burgers on a medium-high grill. Place them glazed-side down and brush sauce on the other sides. Flip halfway through cooking and glaze again.
Since the meatless Friday series is over, how about a meatless Monday post?
I had full intentions of making these as one of our Lenten Friday meals. I must have had the ingredients hanging around for a full two weeks and something else kept coming up. I finally got around to making these last week and they’re sort of amazing.
Meatless burgers are a little hit-or-miss for me. I make a lot more than a share here. For me, it has to feel like a burger to be worth sharing – and boy, this one totally fits the bill. I think it may be the most “meaty” meatless burger I’ve made. And it’s smothered in buffalo sauce so it has that going for it, too.
It’s meals like this that make me think I could actually be a vegetarian.
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup buffalo sauce, plus additional for serving
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
4 hamburger buns
Blue cheese, for serving
In a medium saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas until they resemble crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl. Add oats to the food processor and pulse a few times until they are a finer crumb. Add to the large bowl with the chickpeas. To the bowl, add in the quinoa, shallot, garlic, buffalo sauce, egg, salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Mix by hand until everything is well incorporated and divide into four equal sections. For each section into a patty.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle with oil and cook patties for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve patties on buns, topped with blue cheese an additional buffalo sauce.
For some reason, Thursdays are my power day. I always feel the most together and most ambitious on Thursdays. It’s also the day I make my meal plans for the next week – which is both a good and a bad thing. Bad because I’m often more ambitious with the plans than I feel like being when I actually get around to cooking dinner. Good because when I power through the plans, I often get some pleasant surprises.
When I started making these, I had a what-were-you-thinking?! moment. We don’t generally eat a lot of Thai food. Mark isn’t crazy about peanut sauce. Veggie burgers are pretty hit-or-miss around here. Why did I think these would be a good thing to try mid-week?
Luckily, they were a huge hit. I served leftovers for lunch the next day – bun-less, on a bed of slaw – and they were even better. And we froze a few to break out for lunches during Lent. I already can’t wait.
Thai Veggie Burgers (slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats) Makes 6
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
2 tsp. olive oil, divided, plus additional for cooking
1 cup vegetable broth
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 egg
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3 cups cole slaw mix
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. water
Chopped peanuts
Burger buns
Rinse and drain the quinoa. Heat 1 tsp. of oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, until shimmering. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes to lightly toast. Stir in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand for 5. Remove the lid, fluff and set aside to cool.
In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, oats, cornmeal, salt, paprika, garlic and sesame oil until well blended. Pulse in the egg. Add the mixture to a large bowl and stir in quinoa, red pepper, onion and remaining 1 tsp. olive oil. Stir together until evenly mixed, divide into 6 equal balls and roll into patties.
In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes, lime juice and water until smooth. Set aside.
Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until shimmering. Add the patties and cook until both sides are browned and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve the patties on buns topped with slaw, peanut sauce and chopped peanuts.
