BBQ'd Turkey Burgers....

Hello again! We've had some fun summer adventures and visitors lately, and I haven't had time to post, but I have got lots of fun, new recipes to share so stay tuned!!!

Now, I not trying to take any credit on this one, I didn't invent turkey burgers of course, this is one of those posts that's supposed to help you out when you got strolling thru recipes to try to desperately find something to make tonight... or at least that's how it works for me. If I log it as a meal, then when I am planning, it jogs my ol' brain and gets put on the list and is usually under a day that says "something quick and easy!" Hope it works in the same manner for you, because this one should definitely be on the summer meal schedule! Fast, easy, effortless and enjoyed by all!

Ingredients:

Turkey patties, either premade or formed by you with 1 lb. ground turkey

s & p & garlic (or garlic powder)

buns of your choice

avocado (a MUST in my book)

red leave lettuce

thinly sliced red onion

tomato

ketchup & mustard or BBQ sauce

Directions:

If you are making your own patties, you can season your pound of meat with s & p & fresh minced garlic, then knead it all together by hand in a large bowl or you can season them afterwards (which doesn't require you to get your hands dirty!). Then split your pound of ground turkey into 4-5 sections and roll each section into a ball, push them down to make patties. Vo-la. If you haven't yet seasoned them, do that with s & p & garlic powder, and BBQ for a few minutes on each side, these cook quickly and are great for last minute meals! Add your condiments and enjoy!

***Avoiding carbs or wheat?? Try wrapping your burger in red leaf lettuce!***

Green Bean & Sweet Corn Salad

Here's another light, fresh, and summer-happy salad to enjoy. You could easily grill up some chicken and serve this along side as your meal for the evening. Maybe add some kidney beans and have a great vegetarian salad for lunch or dinner! Enjoy this salad while the vegetables are plentiful and in season!

Ingredients:

3 ears of sweet corn, cooked & cut off the cob

1.5 lbs of fresh green beans, washed & trimmed

1 heirloom tomato, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup red onion, finely diced

10-12 leaves fresh basil, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

s & p

olive oil

red wine OR balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Bring a large pot water to boil and shuck your corn. Boil your 3 ears of corn for about 5-7 minutes until cooked, remove them from the pot but keep your water boiling. After trimming your green beans end's off, cut them into bit size 1 inch pieces, and put them in the boiling pot for 5 -7 minutes. Cook until tender, and drain. Set the flat side of your corn on the cob on a cutting board and cut off the kernels. Add the green beans, corn kernels, diced tomato (I used half of an heirloom), bell pepper, red onion and 3 cloves garlic to your bowl and toss. Add a drizzle of olive oil (about 3 TBSP) and s & p and your choice of vinegar. For a lighter flavor use red wine, a stronger more flavorful burst- use balsamic. Serve warm or chilled, delicious either way!

With Balsamic Vinegar added

Caprese Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes...

My mom loves to make Caprese Salad during the summer months when tomatoes are growing profusely and basil is sweet & fragrant. It's such a perfect, seasonal dish to be enjoyed when the ingredients are at their finest. Now, my mom and my sister in law Lisa could sit side by side and pass the plate back and forth until it the entire dish was gone, commenting the whole time how DELICIOUS it is, they would go on and on and ON. They love it. LOVE IT.

Here's my confession. I on the other hand would not devour the whole dish, I would politely take a small serving... because.... tomatoes aren't really my favorite things..... that is until now. I discovered the Heirloom tomatoes, and boy oh boy, did they make me change my tune! My sweet farming neighbors brought me a bag of them a few days ago, along with a DIVINE plate of Caprese Salad and I almost had to excuse myself so I could lick the plate- it was that GOOD!

So... get on out there, find yourself some Heirloom Tomatoes, pick up the few essential ingredients and make a platter for you and... well, just YOU!

Ingredients:

Heirloom Tomatoes, sliced

Mozzarella cheese, sliced

basil leaves, chopped

s & p

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Wash and slice your tomatoes, I would count about 1 tomato per person. As you slice your tomatoes, lay then on a platter alternating a slice of mozzarella cheese in between each tomato until your platter is full. Then drizzle a bit of olive oil & balsamic on top, sprinkle a little s & p then top with a generous amount of chopped basil before serving. This is a quick and easy dish to prep and should be made right before serving.

Cool Cucumber & Mint Salad

Hello new favorite salad... this is QUICK... and when I say quick, I am talking... 5 minutes tops! It's so simple and SO STINKIN' good! What a great combination of flavors and so refreshing and cool for a hot summer day! I didn't measure anything because you use what you have and you make it according to your taste bud's preferences, but here's what you mix together...

Ingredients:

Persian or Armenian Cucumbers, halved and sliced

some red onion, thinly sliced

a handful of mint leaves, finely chopped

a sprinkling of feta cheese

a splash of red wine vinegar

a drizzle of olive oil

s & p

Directions:

Wash, slice and chop your cucumber, thinly slice your onion, add your s & p and your oil & vinegar. Then cover & refrigerate until serving. Right before you serve it, toss it and add your feta and mint, toss once more and eat the whole bowl.... it's SOOOOOOOOO good!

PICTURED: I used Armenian cucumbers, they are light in color, therefore in the photo they are not peeled, I left the skin on them, and they are delicious- not bitter at all! If you can't find those, my second choice would be the Persians, and if not those then the Hothouse cucumbers.

Zucchini Frittata

I can remember my mom making this dish (or a variation of it, because I changed a few things!) as a kid. She would make it for parties or family gathering and cut it up into small cubes for an appetizer. I am sure my siblings and I ate more than an "appetizer portion" it was yummy and always a treat. Now I make it for something to keep on hand for lunch or to serve with a salad for a light, summery dinner dish. I hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

3 cups zucchini, grated

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1 sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup expeller pressed coconut oil

1 cup flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs *** (see note below regarding seasoning)

6 mushrooms, chopped OR

1/4 cup orange bell pepper, chopped

***NOTE ON BREAD CRUMBS: you can purchase already seasoned bread crumbs and use those, or if you prefer, purchase or make plain bread crumbs and add 1/8 tsp. garlic powder, 1/8 tsp. dried oregano, and 1/8 tsp. dried basil for extra flavoring to your crumbs).

*** Note on Mushrooms VS. Bell Peppers: You can make this recipe either way, the bell peppers leave a sweeter taste to it, the mushrooms a more veggie taste, either way is good. The original recipe called for mushrooms, but I subsitituted when I didn't have any on hand. Don't use more than 6 mushrooms because they release moisture and will leave your dish too runny. Sometimes I make it without either!

Before

After

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 glass dish. Mix all wet ingredients together first, then add the dry and mix until well blended. Pour into your glass dish and bake for 40 minutes until the top is lightly golden. Cool and cut into cubes for an appetizer or squares for a dish. This can be served hot or cold and makes great left overs!

Simple Summer Squash-as-a-Side

Speaking of squash... I know my last post was on Squash & Fresh Basil Pasta, and my next post will be on Zucchini Frittata, so this post I wanted to share a simple side dish that's one of my favorite "go-to's" during the week, especially in the summer months when squash is SO plentiful! Here is an updated version of "Summer Squash as a Side".... then after that, I promise my next dish will not have any squash!!!

Ingredients:

3-4 small summer squash

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Sea Salt

Pepper

Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil

Added Options, per your preference if you want them:

1 TBSP butter

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

a handful of shredded Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Chop 1/4 of a red onion, and put it in a frying pan with a drizzle of oil (and your TBSP of butter if desired). Saute the onion for about 2-3 minutes until tender or browned. While that is going on, wash your squash, cut off the ends, slice the squash down the middle and then cut it into 1/2 pieces. Once your onion is tender, add your clove of garlic and put the squash in the pan and let brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so not to burn. In the last minute or two, throw a handful of shredded parmesan cheese on top and cover it with a lid to help it melt- or leave it plain- and serve as a side dish! It's delish!!!

Options to serve it with...

Serve this dish with chicken or beef, it's a quickie, so it comes in handy in a pinch! You can also grill strips of it on the BBQ if you already have that going and when you pull it off, you can throw some cheese on it to melt while it is still piping hot!

Squash & Fresh Basil Pasta

Sometimes I make concoctions and they are just that... concoctions that fill our belly for the evening and are never repeated again. But sometimes I make concoctions are so good that they get jotted down and find their way on here to become favorites, once-in-a-while treats, or weekly dishes. This was one of those lucky dishes that got jotted down because it was so tasty & fresh. It will definitely be making it's way back to our table this summer, especially if our garden produces us a good harvest of summer squash!

So, I was so tempted to keep adding to this recipe, I wanted to add white wine and I contemplated adding a "dressing", but it was so light and simple the way it was, I just left it alone. It's a simple, light, low-maintence pasta that could be whipped up with a few ingredients, ones that you could easily have on hand like I did tonight. I was too tired to go to the store, so I found a bag of pasta, defrosted a package of chicken, and joyfully took out the bunch of basil and yummy squash that we got in our CSA box this morning. And here's what we came up with:

Ingredients:

1 lb. brown rice penne pasta

2 chicken breasts, cubed

3-4 large squash

1 cup chopped sweet onion

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

3 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon, juiced

*** optional: a large handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Grape Seed Oil

s & p

** If you have any cherry tomatoes on hand that need to be eaten, you could toss those in too- that was a yummy addition the following day!

Directions:

Boil your water and cook your penne pasta per directions on the bag. Drain and set aside in a large bowl. Chop a sweet onion and add it to a hot pan that has a drizzle of grape seed oil in it and saute the onion for a few minutes, adding 2 cloves of garlic. After sauteing your onion for 2- 3 minutes, add your cubed chicken and cook it until it's brown (you may need to add another splash of oil once your chicken is in the pan). Season your chicken with s & p. When your chicken is nicely browned, add it to the large bowl with the cooked pasta. Next, add another drizzle of oil to the same pan and add your chopped squash (I used one large yellow crooked-neck squash, one huge green zucchini, and one big yellow patty pan squash). Add another clove of garlic and some s & p to your squash while it cooks. Cook that for 3 minutes or so then add the squash along with it's juices left in the pan to your bowl of pasta along with your parmesan cheese (mine was a heaping 1 cup) and your 1/2 cup fresh, chopped basil. Then squeeze your half of a lemon right over the top, toss, check the seasoning (s & p), and serve!

** This will make a lot of pasta, perfect for left overs or large groups! Add a little more oil or lemon juice when re-serving if it seems too dry.

FYI: here's a picture of "Patty Pan Squash" ... I didn't know it's official name.... I always refer to it as UFO Squash... but I guess it has a real name it would like to be known as!