Mexican Turkey Burger... And My Upcoming Cookbook!
I'm about to say some stuff I might regret: I'm working on a cookbook and hoping to have it published very soon. Actually, it's not nearly as important as I just made it sound. Months ago, while discussing with friends what we'd want to do if we found out we only had a year left to live, I admitted I wanted to publish my own cookbook. Nothing fancy, really. Just something nice to be able to leave behind.
No, I'm not dying.
But this idea got me thinking. Why wait till a possible terminal illness to pursue a small dream?
At first, I thought big. 50 recipes. Oof, nevermind. 30 recipes. Still too daunting. Too much work and likely not enough people to care. So I decided to make the project more manageable: 10 recipes in a self-published ebook in the Apple iBookstore.
I still need to finalize a few recipes and bug my boyfriend for help with the finishing touches. But I'm hopeful. And excited. And I'm telling you about it here to hold myself to the endeavor, to make sure I actually follow through with it.
If I'm not hyping it up enough, I've decided to publish one of the recipes here as a sneak peek. I'm confident once you try this, you'll be looking for more.
My boyfriend's mom deserves the credit for this Mexican Turkey Burger recipe. She was looking for healthy recipes and came across this, deliciously seasoned turkey that she normally grinds up into an omelet. On a day that I still had half a pound of turkey and some extra burger buns, I created the obvious. I was amazed.
I actually hate ground turkey and cringe at the sight of its leanness. But with the spices, fresh cilantro and vegetables, this recipe is super tasty and somehow quite juicy.
Makes: 4 burgers Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients: 1 pound ground turkey 1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1/2 cup chopped red onion 1/2 cup chopped tomato 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 hamburger buns, split 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, cilantro, red onion, tomato, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Separate the mixture into 4 equal-sized patties, about 1/2” thick.
2. In a grill pan or sauté pan with a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat, cook the turkey patties until the juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Toast the hamburger buns on the pan until marked, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Assemble: Brush olive oil onto the insides of the bread. For each burger, add 1-2 tomato slices, 1/4 cup mixed baby greens and a turkey patty. Be surprised that you don’t miss the good ol’ fashioned beef patty.