The Best Turkey Burgers

It's grilling season and nothing says summer like a good burger.

Even vegetarians love a good bean or veggie burger right?

Now no one in their right mind, including myself, want's to turn their oven on in this hot weather. So I got my grill on this past Saturday with the pending heat wave, and all I have to say is this...turkey burgers are the BOMB!!

Or should I say boom? Let me tell you about the fun we had trying to get our BBQ going on the weekend. We've had this one for a while now and I think it's soon to be on its last leg. The ignition button that you push to fire it up has officially stopped working. So, we've had to resort to igniting the thing by dropping matches over the grill at an arms length while being ready to jump back before the flame catches. Talk about living on the edge!

...You know it's time to buy a new BBQ when.

It's probably not a good thing to be throwing lit matches at it, but it works for now until we can get a new one.

Anyway, back to the burgers. Ground turkey is a great alternative to the traditional beef burger. This one is so tender and well seasoned you'll have a hard time believing how healthy it really is for you. The turkey is low in sodium and saturated fats, and is a good source of protein.

Smokey Turkey Burgers (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper
• Diana's Smokehouse BBQ sauce for brushing
• Whole grain kaiser buns

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, with a fork, combine turkey, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and pepper.
2. Form the mixture into four burger patties being careful not to overwork the meat.
3. Grill them for 4-7 minutes per side until thoroughly cooked. After flipping the first side brush on some BBQ sauce. When the second side is done, flip and brush some BBQ sauce on the first side.

You can top these beauties anyway you like. I topped mine with some classic mustard and relish, sliced tomato from the market, caramelized onions, and a dill pickle. Gotta have that pickle in there!

These burgers are a officially a family favourite in my house and they are the best turkey burgers I've ever tried.

Hopefully the next time I decide to grill I won't blow up!

What are some of your favourite burger toppings?

Rustic Kamut Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage

Back in the day when we used to eat without a second thought, spaghetti and meat sauce was a big hit at my house. My mom would make her famous tomato meat sauce with ground beef and we would cook up some white pasta and sit down to a family dinner. I still love my mom's old recipe as a treat -minus the white pasta. But one day it dawned on us, "hey, why can't we just clean it up and make it more nutritious?" Of course!

Well that's exactly what we did. Served with some good wine of course:

Ever since I picked up Tosca Reno's first eat clean diet cook book, I've been inspired to take recipes and turn them into healthy every day meals. It's become something of a hobby that I get to enjoy with my family when we come together to make dinner. We really like cooking together. And after all, real food should taste good and have the best of both worlds (nutrition & flavour).

This is now a recipe that we like to make over and over again. It's comforting, it's healthy, it's whole grain and most importantly it tastes really good! If you're looking for something to go with a good bottle of red wine, then this is a recipe for you. We made this last weekend and enjoyed it with a glass of Ravine's VQA Red Coat from St. Davids Ontario. 2010 was a great year for wine in Niagara.

I like to call this a rustic tomato sauce because the tomatoes are roasted down in the oven along with other veggies and herbs, making it less of a traditional pasta sauce. It uses plump fresh Ontario grown tomatoes, asparagus, and roasted sweet red bell peppers all roughly chopped. Instead of the ground beef we picked up some organic locally prepared low sodium extra lean turkey sausage from Nicholyn farm in Horseshoe Valley. Another great place that I like to frequent. And ancient grain kamut spaghetti to replace the white pasta. I would strongly suggest topping it with a little bit of soft goat cheese like I served it here, no measurements needed:

The fresh basil came from my herb garden.

Rustic Kamut Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups of mixed tomatoes, chopped (plum, yellow, cherry)
• 1 tbsp each of olive oil and red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms
• 3-4 turkey sausages, grilled and sliced
• 2-3 tbsp fresh basil, torn
• 4 large knobs of goat cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425* F. In a large baking dish, combine chopped tomatoes, asparagus, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, sea salt and garlic. Place in oven to roast for 10 minutes.
2. Saute the mushrooms in a medium sauce pan then add them, roasted red pepper, and grilled turkey sausage to the tomato mix. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes in the oven.
3. Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta for 8-10 minutes.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the tomato mixture and half of the basil.
5. Serve among 4 plates and top with fresh torn basil and goat cheese.

Cheers to another home cooked meal!

If you like flavourful food you do not want to miss this one.