9-13-11 Dinner Blog

It was all about getting the job done yesterday evening.  We had “Back to School” information meetings at our son’s new school, which began at 5 and ended at 8:30, so, having to get out the door at 4:45, with dinner ready, I was already an underdog…

At 4:15 I made the burgers.  Adding 1 ½ T of Braggs Amino Acids and 1 ½ T Worcestershire sauce, I mixed up 1.75 lbs of ground turkey and made 7 turkey burgers.  I bought dark ground turkey meat thinking it would be a bit moister.  As I mixed in the flavorings, the meat felt wet and almost ‘sticky’. Kind of like dough that needs more flour.  I was tempted to put in some oatmeal or bread crumbs but resisted and left them as they were.  At 4:30 they were on the grill (medium heat) – by 4:40 they were off the grill and I was out the door.

I had instructed our baby sitter to cut a mango and prepare the fresh green beans, (with olive oil spray and salt), to accompany the hamburger on the plate.  I considered having her take pictures of their plate but thought it might be too much pressure…J

At 8:45 when my husband and I returned – ravenous – we warmed up the turkey burgers and bread in the toaster oven.  I also cut a mango and prepared a few green beans for the two of us.  I really needed comfort food at this point, and against my usual protocol, I spread a bit of Earth Balance (a plant based vegetable shortening – a “healthy margarine”) on the bun… Are you sensing a bit of justification?! J

The Verdict

YUMMY!!!  It was a great late night dinner and if I do say so myself, those were my best turkey burgers yet!  I have experimented over the years, searching for the best tasting turkey burger recipe, usually finding them dry and tasteless.  I think the combination of using dark turkey meat, Worcestershire sauce and the Bragg’s Liquid Aminos All Purpose Seasoning gave the burgers a more meaty flavor.  The burgers were moist, not dry.  I am soooo glad I didn’t add any oatmeal or breadcrumbs!   …And yes, that small victory does bring a smile to my face!!!

Recipe

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

1.75 lbs. Ground Turkey

1 3/4 T Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

1 3/4 T Worcestershire Sauce

Small Roll for Burgers (optional)

Large Handful of Fresh Green Beans

1 Mango cut up and divided across 4 plates

1.  Mix ground turkey, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.

2.  Divide the burgers into 7 equally-sized balls and form 1/4 lb. patties about 1/2 ” thick. The burgers will feel moist and a bit sticky – like dough that needs more flour.  Resist the temptatin to add anything like oats or bread crumbs to the mixture…

3. Preheat grill on high

4. Put the burgers on and turn the heat down to medium

6. Rinse the green beans, cut off the stems, and spray a bit of olive oil (or canola oil), salt (light salt) the beans, and portion them on the plates.

7. Flip the burgers. (about 4-5 minutes)

8. Portion the mango across the plates.

9. Pull burgers off  (about 3 more minutes).

10.  Serve and see if that isn’t one of the best turkey burgers you’ve had!