Turkey, Turkey Everywhere

Turkey day is right around the corner.  I’m so excited, aren’t you? Chris and I are travelling to Pittsburgh this year and we’re going to eat Thanksgiving dinner with our folks. We haven’t celebrated this pilgrim-inspired holiday in Pennsylvania in 10 years! Where has the time gone?

It seems like the blogosphere is full of recipes for turkey, this side dish, or that dessert (they all sound so good, don’t they?). What am I going to post about?

I’m going to tell you about ground turkey, something I eat at least 3 – 4 times a week.

It is difficult not to get stuck in the routine of making turkey burgers with salt and thyme. They are delicious, but I need some variety!

So here are two recipes for turkey burgers that will provide you with some variety (and you won’t feel like you’re eating Thanksgiving leftovers).

Autumn Turkey Burgers

This recipe is a favorite because the ground turkey that I buy can get awfully dry after I bake or pan fry it. The veggies keep the meat moist and the herbs add a ton of flavor. Wow, I wish I had one of these on hand, the picture is making me hungry.

Autumn Turkey Burger Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/3 of a small, yellow onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1/2 of a zucchini, grated
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 fresh sage leaf chopped fine (don’t overdo the sage, those fresh leaves are potent!)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 T ghee or olive oil for cooking

Directions:

Combine thyme, sage, onion, red bell pepper, carrot and zucchini with the ground turkey in a large bowl. Break up the ground turkey and mix the ingredients together. It is okay if the herbs and vegetables aren’t totally evenly mixed, just do your best. Make your patties – with a pound of ground turkey, I usually make 3 patties. Don’t worry about smushing all of the veggies into the burger patties, you can use them later.

Heat up your skillet on medium heat. Add the ghee or olive oil when it comes up to temperature. Place patties on the pan, let them sizzle! Flip them once, usually around 4 minutes. It takes about 8 minutes cooking time, total.

If you have extra veggies that weren’t incorporated into the patties, throw them into the pan when the burgers are almost finished- that way you can cook them and enjoy them. It would be a shame to waste them, they are really yummy! This way, your meal and the extra diced veggies are done cooking all at once. All of the cooking is done!  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ground Jerky Turkey

This meal really gets my salivary glands pumping, it is really drool-worthy! And if you try this recipe, I highly suggest you make it with the avocado addition, because the chili spices and lime really make the nutmeg flavors in the burger jump!

Ground Jerky Turkey ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 green onions, sliced (use only green parts if on a low FODMAPS diet)
• 1/2 of a jalapeno – finely diced, ribs and seeds removed (substitute green bell pepper if you are new to SCD- see NOTE below)
• 1 clove garlic (omit if on a low FODMAPS diet- but it sure adds a lot of flavor)
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (if your nutmeg is old and tasteless, this recipe won’t pop)
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 bibb lettuce leaves (instead of a bun)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 T. coconut oil for cooking

Chili-Lime Avocado ingredients:

• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• 1/2 of a fat lime, juiced
• 1 T. chopped cilantro
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine green onions, jalapeno, garlic, thyme, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon with the ground turkey in a large bowl. Break up the ground turkey and mix the ingredients together. Make your patties. Bring your skillet (or SCD Griddle!) up to medium temperature and add coconut oil. Flip about 4 minutes into cooking, for a total of 8 minutes (or until pinkness in the middle is gone). While the burgers are cooking, you can get the star-side dish together.

Add all of the Chili-Lime Avocado ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

When the burgers are finished, sandwich the Ground Jerky Turkey burger and a pile of the Chili-Lime Avocado in between two pieces of bibb lettuce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is a messy burger, but it is finger-licking good. Be sure to have napkins on hand while you get a taste of the Caribbean!

NOTE: A word of warning to those with sensitive stomaches; the jalapeno can cause some discomfort! If you have any doubts, substitute the green bell pepper in place of the jalapeno.

Yum, where are my leftovers?

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

XOXO

Theresa ~SCD Griddle