Burgers | HASTY TASTY MEALS BLOG

Category Archives: Burgers

August 20, 2012 · 7:55 am

Jalapeño Patty Melt Burger

Delicious and spicy, the jalapeño patty melt burger!

We love burgers, but we limit our red meat to one serving per week. Consequently, I look for alternatives to the juicy beef burger. (Boca Burgers and MorningStar Farms aren’t an option for me right now because they contain soy, which interferes with medication I take; however, veggie burgers are a good alternative if your doctor agrees)

I buy lean ground turkey for making my own sausage, pasta sauce, etc. and I’ve experimented with ways to make it more palatable as a burger. The problem is the taste. Turkey has a tendency to be bland, so it’s necessary to bump up the flavors. One solution is my recipe that’s a knock off of a popular beef burger at a fast food chain, the jalapeño patty melt burger. It has a kick, especially if the salsa is hot. If you aren’t a fan of spicy hot food, you can vary the recipe with milder cheese, salsa, and peppers.

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RECIPE

Ingredients:

½ pound lean ground turkey

dash of salt and pepper

1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. salsa, divided

1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 ounces pepperjack cheese, divided in fourths

2 whole wheat burger buns

Directions:

Preheat a cast iron grill pan, outdoor grill, or contact grill.

Combine ground turkey with the salsa, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. Do not overwork the meat.

Form turkey mixture into two equal patties (make a bit thinner in the centers to prevent burger bulge)

Cook for five minutes on hot grill or grill pan, turn, and cook opposite sides of burgers five minutes.

While burgers cook, separate the bottoms and tops of the buns. Place on fourth of the cheese on each bottom.

Remove burgers from heat and place on the cheese on the bottom portions of the buns. Add a fourth of the pepperjack cheese, and the jalapeño slices.

Place burger, bun and all, back in the grill pan or on the grill. Weight the burger down and cook one minute or until cheese melts. (If using a contact grill, no weight is necessary)

Carefully remove jalapeño patty melt burger from the grill and serve.

Yield: 2 burgers

Variations: Mix the salsa with 1 Tbsp. sour cream and spread on each bun before adding the cheese.

From my RV kitchen

Cheryl at Old Faithful

Old Faithful Inn, built 1904-5

We just returned from a three-week trip in our RV, traveling from Florida to Yellowstone National Park via South Dakota. This was our first extended trip in our new Winnebago Aspect, and we were curious to see how it performed. Good news. We came home under budget! First, fuel prices were lower than we’d expected (we paid under $4/gal. except at Gardiner, MT, where we paid $4.04). Also, traveling 55 MPH gave us 10 MPG, very respectable economy for a V-10 gasoline engine in a large rig.

We also came in under budget for meals. We ate most of our HASTY TASTY MEALS in our camper. In fact, we ate only 11% of our meals out. We ate well, too, dining on bison burgers, grilled salmon, red beans and rice, “fried” chicken, chicken fajitas, and a couple of Tombstone Pizzas, along with a lot of fresh vegetables. Because I travel with my Healthy Gourmet cookware, Vita-Mix, and microwave/convection oven, I have what I need to prepare a variety of meals in the tiny RV kitchen. Our lunches were often sandwiches, but they were lean meats on whole grain buns. The few times we dined out were special (like brunch at Old Faithful Inn, a magnificent 104-year-old log lodge; and breakfast at Wall Drug Store, where coffee is a nickel a cup).

Even better news than saving money is we lost weight! I weighed the morning after we got home and had lost two pounds; my hubby lost three. True, we did lots of walking every day, which helped, but avoiding restaurant meals contributed to our weight loss. We’re happy campers!

Cheri

Bison in Yellowstone National Park

RECIPE

Bison Burgers
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound ground bison
Mrs. Dash (any flavor, but we like Southwest Chipotle)
4 Whole Wheat burger buns

Directions:

Preheat electric skillet to 350°F. Divide meat into fourths and form flat patties (no thicker than ¼”). Place patties in skillet, cover, and time for five minutes. After five minutes, flip burgers to check for doneness (They will be if you are using quality cookware), unplug, and serve on buns with condiments of your choice. We like Iceburg lettuce, tomato, and sweet onion on ours.

Bison meat is lower in fat than beef and very tasty.