Parmesean Sage Turkey Burgers

This is another variation from a LCBO magazine recipe, Parmesan Sage Pork Burgers! Only I used Turkey instead of Pork. It was pretty easy to make but I still perfect my Beef Burgers over Turkey Burgers ;)

(I'm pretty happy with this photo, I just needed a nicer looking bun)

Ingredients:
1 - lbs (500g) Minced Turkey
1/2 - Cup (125 ml) Milk
1/4 - Cup Breadcrumbs
3 - Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 - Tbsp of Sage
3 - Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 - Tsp of Black Pepper
1 - Tsp of Salt

Directions:
Add the Bread Crumbs, Cheese, Sage, Garlic, Salt, pepper and combined.

Mix in the Milk.

Add in the Turkey and mix / fold together until everything is mixed together nicely. I did notice that this mixture was a lot sticker then when making normal beef burgers.

Split out into patties separated by parchment or wax paper. I normally get 4 - 5 depending on how thick I want to make them.

Freeze for later or cook right away on the BBQ.

When they are almost done, you can top with cheese.

Then top with your favorite topping.

Italian Rice Balls

This recipes comes to us from the May / June 2016 Canadian Running Magazine. I suggest picking up the magazine to make the dipping sauces that are suppose to accompany it. I didn't have any red peppers so I ended up making these as the starch to go with my BBQ Chicken and Zucchini Boats for dinner.

Ingredients (Rice and Mixture):
1 - Cup Rice (Recipe called for Short but I used Long and it was fine)
1/2 - Cup Ricotta
3/4 - Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
1 - Egg
1/8 - Cup Chopped Italian Herbs (Basil, Tarragon, thyme, Parsley)
1 - Tsp Salt
Zest from half a lemon

Ingredients (Rice Ball Coating):
1 - Egg
1 - Tbsp of Water
1 - Cup of Bread Crumbs

Directions:
Boil 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and then reduce to a simmer. It will take about 25 - 30 minutes. Once cooked, let the rice cool a little bit. In the mean time you can work on the other part of the mixture.

In a large bowl, lightly beat an egg. Add in the Ricotta, Italian Herbs, Salt and Parmesan.

Mix everything together.

Once the rice has cooled to a point that you can handle it, add it to the bowl and mix everything together.

Form the rice mixtures into golf ball sized balls.

In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and Tbsp of water together. Using a brush, brush the egg wash on a ball, then coat it in bread crumbs.

It a pan or wok, heat olive oil to Medium High and then add the rice balls. Turn them every 1 - 2 minutes, cooking for 5 - 8 minutes in total.

Remove the rice balls from the oil and place them on a paper towel. To keep them warm, you can pre-heat an oven to 250 degrees and put the rice balls inside.

Plate the rice balls and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top!

I struggled with making this look nice on a plate but I think the bottom photo looks a lot better.

Curried Savoy Cabbage Soup with a Mushroom Topper

Whenever I make something, I almost always have let over raw ingredients. Last week I made Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with a Creamy Coleslaw topping and the recipe only required a little bit of Savoy Cabbage. Not wanting to waste the rest of the Cabbage, I started looking up Savoy Cabbages recipes. I found out that it is used a lot in stir fry dishes but I was more in the mood for a soup (because its April and it's still cold!!!).

Ingredients:
1/2 - Head of Savoy Cabbage
1 - Medium Onion
1 - Medium Potato
1 - Tbsp of Curry Powder
1 - Tsp of Thyme
3 - Cups of Chicken Broth
1/2 - Cup of Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream
3 - Mushrooms (Optional to be used as a Garnish)

 (when you see a photo like this without all the ingredients, then it means I made up the recipe on the fly)

Directions:
Chop the onion and cabbage (excluding the cabbage core).

Add the onion and cabbage to a stock pot with butter and cook over medium heat for 3 - 5 minutes. Make sure you stir often so the cabbage doesn't burn.

Add in the Curry Powder and mix.

Peel and chop the potato then add to the stock pot.

Pour in the Chicken Stock.

Add in the Thyme (It's possible I used more like 2 Tsp of Thyme)

Mix together and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

At this point you can start frying up some mushrooms to be used as a topper.

Pour into a blender and add the cream.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into a bowl and serve.

To make it look a little fancier, lightly lay the fried mushrooms on top.

Lentil and Quinoa Soup

It's Sunday. Normally on Sunday mornings I do a run, then have a protein shake and make appetizers for lunch / afternoon snacks but today was a little different. The weather went from getting nice (it is April) to a snow storm that hit overnight and I woke up to snowy -14 morning. I decided pretty early on that it looked more like a cooking day then a running day.

For lunch I made my Kale Soup with Spanish Chorizo and it was really good. I've been trying to eat a little better so I've had Lentils, Quinoa and a bunch of other precooked things in the fridge and with it being so cold I decided to make another soup from all this precooked goodness.

Ingredients:

1/2 - Onion, Diced
1 - Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 - Tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 - Tsp Paprika
2 - Carrots, Diced
2 - Cups Beef Broth
1 - Cup Cooked Quinoa
1 - Cup Cooked Brown Lentils
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Dice up the onions and add to a pot over low-medium heat.

 Cook the onion for 5 - 7 minutes and once it has turned a nice golden colour, add the cumin.

Then add the paprika.

Mix together and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.

Dice up the carrots.

Add the broth and carrots. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the carrots have softened.

Add in the lentils and quinoa.

Simmer for another 5 - 7 minutes to allow the lentils and quinoa to absorb some flavor.

Scoop out and serve.

Note: Normally my recipes make 4 - 5 but since I had already made a soup this morning I didn't want to have a ton of left overs so this recipe make for 2 - 3 people.