Turkey Burgers

I find ground turkey & chicken a bit bland so I like to spice it up a bit. This recipe makes about 8 burgers and they freeze well.

Ingredients:

2 LB Ground Turkey (or chicken or a combo of both)
4 Medium Large Mushrooms, chopped small
1 Medium Small Eggplant, chopped small
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
2 TBSP Minced Sun Dried Tomatoes
3 TBSP Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Warm the Olive Oil in a frying pan over Medium heat. Sprinkle with Salt, add the Eggplant, cover and cook - stirring occasionally - until Eggplant is soft. Once the Eggplant is soft, remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to the meat mixture.

Bring 2 Cups of Water to a boil and add 1/2 cup dry Quinoa. Lower heat to Medium and boil gently for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. 

Add Ground Turkey, Mushrooms, Garlic,  Sun Dried Tomatoes, Cooled Quinoa, and Cooled Eggplant to a large bowl, sprinkle with Salt & Pepper and then mix well (Hands usually work best for mixing here).  Divide into 8 parts, form patties and wrap in tin foil to freeze or toss them on the grill and enjoy! If you are pan cooking your Turkey Burgers, add a little bit of water to the bottom of a frying pan, cook over Medium Low, and keep the pan covered, turning the burger once while cooking.

Salsa

Ingredients:


8 Medium Large Tomatoes - Diced
1/4 Red Onion - Finely Chopped
3-5 Cloves of Garlic - Minced
1 Medium Jalapeno - Minced
2 Cups Cilantro - Finely Chopped
Juice from 2 Limes
Salt


Directions:

(This is an easy one) - Add all ingredients except Salt to a large bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add Salt to taste.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes approximately 12 cups of Salsa. It keeps well for a week in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and is delicious on omelets,  taco salad, turkey burgers, or just by itself.

Green & Purple Goodness

Ingredients:

1 Medium Banana - Sliced
1/3 cup Sliced Peaches with Juice
(additional peach/pear juice)
1/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/3 cup Frozen Mixed Berries
Juice from 1/2 of a Lime
1/3 - 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt - Plain
1 TBSP Pumpkin Seeds
1 TBSP Flax Meal
1 TBSP Chia Seeds
1 TBSP Hemp Hearts

Directions:

Squeeze Lime Juice into blender and add chopped Spinach, Sliced Peaches and Juice (if the smoothie is too dry to blend the Spinach well, this is where you add a bit more juice from the peaches), Pumpkin Seeds, Yogurt, and sliced Banana and blend until smooth.

Add the Flax, Chia, and Hemp Hearts and blend again until smooth. Last add the frozen Mixed Berries (blueberries, blackberries, & cherries) and blend again until smooth.

Makes approx 16oz

This smoothie is packed with goodness. The spinach provides Iron while the lime provides a tartness and the Vitamin C to help your body absorb the Iron. Flax & Chia provide fiber, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax & Chia provide protein and healthy fats. Hemp Hearts are packed full of good things. I started using them specifically to get more Magnesium & Manganese in an attempt to rid myself of night time leg cramps due to increased fitness training. 1 month later, so far so good! Bananas are just great all around, what I can I say? My recommendation, google the foods you are eating and learn what is in them and which foods are best for your needs.

Kitchen Sink Vegetable Chili

Ingredients

Note that amounts will vary depending on how many people you want to feed or how much you want left over. Chili freezes well so don't be afraid to make extra and pack some away for another day. I typically use several varieties of beans in my chili including black beans, navy beans, lentils, fava beans, & chickpeas. The following will make approximately 20 cups of chili:

4 Cans of Beans.
5 Medium-Large Tomatoes
1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Medium Onion
1 Medium bunch of Kale
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
8-10 Mushrooms
1 Medium Small Eggplant
1 Large Red Pepper
1/2 - 1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Purple Barley
Chili Powders (I use several varieties of powdered chili peppers)
Cajun Seasoning
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil or Butter (the real stuff)

Drain and rinse the canned beans and put put into a large pan (think lobster pot sized pan for this much chili). Add enough water to just cover the beans, cover the pan and cook over Medium-High heat. Add the Purple Barley (Note that the barley takes 1 1/2 hours to cook thoroughly). Chop and add the Kale, Mushrooms and Tomatoes. Peel, dice, and add the Sweet Potato.

In a separate frying pan, melt some Butter or warm up some Olive Oil and add chopped Onion, Garlic, Jalapeno, diced Eggplant, and Red Pepper. Sprinkle with a combination of Chili Powder, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Cajun Seasoning and cook until soft. Add to the large pan of Beans and other ingredients. Once the Chili comes to a boil, lower the heat to Medium-Low, keep covered and simmer for about half an hour.

Now add additional seasonings to taste, cover and allow to cook for another hour until the Sweat Potatoes and Barley are soft.

Your Chili is ready to serve and enjoy!