Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

July 2, 2013 · by ·

Bacon-and-Onion-Stuffed-Turkey-Burgers

It may be shocking to see me posting a meat recipe. It happens once in a while. It’s grilling season. You got to cook up some burgers during grilling season!

When I do buy and cook meat, I like to know that my meat is coming from a good place. Kind of like the chicken on the Portlandia episode. Well, I’m not that intense. I do like to know though, that the animals were treated well and fed well. I prefer to only buy sustainable, pasture-raised and grass-fed meats when possible. That’s where KOL Foods comes in to play. They have an amazing selection of pastured and grass-fed meats and poultry. You can read more about them here.

They recently sent me some beef bacon and ground turkey. I was so excited when the meats showed up. I had a few things in mind as to what to create.

Being that July 4th, Independence Day, is almost upon us, I thought I would share a treat that’s perfect for your family barbecues. These bacon and onion stuffed turkey burgers come together fairly painlessly and you will reap the rewards with the amazing flavor.

Earlier in the day, I stepped on to my deck to pick some herbs for my burgers. I like using sage, rosemary, parsley  and thyme whenever I mix up some burger meat.

In one pan, I began to caramelize some onions and garlic. I love caramelized onions both on and in the burger.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

In another grill pan, I began to fry up the bacon. Half of the bacon was reserved for garnishing the burgers, but the other half would be going in the burgers.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I let both the bacon and the onions cool a bit.

In the bacon pan, I sliced up some portabello mushrooms and grilled them.

I began to mix up my burgers. I mixed the ground turkey with chopped onion, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley, thyme and sage. I then added some gluten free oats, vegan worcestershire sauce and an egg to the mix. I mixed everything well. If you are not gluten free, feel free to add some bread crumbs or panko crumbs instead. I wanted to keep these gluten free for me.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I crumbled up half of the cooked bacon.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I formed some of the burger mixture in to a patty and then placed about a tablespoon of chopped bacon and a tablespoon of onions in the center of the formed patty. I then placed more of the burger mixture over it and sealed the bacon and onions in.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I managed to get 7 burgers out of this mixture.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I then grilled the burgers in my grill pan until done. (You can use the BBQ. It was raining that day)

Burgers-Grilling

I served up the burgers with additional bacon, onion, mushrooms, spinach and avocado. Oh my. That burger was amazing! You must make it!

As far as KOL Foods goes, they are amazing. I found that the meats and poultry are much more flavorful than the traditional store-bought varieties. The turkey tastes like turkey and the no-nitrite bacon was incredibly flavorful. I really loved the meats I received from them and am excited to order and cook from them again soon. Thank you, KOL Foods!

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Turkey Burgers
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 large vidalia onion, sliced
  • 1 large spanish onion, sliced
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 lb. of bacon (beef or pork) - half will be used in the burger, other half to top burger
  • 1 pound of mushrooms (portabella or baby bella), sliced
  • 2 lb. ground turkey
  • 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
  • ½ tbsp. fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
  • 1 extra large egg
  • ½ cup gluten free oats or bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • Recommended Burger Toppings:
  • Avocado
  • Bacon
  • spinach or arugula
  • caramelized onions
  • grilled mushrooms
Instructions
  1. In one pan, heat up some olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on medium until the onions are caramelized. Set pan aside when done.
  2. In another pan, cook the bacon. Because the bacon is fatty, you don't need to add any oil. Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
  3. In that same grill pan, grill the mushrooms until nicely browned. Set aside.
  4. Crumble up half of the bacon.
  5. In a mixing bowl, mix up the ground turkey with the fresh herbs, the egg, the oats or bread crumbs, the worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
  6. Form the burger in to a small patty.
  7. Place a tablespoon of the crumbled bacon and the caramelized onions in center of each patty. Top and seal with additional burger mixture.
  8. Cook burger on a barbecue or on a grill pan until done.
  9. Top with your favorite burger toppings.
  10. Enjoy!

Bacon-and-Onion-Stuffed-Turkey-Burgers

 

Filed Under: burger, Dinner, fleishig, Gluten Free, grilled, Lunch, meat, product review · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mom’s Passover Brisket

March 25, 2013 · by ·

Each year without fail, the day before Passover, I make a call to my mom. Not to wish her a happy Passover. I call for cooking advice and to ask how she managed to accomplish Passover for all of these years. For the past few years, I have been making Passover at home and each year I am more and more appreciative and amazed by the amount of work she puts in to each of the holidays.

This year, like years past, I put in that call. The call where I ask my mom for her Passover brisket recipe. It’s been emailed multiple times, but instead of searching for the email, I get lazy and want to hear her voice, so I call her. I decided to finally put it down somewhere where I know it can be found quickly and easily. This brisket is always amazing. When cooked at a low heat for a long time, the brisket comes out amazingly moist and soft. So full of flavor. This brisket has pulled me from my mostly vegetarian diet several times over the past years. My mom’s brisket is what I craved when I was pregnant with my daughter.

Passover Brisket (recipe from my dear mom, Lili G.)
Ingredients:

1 – 6 lb (or so) brisket
2 onions, sliced
1 bunch celery, sliced
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
10 cloves of garlic, smashed

Marinade:
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup ketchup or other kind of tomato based sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar or honey (you could also use some wine or marmalade in place of the sugar or honey)
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 sprigs of chopped rosemary and thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Note: This brisket yields a lot of a gravy. So good!

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients

marinade

Place brisket over chopped vegetables.

raw brisket

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Mix marinade in a small mixing bowl.

Pour marinade over brisket and cover with foil. Allow to marinade for at least 4 hours.

marinade on brisket

If you refrigerate, remove and let it come to room temperature.

Set oven to 275.

Bake overnight – around 6 to 8 hours.

Refrigerate. When cold, remove fat and slice brisket thinly while still cold.

sliced brisket

Place brisket slices back in sauce and warm in oven at a low heat.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: brisket, Dinner, Main Course, meat, passover, pesach, shabbat · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Corned Beef Hash Egg Rolls

August 8, 2012 · by ·

My mom came to town for the weekend. A shabbat with family is always wonderful.

In my family, a visit = food. When I go back to the midwest, I bring smoked fish and bagels. When they come to me, I also get special care packages. In this case, my mom graciously brought some packages of smoked meat from Chicago’s famed Romanian Kosher butcher. That place has some of the most amazing meats. I don’t eat that stuff anymore, but the husband is thrilled to pieces when there is meat in the house. Especially really good smoked meats. What a treat!
The husband and my mom grazed over various deli sandwiches over the weekend, but we still had some leftover corned beef.
I thought back to my days as a waitress. One of the most popular dishes in the morning, was corned beef hash with eggs. There was this amazing meaty/salty smell that came off of the platters. I was thinking of just making that for dinner with some eggs for the husband, but I wanted to change it up a bit.
I had some egg roll wrappers sitting in the fridge. We’ve had pastrami egg rolls before, and those were a hit. I wondered how corned beef hash would work in an egg roll. It turns out that it tastes awesome. Not just because they are fried. They are even good when baked. The combination of the flavors along with the crunch of the egg rolls are perfect.



Corned Beef Hash Egg Rolls
Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 medium potatoes parboiled, cooled and cubed
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound of fatty corned beef (the deli kind), cubed/chopped
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
2 tsp. paprika
egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Heat up the 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large pan. Add in your chopped onion and cook for a few minutes.

Add in the chopped potatoes and cook for another five minutes until you start to see some browning on the onions and potatoes.

Confident Cook, Hesitant Baker

Add in the peppers and the garlic and cook another minute.

Now it’s time to add the meat and the spices. Let everything cook for a few minutes. Set aside to cool a little.

Corned Beef Hash Egg Rolls

Set up your assembly station: your bowl of filling, a board to roll up the egg rolls and a brush with some water to seal the egg rolls.

Place an egg roll wrapper on a flat surface. Have it facing you in a diamond shape.

Lay some filling across the middle and fold the bottom in.

IMG_1773

Next, fold the sides in and finish rolling up.

Seal the egg rolls with some water brushed on lightly.

Fry the egg rolls in about a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. Fry a few minutes on each side until crisp.

IMG_1775

Serve the egg rolls with a dipping sauce. Some Thousand Island dressing or a spicy mayo work well.

Enjoy!

Corned Beef Hash Egg Rolls
Filed Under: Appetizers, meat, Side Dish · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Vegetable Beef Pot Pie

July 5, 2012 · by ·

I love venturing in to classic American comfort food recipes that I didn’t grow up with. One example, is a pot pie. I have been in awe of them and have been drooling over them from afar. I love a buttery crunch of a good pastry crust and I love the idea of sinking my fork in to something and scooping out something amazing.

This past year, I tried a vegetable pot pie for the first time. I am ashamed to say that it was a store-bought freezer meal, but it was so good. It was an Amy’s Organics pot pie. I loved it. No idea why I never thought to make it at home!

I rarely turn on the oven in the summer, but I was in the mood for a dinner like this and I had the right stuff around the house. To my surprise, even the kids liked it–they had two helpings each! Success in my book.

Vegetable Beef Pot Pie
Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
2 medium red potatoes, cubed
3 carrots, chopped
1 package of soy ground beef or 1 pound of drained and cook ground beef
2 zucchinis, cubed
1 handful of cremini mushrooms, chopped
3/4 cup peas
2.5 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 sheet of puff pastry
2 tbsp. butter (melted) or olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 385.

Heat up the olive oil in a large pan. Start by sauteing the onions, garlic and shallots. Cook for a couple minutes, until it starts to soften.

Add in the herbs and spices.

Add in the carrots and potatoes and veggie meat. Use the real stuff if you’re in to that. Cook for a few minutes.

Add in the rest of the vegetables. You can choose a few different veggies if you’d like, but this is what worked in my house. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Stir in the flour. Let the flour cook in a bit. Pour in the vegetable broth and the balsamic vinegar. Let the mixture thicken. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Pour vegetable mixture in to a baking dish. I used a deep dish pie plate and two ramekins. Shape puff pastry over the top of the mixture. Brush the top of the pastry with oil or butter.

Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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IMG_1666
Filed Under: baked, Dinner, Main Course, soy, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Mushroom Meatloaf

May 13, 2012 · by ·

I rarely have the luxury of extra time on Friday afternoons.  I love when the days get longer in the spring time. Still, I somehow manage to race against the clock each Friday, to ensure that everything is ready in time. I had the day off this Friday. I managed to use it well. I also managed to have everytthing cooked with two hours to spare. That’s unheard of in this house. Of course, I managed to find what to do in those two hours. There is always plenty of tidying up, working and parenting that can be done in that time.

What I was extremely happy about though, was that I could actually take a photo of one of the Shabbat foods. It’s the little things, right?

When I did my weekly shopping trip to the kosher grocery store, they had ground beef on sale. I probably should have bought a few extra packages to throw in to the abyss of my deep freezer. I just bought one package though, and decided to wait until Friday to figure out it’s fate.

When Friday came along, the ground beef screamed meatloaf at me. I chose to make a mushroom meatloaf. Everyone is happy with this meatloaf. I pair it with a vegetarian mushroom gravy. The gravy can do double duty for any side dishes.

Mushroom Meatloaf
Ingredients

1.5 lbs ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 containers mushrooms (1/2 container, chopped; the other 1/2 – thinly sliced)
2 tsp. ground thyme
2 tsp. paprika
2 extra large eggs
1/2 cup flavored bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup
pepper


Glaze
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tsp. soy sauce
1.5 tbsp. brown sugar
 tsp. sriracha sauce (less if you like it less spicy)
salt
pepper

Gravy
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 container mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp. flour
Vegetable broth – about 1-2 cups or to desired consistency
salt
pepper
garlic powder



Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix everything together except for half of the chopped onions and the sliced mushrooms.

Smush half of the meat mixture in to a loaf pan.

Sprinkle the remaining chopped onions and sliced mushrooms over the mixture. Top with the rest of the meat mixture.

In a small bowl, mix up the glaze ingredients. Spread over the meatloaf mixture.

Baked for around 45 minutes.

While the meatloaf is baking, work on the gravy.

In a deep saute pan, saute the chopped onions, garlic, shallots and mushrooms in olive oil.
Sprinkle in some garlic powder, salt and pepper

Stir in the flour to make a roux.

Whisk in the vegetable broth until you reach desired consistency. Taste. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

When the meatloaf has cooled down a little, slice and serve with the gravy.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: beef, Dinner, Main Course, meat, shabbat · Tagged: , , , , ,

Thai Beef + Veggies + Coconut Rice = Yummy!

February 24, 2011 · by ·
I love Thai food. If I knew how to insert a heart symbol, I would insert it somewhere into this sentence. Did I mention I love Thai food? Somehow when you throw in fish sauce, lime juice, sriracha, and basil into a dish – magic happens. For real! Try it sometime!

I am not a ground beef fan or a Martha Stewart fan, but I came upon this recipe that intrigued me. Thai ground beef over coconut rice sounded good. It was also looked easy enough that I was able to amp up the flavor and stretch the ingredients to make it work for us. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, plus some veggies that I thought would only add to the dish. If you want, you could substitute tofu, turkey, or soy crumbles in place of the cow.

For the Coconut Rice:

2 cups jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
1.5 cups of water
salt

Put the rice, milk, water, and salt in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and cover. Cook until the liquid is absorbed.

For the beef dish:

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, chopped
2 chili peppers, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
10 oz. container mushrooms, sliced
snowpeas – a bunch
chinese broccoli, choped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
baby corn, sliced
scallions, chopped
red pepper flakes
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sriracha
1 tsp. sugar
chopped basil
lime wedges

Combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, and sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit for a bit.

Add oil to your wok and add the garlic, ginger, onion and chilis. Cook for about a minute. Add the meat and brown it. Add in the vegetables and cook some more. Add in the tomatoes. Add in the fish sauce mixture, chili flakes, and the basil. Cook a few more minutes.


Serve this over coconut rice with a good, healthy squeeze of lime juice. It’s soooo good! You will want to keep eating and eating this dish. I wish I had doubled this recipe – it was that good.
Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten Free · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Easy Rib Steak

January 15, 2009 · by ·

C is for Cow.

B is for the beef that comes from cow. I was a vegetarian for over 10 years. Then one day, I had an extreme craving for my mom’s brisket. I haven’t been a vegetarian since. I can’t say I love meat, but I do crave meat every once in a while.

One Thursday evening, while doing my pre-shabbat shopping, these pretty rib steaks looked perfect for dinner. Much dinner than the omelette that was planned. Steak is even easier than omelettes. Just marinade and broil. If you are extra good, you can have a salad alongside that steak.

The marinade I created on the fly for 2 rib steaks is as follows:

1/4 cup of worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons of dijon mustard

2 tablespoons of garlic
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt
pepper

Stir the mixture up. Spread over the steaks. Let it sit for a half hour. Broil.

Yummy

Filed Under: beef, Dinner · Tagged: , , , ,

Split Pea Soup with Flanken

December 22, 2008 · by ·
I came home from work Thursday night, looked at the weather, looked inside my freezer, and was disturbed. I had no soup left. The school superintendent and the weathermen were both predicting snowstorms. I needed something warm and hearty for a Shabbat soup. The only requirement was that I must be able to make matzah balls with it.
I looked though my pantry and fridge and decided on split pea soup. I normally cook it with a smoked turkey leg to give it that treife split pea soup with ham taste, but I didn’t have any smoked turkey and the kosher store was out of it. I opted for flanken and flanken bones. The soup is very good and there is plenty leftover for a few more dinners.

Split Pea Soup with Flanken

Ingredients:
1 pound of boneless flanken
3/4 pound of flanken bones
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cups of split peas
8-10 cups of water
salt
pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper the meat thoroughly. In your soup pot, brown the meaty bits in some olive oil. After 5-10 minutes, add in your mirepoix of chopped celery, carrots, and onions.Let oy saute for 5-10 minutes.
While the meat and veggies are sauteeing, rinse the split peas.

Pour the split peas in to the pot. Stir. Add in the bay leaves and the thyme.
Pour in the water.

Let the soup come to a boil. Simmer for 1-2 hours, until reduced to your desired thickness.
Enjoy!
Filed Under: Soups · Tagged: , , , , ,

Beer Braised Brisket

December 9, 2008 · by ·
I had some extra beer. I had bought a couple loosies to experiment with during the beer bread episode. I am not really a beer drinker, even in partylicious social settings. I decided to experiment a little. Wouldn’t want the good Heineken to go to waste.
I opted for a beer braised brisket. The guy at the liquor store claimed that ANYTHING can be cooked better with beer.
Hindy’s Beer Braised Brisket

Ingredients:

1 Brisket – should have some good marbling on it
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped
2 red potatoes, cubed
3 stalks celery, sliced
3-4 carrots, sliced
Bay Leaves
1 Bottle of Beer
Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 350.
Rub salt and pepper into the meat. In a Dutch oven, brown your meat on all sides. Takes around 15 minutes.
Put your meat aside. Toss in the onions, garlic, and some of the thyme. Scrape up the meaty bits. Saute for 10 minutes. Remove half of the onions.
Lay the brisket on top of the onions. Cover with the rest of the onion mixture. Surround the meat with chopped veggies. Throw in the rest of the thyme and the bay leaves. Add some more salt and pepper.
Pour over the beer.

Cover and transfer the meat to the oven. Cook for a few hours until done.
Let the meat cool before slicing.

The verdict is that the meat was very good, but the beer taste was not overpowering in the least bit. It’s a good brisket over all. The meat was very tender. Not sure if that was because of the beer or the brisket cut though.
Filed Under: beef, Dinner · Tagged: , , , , , ,
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