Weekend Heart Happy Recipe

Looking for that heart healthy, thigh friendly burger? Well, I've come up with a tasty winner. Even The Man asks for these over regular hamburgers. So, here we go with pictures! How much easier can it get?!
This is all you need for the basic Southwestern Turkey Burger.

• lb of lean ground turkey
• 1/2 to 3/4 can of diced (or stewed - it just means you'll have some chopping to do if you get the stewed) jalapeno tomatoes. Rotel or whatever your store sells is fine. Sometimes it's hard to find them with the jalapenos. Any sort of 'Mexican version' works fine too - you just need some extra spice. SAVE THE REST!!!
• Pepper
• Salt-free seasoning that's similar to Lowry's (if you're not worried about your heart, go ahead & add Lowry's or TexMex or whatever!!!)
• Diced onion - however much you want
• Diced garlic (I love garlic so I add a lot) Again - if you're not worried about sodium, you can substitue garlic powder and garlic salt for fresh or minced in a jar garlic
• 1 egg as meat binder (or whatever you usually use as a meatloaf etc binder)

(I use these suckers in EVERYTHING from omelettes to casseroles to...everything!)
Ooopsie - I got the stewed ones instead of the diced ones! Simply dice them up! And reserve the juice -don't throw it away!!!

Next, once we've diced everything up, throw it all together with the meat & mix-mash away!

Doesn't that look yummy, Vixen??? You know what? I think it would be great fun to throw raw meatballs at you while you're in a bikini. I can just hear you screaming as the meat pelts your flesh. AHAHHAHAHA! (Ok, upon further thinking, I realize that sounds mean. So, in return, you can throw sushi at me.) Now you can do this however you want to. I've certainly done it several ways. If you like the big, round burgers, just make them how you normally do, but I learned a quick, easy tip from Alton Brown. I take wax paper and lay it down on a cookie sheet (if I have several pounds) or a shallow plastic dish. You just need sides. I pound it in so that it is all even! How cool is that? Then I just cut it up into squares!

At this point, you can wrap the wax paper over the top & put it in the fridge to cook later or you can start cooking right away. I'm only making 4 burgers here and see how cool they look? They're all the same size too. So, while these are cooking I prep some other stuff: OK, so now I take the rest of the tomatoes and juice and put it in a little food processor and blend it up. This picture is actually a little more pulverized than I normally make it. (Stupid beer!) Instead of mayo, you are going to put this on top of your burger when finished. MAYO IS BAD FOR THE HEART & THIGHS. *Giggles* Here again, I do this two different ways. These burgers are done. You can either add the sauce and cheese (optional) to the top and let it melt, or do what I usually do. Transfer them to under the broiler. Be sure you either put them on a cookie sheet or have an oven-safe pan first.

Now you can put them on a bun or toasted bread!! Sometimes, I even add whole green chilies to the top. YUM! (That weird looking side dish is cheesy cauliflower, lol. Not heart friendly, but I haven't made it in a long time & it sounded soooo good.)

I LURVE to cook (bake? Notsomuch) so maybe once a month I will try to remember to post a favorite healthy recipe of mine. I have ticker issues so when I cook, it's always heartier friendly.

Doesn't this huge ass jar of jalapeno carrots look scrumptious??? Oh yeah, baby. Even my Mexican friends want my carrots! Maybe I will do those next time. We'll see.