Puttin' on The Mitts: Burgers - Low on grease, full on flavor

I love a good, juicy hamburger but, with the cost of beef these days, it's getting less affordable for me to make them at home. I've turned to ground turkey when it's on sale in substitution of many meals where I would have normally used hamburger. I make spaghetti, tacos, nachos, chili, etc., with ground turkey. I think those meals are delicious and flavorful, so why wouldn't a turkey burger be just as tasty?

The one thing to remember with ground turkey is it typically needs more seasoning than ground beef so I came up with a quick and easy "recipe" for a low in fat, high in taste burger.

This burger is so full of flavor, condiments aren't necessary, but I did add a dollop of homemade ranch dip (sour cream mixed with a powdered ranch dressing packet). I also used wheat buns to keep the meal on the healthier side.

Turkey Burgers

• 1 pound ground turkey
• ½ packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

Using your hands, mix the defrosted ground turkey with the ½ packet of soup mix and the Worcestershire sauce. I made four patties out of the one pound of burger. Coat a frying pan with cooking spray. Cooking on low heat, I let the burgers get a good browning on one side before flipping which I believe helps keep the burgers together as they can get a bit crumbly if you flip too soon. Cook until well done.
Serve with your favorite condiments and sides and enjoy!

- DeLynn

Although I am not a vegetarian, I tend to gravitate toward vegetable- and bean-based dishes, both in my cooking and on a restaurant menu.

But you don't need to be a vegetarian to appreciate meatless dishes. In fact, cutting meat from your diet just one day a week can result in a 19 percent decrease in your risk for heart disease, according to a study from Harvard University.

It isn't only good for your ticker, there are also benefits to the environment for reducing meat consumption. The Environmental Working Group reports if everyone in the United States eliminated meat and cheese from their diets one day each week, it would be equivalent to taking 7.6 million cars off the road.

I'm not thinking about any of that when I'm enjoying these little bean burgers. They stand on their own as a tasty dinner or appetizer with the added benefit of being lighter on calories. To develop this recipe, I found a "veggie burger formula" created by food blogger No Meat Athlete. The formula gives you the proportions you need of each type of ingredient to achieve the texture and taste of a veggie burger, but you can create any flavor combination you'd like: Mexican-style, Mediterranean-inspired or whatever your imagination can conjure.

I also took No Meat Athlete's advice and made these slider-sized to avoid the common problem of homemade veggie burgers falling apart. The smaller size makes them easier to flip and more difficult to break.

Find the formula and more tips from No Meat Athlete here: www.nomeatathlete.com/veggie-burger-recipe .

Black Bean-Sweet Potato Sliders

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato
• 1 cup chopped cooked spinach
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chipotle powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Avocado-Sour Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1-2 teaspoons lime juice (to taste)

Salt to taste
In a medium skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Cook onion about 5 minutes until golden. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl or food processor, combine beans, sweet potato, spinach, liquid smoke, balsamic, lime juice, chipotle, cumin, salt and pepper. If using a food processor, pulse until combined but still chunky. Otherwise, mash and stir ingredients together with a fork.

Add cornmeal and incorporate into the mixture. Fold in cilantro and walnuts and taste for salt.

Form mixture into balls the size of golf balls and flatten into patties.

Heat remaining oil in a clean skillet over medium-low heat. Sauté patties about 3 minutes on each side until well browned.

To make sauce: Combine sour cream, avocado, lime juice and salt in a small bowl.

To serve: Place one patty on a slider-size bun of your choice. Top with 1-2 tablespoons sauce and a pinch of alfalfa-onion sprouts.

- Chelsey

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