Feta-Cilantro Turkey Burgers

Feta-Cilantro Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers have a bad reputation for being dry, flavorless, hockey pucks, but in my opinion ground turkey is practically designed for adding unique flavorful herbs, spices, seasonings, and flavors. With a little creativity you can transform your regular burger into a delicious surprise wrapped up in a toasty bun:)

Makes 2 burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lean ground turkey

1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

dash of black pepper

2 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted

desired toppings (tomato, avocado, lettuce, cheese, onion, sprouts, condiments, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Gently mix together turkey, feta, cilantro, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper with fingertips. Try not to overwork the meat, just distribute all ingredients evenly. Shape into 2 patties (not too thick or they will take forever to cook!).

2. Heat grill or stove-top griddle over medium heat, add patties and cook for about 3-5 minutes each side. Use meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of each burger (you want them to reach 165 degrees to be fully cooked). If you find the burgers are browning too much before the interior is fully cooked, put a lid over the pan.

3. Pile up your burgers with toppings onto your buns and serve with broiled sweet potato fries!

favorite kale salad

FAVORITE KALE SALAD

This salad is adapted from a Thanksgiving Day salad that my cousin brought to a family dinner one time. It is not the MOST requested salad at every dinner and event... and so easy and so good for you!

salad ingredients:

• baby kale or 1-2 bunches kale, cut off stems (pictured: baby kale from Costco)
• dried currants
• sunflower seeds or pine nuts (pine nuts can be very expensive)
• grated or shaved parmesan

dressing ingredients:

• juice from 1 lemon
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

instructions:

1. whisk together salad dressing ingredients with a fork
2. slowly pour over kale a little at a time, you may not need ALL the dressing, and toss to combine and massage into leaves (lemon will tenderize really tough kale leaves)
3. top with currants, sunflower seeds, and parmesan

healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies bites

{healthy bites}

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

<< easily adaptable to be made gluten-free >>

I adapted this recipe from Edible Perspective. My favorite way to eat these, besides just popping them straight into my mouth, is crumbled over vitamix vanilla ice cream! (blend: 1 cup vanilla soy milk + sprinkle of cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract + ice cubes)

ingredients:

• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coarsely ground rolled oats
• 1/2 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 cup baking stevia
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted (not hot!)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

instructions:

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl
3. whisk the egg, then whisk in the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla until well combined
4. pour wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a large spoon until combined (will be thick)
5. let dough sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes
6. press the dough into 1-inch balls and slightly flatten between both hands 
7. place balls on non-stick cookie sheet 1-inch apart and bake for 10 minutes
8. let cool for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack (cookies are fragile and very soft until set)

notes/subs:

• you can sub stevia our for white sugar, brown sugar, pure cane sugar, or coconut sugar.
• to make the coarsely ground outs: Place 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor, mini food processor, or blender and pulse until about 1/2-way to a flour looking texture.
• you can purchase or make your almond meal: Grind whole, raw almonds in a high-speed blender or large food processor.  Blend no more than 1 cup at a time until flour-like in texture.  Do not over process.  Sift out any large pieces.

clean taquitos

...taquitos...

the clean way

Who doesn't love the simplicity of a taquito? But seriously... the thought of the processed ground meat and preservative-filled chicken rolls that are frozen in large quantities and shipped to your nearest Costco is not that simple or appetizing... so I came up with this homemade version :)

MAKING THE FILLING:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8-10 oz bottle salsa (pick your favorite.. mild, med, or HOT)
1 tablespoon homemade taco seasoning mixture (you can use 1 package of store bought seasoning, but it usually contains MSG and other chemicals and preservatives)

Combine chicken, salsa, and taco seasoning in crock-pot. Cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 3 hours. Chicken will shred easily using two forks.

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
20-30 small corn tortillas
Olive oil spray (I use a Mister)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Warm tortillas, wrapped in damp paper towel, in microwave until pliable enough to roll without tearing. They will be HOT so be careful.
3. Roll about 2 tablespoons of shredded chicken mixture into each tortilla and line them all up close together onto baking sheet. 
4. Spray tops of taquitos with olive oil spray (this will help them get crispy) and bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them, because the time will vary depending on your oven.
5. Let them cool, wrap individually in aluminum foil, and freeze!

REHEATING INSTRUCTIONS:
-Defrost overnight in fridge than reheat in oven (this will help them stay crispiest)
-Microwave straight from freezer (about 5-10 seconds per taquito)

Serve with melted cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or greek yogurt!

#1 Snickerdoodles

Fat & Fluffy Snickerdoodles

I made the most delicious Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodle cookies this week from How Sweet It Is Blog and they were a super easy happy valentine's gift for some of our friends and family. I love a good, soft cookie dipped in milk. These turned out EXACTLY like the recipe describes: FAT & FLUFFY! Straight from heaven.

Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodles

makes 16-20 cookies

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon for dipping

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge and roll into big 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Lightly press down on dough to flatten it. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

HAPPY HEART DAY

love, natalie and spencer

cream party cake & butter-cream-cheese frosting

CREAM PARTY CAKE

&

butter-cream-cheese frosting

Whenever I make a cake that I plan on frosting and decorating, I ALWAYS make the cake {the day before} and put it in the freezer or refrigerator overnight or until I'm ready to frost it. This make it SO easy to frost because it doesn't get all crumbly and messy. 

**The letters and heart pictured on the cake are made from sticks of bubblegum. So easy!**

cream party cake

Cake Ingredients:
2 boxes cake mix, any flavor (I used strawberry)
2 cups water
2/3 cups canola or vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 package instant pudding, any flavor (I used cheesecake)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray three 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray
2. Mix all ingredients until completely combined (a couple minutes in my kitchen-aid was enough. hand mixer will work just as good)
3. Pour mixture evenly divided into all three round cake pans
4. Bake for 29-33 minutes
5. Remove pans from oven and immediately drop onto counter top (about 4-6 inches away) a few times. This will help make the cake more dense (a little trick I learned from my sister-in-law)
6. Place hot cakes into fridge or freezer until next day.

perfect butter-cream-cheese frosting

Frosting Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup canned milk **

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bag (32-ounce) powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients, except powdered sugar, in mixer

2. Slowly add in powdered sugar (can add a little more milk if needed) until frosting gets to desired consistency.

STACK ALL THREE LAYERS OF CAKE

SPREAD FROSTING IN BETWEEN EACH LAYER

FROST CAKE COMPLETELY IN A SWIRLY DESIGN

STORE CAKE IN REFRIGERATOR UNTIL PARTY TIME!

cinnamon streusel pancakes

Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod

Caution: you may not know whether you are eating breakfast or dessert. I save this recipe for special occasions. 

Ingredients:
Your favorite pancake mix or favorite recipe. I'm obsessed with this super easy mix {Kodiak Cakes Frontier Flapjack and Waffle Mix} found at Costco or order online.

Cinnamon Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Directions:
1. Make pancake batter first 6 pancakes.
2. Make cinnamon streusel second: in a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, and butter. Mix together with hands or a fork until you have a crumble-like mixture.
3. Heat electric griddle to 350 degrees or pan on stove to medium. Drop 1/2 cup pancake batter onto griddle and add 2 tablespoons streusel mixture onto uncooked side of pancake.
3. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then carefully flip when bubbles begin to form. Generously cover cooked side of pancake with streusel and cook for 1-2 more minutes minutes.
4. Continue with the rest of pancakes and serve with maple syrup and butter.

seriously though... beware...

lemon crinkles {soft and chewy}

This beautiful cookie is blue ribbon worthy in my personal recipe box. Although, the word chocolate is nowhere to be found (pretty sure my given middle name should have been cocoa), I still applaud this combination of fluffy sugar, tangy lemon, and creamy butter.

Lemon Crinkles {soft and chewy}

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheats oven to 350 degrees and spray baking sheet with non-stick spray {light colored is better for evenly baked cookies. If using dark sheet, reduce cooking time by 1-2 minutes}
1. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy in large mixing bowl.
2. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice
3. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and gradually add flour until completely combined
4. Pour powdered sugar onto plate or bowl, roll heaping teaspoon sized balls in powdered sugar and place onto cookie sheet about 2  inches apart.
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until tops of cookies appear matter and no longer look wet or shiny. You do not want to brown the tops.

Let me remind you that these are not only adorable, but amazing to every taste bud and you won't regret buying a fine grater to zest your lemon, even if this is the only reason you'll ever use it.

Happy Sunday