Caprese Burgers

Since spring has FINALLY arrived in Minnesota, it felt like it was time for some grill food!  I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a while ago.  The first spring weekend felt like a good time to test it out.  Stuffed burgers are hard to make on the small side because you need two thinner patties to seal together, so this is a bit high in terms of points, but well worth it I have to say.  You can serve with a side salad to get some more veggies in without adding points to your meal too.  These burgers were delicious and filled with some of my favorite salad ingredients.  Who doesn’t love a good caprese salad with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella?!

Servings:  2

Size:  One burger patty
Points Plus: 11 pp (this is only for the burger, not including a bun)

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes (adjust cooking time based on your preference)

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 lb. lean hamburger meat

Burger/Steak seasoning

¼ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Fresh mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions:

Mix the burger/steak seasoning into the hamburger meat.  Our favorite is Byerly’s Dry-Aged  Beef Seasoning – it’s a delicious blend of herbs, onion and pepper. Shape 4 thinner hamburger patties – make the middle of your patties a little bit thinner than the edges, this will help to make sure the burgers cook all the way through evenly.  Pile your tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil in the middle of 2 of the patties.  Make sure all your ingredients are in the center of the patty.  Layer the 2^nd patty on top and press to seal the edges.  Throw on the grill; cook until your preferred level of doneness.  We made our burgers on a grill pan on the stove.  The edges cooked well, but the middle took a little bit longer.  To speed up the cooking process we used a pan cover to help trap the heat and produce a more even cooking for the burgers.

Tip:

Although caprese ingredients are great in this recipe, there are MANY other options you could swap out for these caprese burgers.  You could make Mexican with jalapenos and cheese, Greek with feta and olives… the possibilities are endless!

XOXO Megan

Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Slaw

Ground turkey, although healthy, can sometimes be a little blah. Not the case with this recipe!  These buffalo turkey burgers come together quickly and taste GREAT!  The buffalo seasoning is just enough to add flavor, but it doesn’t completely overwhelm your burgers.

Servings:  6

Size:  1 burger + bun; ¼ cup slaw

Points Plus: 9 pts

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  15-20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

*Recipe is originally from Skinnytaste with some slight adaptations.

Ingredient List:

Coleslaw –

1 ½  cups broccoli slaw

¼ cup light blue cheese dressing (I used Wishbone variety)

Turkey Burgers –

1.25 lbs. ground turkey

2/3 cup grated carrots

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1/8 cup red onion, grated

¼ cup Frank’s hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking spray

6 slices of reduced fat cheddar

6 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:

Combine the broccoli slaw and light blue cheese dressing in a medium bowl.  Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve the burgers.  In a larger bowl, combine the ground turkey, carrots, breadcrumbs, red onion, hot sauce and salt and pepper.  Mix well and shape into 6 patties.  Place the patties on wax pepper.  Lightly coat a grill pan with cooking spray.  Add the burgers and cook over medium heat, each side should take about 4-5 minutes.  Once you have flipped the burgers and are cooking the final side, add a slice of cheese for the last minute of cook time.  While you are cooking the burgers, toast the hamburger buns.  Place burgers on the toasted bun and top with broccoli slaw.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Tip:

The original recipe from Skinnytaste has a link to a recipe for a skinny homemade blue cheese dressing – I saved time by buying a store-bought light version instead.  Also, these burgers were delicious from a grill pan on top of the stove, but we think they would be even better on an outdoor grill.  Try it and let us know what you think!

XOXO - Megan