Salad Saturday - The BEST Turkey Burger

It's the first Salad Saturday! Woohoo!

Last Saturday we had a bright, sunny day which is typical for most parts of the country for late April but came as a surprise to us Pacific North-westerners. Apparently it's been the rainiest April on record... but since Saturday was absolutely gorgeous we decided to grill out. Mmmmmmm...

I had a pound and a half of turkey, and a plan.

One of my favorite recipe books is Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast. It's absolutely amazing because she has a whole book full of yummy recipes that are 1.) ingredients that I tend to have in my house 2.) slightly fancy sounding and a little gourmet(ish). They make me feel good about my cooking and baking skills because they're super easy recipes and they really are great. Kudos to the editor who named the book - you are spot on. 

Anyway, here's what the book looks like:

You can buy it on Amazon HERE.

... for under $4, I think it's quite the steal.

Here's the recipe as it appears in the book:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (93 percent lean)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Gruyere cheese
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

1. Heat grill to high. In a medium bowl, use a fork to gently combine ground turkey with Gruyere, scallions, breadcrumbs, mustard, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Gently form mixture into four 1-inch-thick patties.
   
2. Lightly oil grill. Place patties on hottest part of grill; sear until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Move patties to cooler part of grill; continue grilling until cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes per side.

Here's the link if that's easier for you:
Favorite Turkey Burger

How I made it my own:

1.  I didn't have any Gruyere cheese so instead of adding that in with the turkey meat, I just added some sharp cheddar to the top of the burger after it had cooked through but before it turned into a hockey puck. 
2. I also didn't have any Dijon mustard and completely spaced adding in the cloves but I did add a tiny bit of BBQ sauce.

 Needless to say, it was a super recipe!

Happy grilling!

Mary

Into the Light

Lately I've been having a little bit of a focusing problem.

I want to blame this on the fact that my son just won't sit still but I was even getting blurry pictures of inanimate objects. So the next step was to blame my camera. I use a Canon Rebel XTi which I got in 2007 as a graduation present. In fancy-type camera years, it's ancient, but it does the trick.

I was chatting with a friend about focus and how to get the best pictures of not only wiggly babies but mature adults who can sit still for more than 10 seconds. He said to remember to think about the light and to change the ISO accordingly. You need a higher ISO (800 or 1600) for darker places and a lower ISO (200 or 400) for bright places. While deep down, I knew this, I had just been getting to distracted with all of the other aspects of taking a good picture.

This last weekend for Easter service I was in an auditorium that doesn't have a lot of natural light - I changed my ISO to 1600 and got some good results.

Sweet deal!

Mary

P.S. - The only thing to remember about changing your ISO to 800 or 1600 is that your pictures might end up being a little grainy - but it's better to get the shot sometimes, right?

Pop-Tarts - 1 Salad - 0

I'll be the first to admit that Thursdays tend to be survival days for our household. I have a very part-time job teaching drawing at an elementary school - a job that I thoroughly enjoy but one that throws our little family of three out of routine. (Any of you who have small children, once had small children, or have ever known a small child know the importance of routine and the sometimes catastrophic conclusions of throwing said little one off of that routine.)

We're really blessed because Justin gets to stay home and watch the kiddo on Thursdays while I head off to work. It's a wonderful situation that teaches everyone in the family to appreciate the others a little bit more - or a whole lot more if poop-apocalypse happens.

So, on this survival Thursday, hubby and I were headed home after he picked me up from work. Both of our stomachs were grumbling and I was getting a little grumpy... so we did it, we went to

McDonald's!

Completely against his nature, Justin pulled into the golden arches for a quick snack for the commute home.

And while I had gotten kind of turned off to McDonald's after watching that documentary Super Size Me, (Did you see that?! Gross!) I wasn't complaining. In fact, I delightfully ordered a 4-piece chicken nugget with BBQ sauce and a small fry.

Yum.

Here's to better snacking before dinner in the future...

Mary

The Maiden Voyage

Well, here we go!

I was off and blogging on tumblr but it just wasn't the blog host for me. Happy to be here now and ready to get writing, creating, and food making! I named the blog Salad and Pop-Tarts because I have a sweet tooth or two... that's being modest: I have a mouth full of 'sweet tooths' and absolutely adore all things sweet and yummy and not to good for me. 

I, thankfully, married an amazing man though who enjoys all things healthy. Living life with him has been a blast so far. One of the things that I'm learning to enjoy and take part in is his quest for healthy living. And while I don't plan on joining a gym anytime soon, I am planning on doing my best on the home front by making healthy, well-balanced desserts meals.

He's the salad to my pop-tart. 

We were in the process of 'living happily ever after' when this little bundle of joy showed up:

The most active little man I've ever met!

He's my new motivation to live a healthy life and make some healthy meals - 

I want to be a good example, you know?

Until next time,

Mary