New England Turkey Burgers

Actual Sunday Menu – New England Turkey Burgers, Homemade Fries, Salad

This meal was an all around hit – the turkey burgers have been a family favorite for years. The ground turkey and potatoes were the ingredients used from the freezer and pantry. I heard a chef suggest in one of my many food podcasts recently that if you want to eat junk food make it yourself at home. Of course, moderation is always the key, but you are invested in the process and have more control of fat, salt, etc. I liked that suggestion and put it to use here with our Homemade Fries.

New England Turkey Burgers
From Every Day with Rachael Ray October 2008

2 T unsalted butter
1 McIntosh Apple – peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
Flat leaf parsley, generous handful finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 cup cranberry sauce
1 T finely grated orange zest
2 scallions, finely sliced
4 English muffins, toasted and buttered
Bibb lettuce Leaves

In a skillet melt 2 T butter over medium heat. Add apple, onion, celery, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool 5 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and set aside for burgers.

Add turkey and parsley to apple mixture and combine. Form into 4 patties. In the skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 6 minutes on each side, lowering the heat for the last 2 or 3 minutes.

During any downtime mix the cranberry sauce, orange zest, and scallions. Toast the English muffins and butter.

Place the lettuce on the buttered English muffin bottoms, top with burger, cranberry relish, and buttered tops.

NOTES: In the first step I used 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter. I always like that combination and was trying to lessen the amount of butter. I didn’t use parsley last night, and would only add it if I had it on hand. We prefer 1 T of orange juice in the relish and no zest. I usually don’t have an orange on hand and originally put the OJ in as a substitute, once I did have an orange around and wanted to try the zest. My husband and I really prefer it with the OJ. We used salad greens from the farmer’s market on our burgers and for our salads last night.

Homemade Fries

3-5 potatoes depending on size and family needs, cut into sticks
Olive oil
Salt

Place potatoes on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, flip, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
I keep this in my head by remembering 400 for 40 minutes.

NOTES: The fun in making your own fries is you can add seasonings to compliment the rest of the meal. Like last night I could have added poultry seasoning to compliment the burgers. I love adding a splash of lemon juice to the potatoes, but I suspect my husband doesn’t like lemon based on recent reviews of dinner. Last night I sectioned my portion off to the side of the baking pan and added my splash of lemon juice. He later told me they were the best batch of these I’ve ever done. No more lemon juice for him!