Ok, seriously, someone i know needs to make this..... and then give it to staci and me! teehee

Inside-Out Turkey Bacon Cheeseburgers with Oven O-Rings

Ingredients

6 slices turkey bacon, chopped

1 tbsp EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp smoked chipotle powder or 2 tsp chilli powder

All-purpose flour, for dredging, about 1 cup

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1 large sweet onion, sliced ½ inch thick and divided into rings

2 lbs ground turkey breast

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup spicy brown mustard

¾ cup shredded or crumbled sharp Cheddar cheese

½ head of redleaf or other lettuce, chopped

1 beefsteak tomato, sliced

4 kosher dill pickles, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Arrange the bacon in a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat. Slowly crisp up the bacon, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the bacon from the skillet and, when cool, chop. Add the EVOO to the remaining drippings and set aside.
   
3. While the bacon is crisping, combine he cornmeal and chipotle powder in a shallow bowl. Set up two more shallow bowls, filling one with the flour and the other with the buttermilk. Dip the onion rings in the buttermilk, then dredge the rings in the flour, tossing them lightly in your hands to remove the excess. Dip them once again in the buttermilk, and finally coat them fully with the cornmeal mixture. Place the dredged rings on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy, 15 to 18 minutes.
   
4. While the onion rings are baking, place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and mix in the mustard. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a burger, making a well in the center. Fill the well of each with one quarter of the crisp bacon pieces and 2 tbsp of the cheese. Carefully form the burger around the cheese and bacon filling, making sure the filling is completely covered. Return the skillet you cooked the bacon in to medium-high heat. Add the burger patties to the hot skillet and cook for 2 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the burgers for 5 to 6 minutes longer, turning occasionally. Do not press down on the burgers as they cook.
   
5. Serve each burger on a bed of lettuce topped with sliced tomato, chopped pickles, and a few oven o-rings.
   

Serves 4

Incredibly Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hr 15 mins

Makes 8 servings

2 lbs ground turkey

I cup milk

I cup rolled oats

2 eggs

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

¾ lb cheddar cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. In a bowl, mix the turkey, milk, oats, eggs, and ranch mix by hand. Fold the cheese cubes into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan.
   
3. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).
   

This is in the oven right now, and mm-mmmm, does it ever smell good! J i'll update after we try it. My mom made it the other week, minus the ranch dressing mix. That's my little improv. But it works in the turkey burgers, so hey, why not in meatloaf, i figure. We shall see. Like i said, i'll update later tonight. Bon appétit!

UPDATE: this was AWESOME!!!!!!!! highly recommend it, give it a whirl. love it love it love it love it love it

Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers

I've decided that I need to really work on expanding my dinnertime repertoire. I'd like to add some variety, instead of making my usual "go-to's" for supper. Frankly, I'm getting tired of the same things week after week. Not that I don't like my usuals, but really, one can only have pasta with alfredo sauce or lentil casserole so many times, you know. So, I've been making good use of the internet lately.

The other day, I received a lovely newsletter from the lovely people over at AllRecipes.com, inviting me to check out their newest recipes. One of these recipes was for, yup, you guessed it, Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers. The recipe looked pretty good, and very easy, so I decided to give it a whirl. And because you know I'm all about sharing the minutiae of my life on my blogs, here is the first recipe i tried. (i will be posting more recipes as i try them.)

Ingredients

1lb ground turkey

1 (1 oz) pkg ranch dressing mix

1 egg

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

Seasoned salt, pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.
   
2. Knead together the turkey, ranch mix, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl until evenly combined; divide into 4 equal portions and form into patties.
   
3. Cook on preheated grill about 5 min per side for well done.
   

Review

This was AWESOME!!!

If you haven't worked with ground turkey before, a warning: this recipe will look wet. Very wet. Don't worry; it all works out in the end. Just go with it. Also, I cooked my burgers on the stove instead of the grill (I was afraid the patties would fall through the grate. If you try yours on the BBQ, let me know how it worked for you). This recipe was delicious, and stupidly easy to make. I will definitely be adding it to my menu on a more regular (but not necessarily frequent) basis. And the turkey is nice, and certainly healthier than beef all the time. I dig it, and you will, too, I think.

Sorry there's no picture. We gobbled them (no pun intended... ok, it was intended, cheesy, I know) before I could snap a pic. But they're yummy, so try them. And take a picture. And share it with the rest of us, if you feel so inclined. J