South of the Border Turkey Burger

Last night was burger night. This is a treat at our house. We don't have burgers for dinner too often. My little girl was so excited! Mostly because she thought fries always accompany burgers... so I whipped up some quick fries to go along with the carrot sticks. It was a big hit. Lou ate almost her whole burger, and AC said it was his favorite burger I have ever made.
This is a really simple and delicious recipe.  Plus it is ready to go in less than 30 minutes. And if you don't like spicy stuff - no worries, this isn't hot at all. Actually, I would have liked a little kick; next time I will probably put half a seeded, diced jalapeno in.

South of the Border Turkey Burger

1 1/4 lb ground turkey
1 small can diced green chiles
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt
pepper

Preheat frying pan over medium high heat with a thin layer of olive oil. In a bowl, combine all ingredients until evenly distributed through meat but careful to not overmix. Divide into four patties. Cook until center of burger reaches about 170-175 degrees. Let rest about 5-10 minutes. Top with Cilantro Lime Mayo (see recipe below) and your favorite toppings. I think avocados are a must with these!

Cilantro Lime Mayo

1/4 cup mayo (I use fat free cause I can't tell a difference in taste)
2-4 Tbsp cilantro, chopped fine
1 green onion
pinch garlic powder
1 tsp lime juice (or more to taste)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Stir ingredients together. Adjust seasoning to taste. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Tip:
To test the burgers for seasoning, take a small pinch of the meat and fry it up. It only takes a minute or two to cook and it well worth it to adjust salt, heat, etc.

Monday Menu

This week seems busy for me, but really it is just the regular-old week. I have two work days so I have to do easy stuff and stuff that transports/reheats well. Saturday is our Easter Bunny day - we save Sunday for the True Meaning of Easter.
I am also trying to keep it semi-simple thanks to a 38 week growing fetus :), my mom coming next week, and two doctors appointments this week.
Here's what we are having (any recommendations for the soup or bunny-shaped meals?):

Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Soup
Wednesday - Breakfast foods
Thursday - Turkey Burgers
Friday - Baked Pasta with veggies
Saturday - Something bunny shaped
Sunday - Leg of lamb, rolls, asparagus, scolloped potatoes

What are you having this week?

Artichokes

This last week was killer with work. I worked four night shifts last week (I usually work 2). So I was either sleeping or working. So I didn't have time to post, let alone, cook. We ate leftovers and ate out more than one really should. I was pulling the Tired-Night-Shift and the Pregnancy cards all week. Yikes.

I recently got this comment on my blog from Christina, "Artichokes intimidate me - how do you prep and cook them?"

image via

I love Artichokes, one of my favorite veggies ever. I just like foods that are fun to eat. When we were younger, we were always so excited when my mom would come home with artichokes in hand. We would all have our own, and sit around the table talking and pulling leaves through our teeth for at least an hour. Not only was it tasty, but we were having quality time as a family.

Artichokes can be prepared in many ways - roasted, stuffed, but my favorite it just a simple steam.
Cut the thorns off the leaves (like the picture above), place upside down in two inches of salted, boiling water and cook about 20 minutes or until a knife is inserted near the stem and comes out easily. Add a bit of lemon to the water to keep the nice color.  Serve with lemon butter (equal parts lemon juice and butter) or mayo, or your favorite dipping sauce.

What's in Season - April

I love spring! The warm weather and trips to the park are going to make me and Lou very happy. Some of my favorite fruits and veggies are starting into their peak season. Just yesterday we had some delicious, huge strawberries. As Lou would say, "delicious!" Here are just a few of my favorites.

pictures via google images

What's in Season in April:
Artichokes - love them steamed with a little lemon butter to dip. So fun to eat!
Asparagus - try them roasted!
Endive
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Peas
New potatoes - perfect for Easter dinner
Radishes
Strawberries - delicious on steel cut oats, on pancakes (see page 50 of this magazine for a yummy breakfast!), and of course, dipped in chocolate
Cherries
Mangoes - my all time favorite fruit. You can't find them locally grown in Utah, but just know that the ones in the store are at their peak. Try this Mango Salsa!
Nectarines
Passion fruit
Rhubarb
Tangerines, tangelos, other mandarin oranges

Also, if you want to see what's locally in season, check out this easy to use map

Friday Favorites

I feel like Maria when I say this but, These are a few of my favorite things:

Skype Group Video Calling: We were able to talk to everyone in my family (that has a web cam) on Sunday - it was totally fun! My sister told us to make a silly face as she took a screen shot.
Let me introduce you to the family (from left to right): Brother and Sister-in-law (They live in DC); yours truly, Husband, Daughter (in Nebraska); Dad, Mom (living in Hawaii); and tiny at the bottom -  Sister, Brother-in-law, and Nephew (Utah). So nice to have the technology to "be together" even though we stretch from one side of the country to the other!

Pinterest: I know you have heard it from every other blogger, but it is so nice to organize the things I want to do/make/remember. You may notice, the majority of my pins are food... I must have a problem.

Free Sprint-to-Sprint phone calls: If not, my 4 hours of talking to the family in one day would have used the majority of my minutes!

Making Plans with Mom: My mom and I have been planning her trip out here for the baby. We are planning lots of chatting, relaxing, a zoo visit (really Omaha has an amazing zoo!), making healthy meals, workouts (I need to loose the baby weight fast!). Nothing too big - but Mom time is always the best!

Looking forward to General Conference: A time to relax, hear some great council, and eat cinnamon rolls. If you want to check it out you can watch it on TV, or online!