We are huge fans of Turkey Burgers in our home.  In fact I would go so far as to say that we actually like them far more than we like regular burgers. We especially enjoyed this version that I cooked recently on our Space Grill. We sure are enjoying the beautiful weather and are taking advantage of this grill whenever we can.  It will be winter soon enough! 

 

Another reason we have been using it a lot (aside from the weather) is that is it just so darned easy to sue and to clean.  I could never get Todd to start up our old BBQ. He did not enjoy all the faff involved. This one, I just flip it out and turn it on.The patented automatic fold-down drip-tray means NO MESS, Perfect for all home types from small units to luxury homes, 3 separate individual ignition burners means fast starting. 

It has multiple cooking plates with reversible flat / grill designs. Open flame grill plate option included for healthy cooking. The sleek modern design that adds value to your home. It folds away in seconds, saves room and reduces clutter.  Composed of chef-grade, stainless steel  it is also rust resistant for longevity. The lid also doubles as a splash-back to protect your home. No other BBQ can do all of this! When you are done using it, just let it cook, clean the burner plates/grills, wipe out the fold down drip tray, and fold it all back, neat and tidy in wait for the next time. We love it!  You can find out more about it here.

 

These are really delicious turkey burgers.  I saw a lot of recipes floating around that used apple and spring onions to flavour the burgers.  I expanded on that a bit by using some grated honey crisp apple, minced red onion,  along with some  finely grated orange zest for plenty of flavour.

 

I only used the ends of the apple in the actual burgers, the rest of it was sliced thinly and grilled along with the burgers.  I shaped the burgers and then chilled them for several hours so that they really took in the flavours and firmed up nicely.

 

They grilled up lovely. When the burgers were almost done, I brushed the apple sliced with some honey mustard and popped them onto the grill plate.    I didn't want them to get soggy, but preferred them to retain some of their natural crispness.

 

I thought the grill lines would look lovely and enhance their flavours a bit. The honey mustard also added a bit of a tang to work with the sweetness of the apple. 

 

Once I had them the way I wanted them, I popped them onto the grilled burgers and piled on the grated cheddar, leaving it just long enough to melt down over those apple slices and the burgers.  Oh boy  . . . were we in for a real treat!

 

These were fabulous served on toasted brioche buns along with  some baby rocket leaves, which added a peppery touch.  (Baby Arugula if you live in North America.)  Altogether these were pretty wonderful!  I served them with some coleslaw for a really tasty supper!

 

 

  

I wonder how much longer we are going to blessed with this fabulous grilling weather!  It hasn't been quite as hot this week, but we still haven't had a lot of rain and its been really quite pleasant sitting out in the garden . . .  cooking, eating and reading.  I hope it keeps up for a while longer!!  In any case, if you are looking for a deliciously different turkey burger this weekend, look no further. You are going to love these.  I guarantee!  They're splendiferously tasty! Bon Appetit and Happy Weekend!

 

 I can't help myself.  Every now and again I have to treat myself to some pasta.  My husband doesn't like it at all, and so I try very hard not to cook it, or at least not to cook it very often.

But every now and again . . .  a gal has to do what a gal has to do.  I crave pasta and it needs to be cooked. There is no getting around it.

 

I figure that at least if I cook a magnificent sauce for it, then I can cook him some rice or potatoes to go with it instead of pasta.  He is usually happy with that.  

I came across a delicious sounding pasta sauce recipe the other day on a blog,  Inside the Rustic Kitchen.  It was called a Pici with Tuscan Sausage Pasta. 

 

 

I have never seen Pici pasta here but from her photos it looked like thick spaghetti.  

I also didn't have any Tuscan sausages but I did have some lovely Italian Hot Sausage that I picked up at Costco last time I was there, so I decided to go with that.

 

I also wanted to be able to send a meal over to Ariana and Jose as I know their days are busy at the moment getting used to a new baby in the house. 

I remember when I had my own children, and new babies in the house. I was always exhausted and I would have loved to have someone send us a meal over.

 

So I decided to adapt the recipe and make big pot of the sauce, some for my husband and myself and some to send over with some cooked pasta for Ariana and Jose to enjoy. 

I did make a few changes to the recipe which you will note below.

 

What I really liked about the recipe is that it is very straight forward and didn't ask for crazy ingredients you might not have at home. 

Well, maybe the red wine is a bit out of the ordinary, especially for Latter Day Saints, but I always have a small bottle each of good red and white wines in my larder just for cooking purposes.  I always have carrots, celery, onions and garlic, and I grow rosemary in the garden.

 

I liked that it used fennel seeds.  I love the taste of fennel . . .  almost like the flavour of licorice, but milder.  I was a tiny bit concerned at the amount.  

1 TBS sounded like a quite a  bit, but I gritted my teeth and threw it in, and was pleasantly surprised.  It totally works, and it is not over-powering in any way.

 

Another thing I always have in my larder are good quality tinned tomatoes.  I think anything you are going to eat deserves the best and so I always keep Cirio tomatoes in my cupboard.  

The whole, the chopped, the passatta, the paste, etc.  Cirio is the best in my opinion, and no I am not being paid to say so.  Nor did they sent me free product to say so.  I quite simply like them and I think you would too.  This recipe uses two tins of the plum tomatoes.  So rich and tasty.

 

Other than that there is the sausage (of course) just crumble it in and brown it before adding in everything else.  I like to mash it with a wire potato masher as it browns.  

This breaks it up really nicely as you can see, so you get a few larger bits, and a lot of smaller bits . . .  the perfect consistency with pasta . . .

 

And of course there is garlic, which I love.  Altogether this sauce was quite, quite delicious.  I enjoyed mine on a bowl of whole wheat spaghetti with some freshly grated Parmesan on top and my husband enjoyed his on a baked potato with some grated cheese  on top.  

I sent Ari & Jose's over with some cooked radiatorre and cheese.  I thought she could just dump it into a casserole dish and reheat in the oven or microwave. 

  

 

This salad I am sharing with you today has actually been in my recipe queue for a few weeks now.  I can't believe that it is the first of August today and I am just now getting to share it with you!  The summer seems to be just flying by!

 

Ham, Gruyere & Spring Onion Crepes. If you have ever had the opportunity to go to a French market over on the Continent, you will most likely have seen Crepe Vendors.  

Baking crepes in the open air and filling them with whatever your heart desires.  Folded into quarters, and wrapped in paper, they are very easy to eat while you walk around browsing through the market.

 

You can get them filled with fruit fillings, nutella, cream and even with savoury fillings. My favourites are always the ones filled with ham and cheese.  

Kind of like a Croque Monsieur, but in a crepe, not bread.

 

They also make for a quick, easy and light supper during the summer months when you are looking for something to make that isn't going to keep you standing over a hot stove for ages and ages. 

I'm all for that.  I can be lazy from time to time when it comes to cooking.  No, I'm not kidding. Its true.

 

These are delicious.  I like to use Gruyere cheese, which is a lovely melty Swiss type of cheese, but you could use cheddar, or Colby, or even Jack cheese if you wanted to.  

You could even use a combination of cheeses. I like cheeses with a lot of flavour and so I choose Gruyere because it has a sweet and nutty taste, and goes really well with ham.

 

I like to pair it with a good ham . . .  thinly sliced honey ham is good, or a thinly sliced dry cured oak smoked.  

You are going to tear it into pieces, so just pick a nice ham, and one that you enjoy. The nicer the flavour of the ham you use, the less you will need of it. Fact.

 

People can find making crepes a little bit intimidating, but they really aren't hard to make at all.  

I put the batter through a sieve to make for a smooth batter.  Just use a good non-stick frying pan, lightly oiled and well heated.

 

You don't want them frying so much as you want the to bake in the skillet.  Just pour a very thin layer and tilt the hot pan a bit to spread the batter out into evenly.  

Let it cook until golden brown and then using a flexible spatula, flip them over to brown the other side. Easy peasy.

  

Once you have browned one side and flipped them over you can start filling them.  They cook in literally about a minute if you pan is heated properly. 

Not too hot, not too cold.  Sprinkle the cheese on half of the crepe . . .

 

Let it cook for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese, then scatter over some torn ham and some chopped spring onion.  

Fold in half again so that you have a triangle and put into a warm oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.  Again, such a simple thing. 

Like an omelet, but with a flour batter instead of an omelet batter.

  

These go together really quickly and are so delicious!  You don't need to limit yourself to what I have used. Use your imagination and whatever is in the refrigerator to fill them with whatever appeals.  

You could go completely vegetarian and fill them with sauteed vegetables and cheese, or maybe you have some leftover curried chicken or lamb.  That would also be nice. A salad on the side makes for a complete meal!

 

 

 

Usually on Sunday if  I am on the ball, I will put something into the slow cooker for our dinner before I leave for church in the morning. 

Normally it will be red meat of some kind. To be honest I am not fond of chicken in the slow cooker. I find it almost gets over-cooked and I don't like the texture of it.  

Beef on the other hand, or pork, lends itself quite well to being cooked in a slow cooker, especially the cheaper cuts.

 

I especially love Beef Brisket done in the slow cooker, either whole as a pot roast, or as I have done today, cut into chunks and as a stew.  

Brisket is one of my favourite cuts of beef and is beautiful when prepared this way. 

 

And is is such a simple thing as well.  Cubes of brisket (I like to cut mine into 1-inch cubes) is tossed with well-seasoned flour and then browned in a bit of oil, on top of the stove in a skillet.  

Really brown it well on all sides. It is the colour from this initial browning that will help to colour your stew. 

 

The juices from the meat also caramelise a bit which adds flavour. Don't crowd the pan when you are browning.  Do it in batches if need be.  

Crowding it means your meat won't brown properly.  Handy tip here. 

  

Onions and garlic are added as well as some stout (Guinness) and beef stock.  

Stout makes for a lovely and richly flavoured gravy.  Pour it all into the slow cooker, and then let the slow cooker (crock pot) do the rest.

 

Six hours on low does the trick. You will have fork tender chunks of beef, in a really rich beautifully flavoured gravy  . . .  

 

And plenty of it . . .  and so beautiful spooned out over a lovely pile of creamy mash.  I cheat sometimes and use the frozen mash. Especially after church.  

It is so simple to use and just as good as fresh mash. I add a bit of butter and cream to mine, which makes it even tastier.

 

Today I cooked English Petit Pois to serve with it, which really went down a real treat.  I love Petit Pois.  I always buy them. I like them a lot more than the regular ones!  So sweet and tender! 

  

The smell of this when it hits your nose as you walk back into your house immediately starts your taste buds to tingling and your mouth to watering.  

You will hardly be able to wait until you have the rest of the meal ready before digging in, but you must  . . .

 

Trust me when I tell you. It is well worth the wait.  Well, well worth it  . . .

 

This is just so, so, so good.  I know it might seem like winter food to some, and yes, it is, but sometimes in the summer you get a cool day (like today) and you just crave something like this.  

Today was the day. It went down a real treat!