No fail turkey burgers

Personally, I don't eat a lot of red meat (my husband is a different story). I love a good burger and fries every once in a while when we go out, but at home I prefer turkey and veggie burgers. I've tried the ready-made ground turkey patties, but they're pretty blah tasting... even with all the fixings. So I found this recipe for turkey cheeseburgers in Family Circle magazine last year, and it's been a staple in our dinner rotation ever since. My husband loves when I make these. Not only are they delicious and moist (because of the shredded cheese and grated zucchini mixed in), they are also quick and easy to make. And much healthier than your typical restaurant burger, so you can feel good about eating them. I just made them for dinner tonight, and they were yummy as usual.

Turkey Cheeseburgers ~ Serves 4 (from Family Circle)

Ingredients:

• 1 package (about 1.25 lbs) ground turkey
• 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and grated
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 4 Whole Wheat buns or Arnold Sandwich thins
• Sliced tomato and lettuce

Directions:

• Heat the broiler, arranging the top rack rack so the burgers are 2" from the heat.
• In a large bowl, combine the turkey, zucchini, cheese, salt, onion powder, basil and pepper. Mix well and form 4 patties, each about 5 inches wide.
• Place burgers on a broiler pan (or on a roasting pan with aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray). Broil for about 8 minutes per side or until burgers are 165 degrees.
• Toast buns or sandwich thins, if desired. Stack buns with burgers, lettuce, tomato and any other toppings you'd like!

A lot of times, I'll form the burgers, slice the tomatoes and wash the lettuce during Little H's afternoon nap. Then I just stick the uncooked burgers in the fridge and pop them in the oven later when it's time to eat. Bonus: If there's only 2 people eating them, then you'll have 2 leftover burgers that can be quickly reheated for another lunch or dinner that week.

For a side, I usually bake sweet potato fries (recipe from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics that I'll share in a future post), or bake frozen pre-packaged fries (if I don't have sweet potato on hand), or defrost some edamame. Tip: I always use aluminum foil on the pans when I bake the burgers and fries, making cleanup a breeze.

Super simple. Super quick. Super yummy.