The Best Turkey Burgers

It's grilling season and nothing says summer like a good burger.

Even vegetarians love a good bean or veggie burger right?

Now no one in their right mind, including myself, want's to turn their oven on in this hot weather. So I got my grill on this past Saturday with the pending heat wave, and all I have to say is this...turkey burgers are the BOMB!!

Or should I say boom? Let me tell you about the fun we had trying to get our BBQ going on the weekend. We've had this one for a while now and I think it's soon to be on its last leg. The ignition button that you push to fire it up has officially stopped working. So, we've had to resort to igniting the thing by dropping matches over the grill at an arms length while being ready to jump back before the flame catches. Talk about living on the edge!

...You know it's time to buy a new BBQ when.

It's probably not a good thing to be throwing lit matches at it, but it works for now until we can get a new one.

Anyway, back to the burgers. Ground turkey is a great alternative to the traditional beef burger. This one is so tender and well seasoned you'll have a hard time believing how healthy it really is for you. The turkey is low in sodium and saturated fats, and is a good source of protein.

Smokey Turkey Burgers (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper
• Diana's Smokehouse BBQ sauce for brushing
• Whole grain kaiser buns

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, with a fork, combine turkey, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and pepper.
2. Form the mixture into four burger patties being careful not to overwork the meat.
3. Grill them for 4-7 minutes per side until thoroughly cooked. After flipping the first side brush on some BBQ sauce. When the second side is done, flip and brush some BBQ sauce on the first side.

You can top these beauties anyway you like. I topped mine with some classic mustard and relish, sliced tomato from the market, caramelized onions, and a dill pickle. Gotta have that pickle in there!

These burgers are a officially a family favourite in my house and they are the best turkey burgers I've ever tried.

Hopefully the next time I decide to grill I won't blow up!

What are some of your favourite burger toppings?

How To: Roast Red Peppers

I never used to like peppers very much. For the longest time I used to think the only way to eat a pepper was raw. Yuck! That was before I learned how to roast them. I'll admit some raw peppers are alright, but seriously, why would you want to eat them raw when you can roast them? If you've never done this before then you really have to try it. The flavour and texture turn tender and sweet. Once you've tasted fresh roasted red pepper you will never settle for the jarred kind again.

There are a few different methods for roasting bell peppers depending on what type of cooking appliance you have handy. You can grill them straight on the BBQ or use your gas stove burner, but I'm going to show you what I find to be the easiest, less messiest way -roasting them in the oven under the broiler.

All you'll need is a red pepper, a sharp knife, some foil or a foil plate, zip-loc bag and of course your oven.

Ready? Set?

Grab your knife and let's get started!

To roast, first set your oven to broil, then take a pepper and slice the top off as shown:

Now run your knife down the inside of the pepper along the white spongy membrane. You should then be able to detach the seeds using your fingers. Just give it a little twist and pull. It should pop out easily intact with little to no mess.

Huzzah! You've now successfully de-seeded a pepper.

Slice it in half, then lay each skin side up on the cutting board and press down with the palm of your hand to squish the pepper flat.

Squish!

Place each pepper skin side up on a long sheet of foil or a foil plate.

It's time to roast! Place them in the preheated oven and let roast until the skin turns black and blistery. Keep a watchful eye and pay attention to it for the next 10-15 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and place them in a sealed zip-lock bag (perfect for easy clean up, you just have the bag to throw away when your are done). Let them sit for 15 minutes. This will allow steam to build up in the bag, causing the skin of the pepper to lift away.

Once they've rested remove them from the bag and peel off the skin using your fingers.

Viola, perfectly roasted bell peppers every time!

Enjoy them on salad or pizza, in sandwiches, pastas, stir-fry's, quinoa and rice pilafs, or even on their own. You can puree them into sauces, add them to salsa or soup...the list goes on.

How about Rustic Kamut Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage?

They are heavenly delicious and will melt in your mouth. These are easily one of my favourite vegetables now.

This is a great method for roasting any kind of pepper. Sweet red bell peppers in particular contain almost 300 percent of your daily vitamin C intake. Yellow and green are also good sources of the antioxidant.