Turkey Burgers with Zucchini

My trick to making the juiciest turkey burgers EVER is by adding grated zucchini! A huge bonus if you want your kids to eat more veggies – they'll never know!

I started experimenting with adding zucchini to my turkey burgers back in 2010 and never looked back. They come out so juicy, and the flavor is delicious. This recipe is from the archives, my sad photo needed a makeover so I made them for lunch outside on the grill and re-shot them.

Adding zucchini also lowers the calories per serving because you get five patties out of 1 pound of ground turkey them instead of four. Serve them with your favorite burger toppings, on a whole wheat bun or skip the bun and serve them on lettuce to keep the carbs low. These can be grilled or cooked indoors. If you want to make them on the grill, it's best to make the patties ahead (overnight is best) and keep them refrigerated so they hold their shape. You can also freeze them and thaw them right on the grill.

For best results: use a hand grater to grate the zucchini, onion and garlic super fine. Get the pan hot before you put the burgers on to get a nice sear, then lowered the flame to the lowest setting to let the burgers cook all the way through, turning a few times so the burgers don't burn. 


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Quick Cabbage Slaw

This quick, simple slaw is a staple in my house. Perfect when you need something acidic to balance a savory dish. Everyone loves this, including my toddler only for her I leave out the red onion.

A few weeks ago I updated the photo on my Slow Cooker Pernil Recipe (this is on regular rotation in my house) and I often serve it with this quick slaw. I've since gotten so many emails on how to make the slaw, so here it is. Hope you enjoy!

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Grilled Fennel with Parmesan and Lemon

Grilled fennel with lemon, olive oil and shaved parmesan is my FAVORITE way to eat fennel. If you think you're not a fennel fan, this is the recipe that may change your mind!

When raw, it has a licorice-like taste I'm not a fan of, but when you grill it, the flavor changes completely, and has more of a mild taste like a bok choy.

The charred edges, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice and finished with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano is my new favorite way to prepare it. You can serve this as a side dish for four, or have it as a warm salad for two. You can do this indoors on a grill pan, or make it outside on the grill.

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Sprinkle Dipped Meringues

Melt-in-your-mouth meringues dipped in creamy white chocolate and sprinkles, is there anything sweeter?

This meringue recipe is from my friend Rosie’s new book The Sweetapolita Bakebook, which comes out next Tuesday, April 7th! This book is BEAUTIFUL, filled with brilliant ideas for the baking enthusiasts.

I'm not quite sure if I could do this book justice, the quality of her work is just a bit out of my league, yet it's one of those books I can't stop looking at. Recipes like Cotton Candy Cloud Cookies, and Chalkboard Cookies with Edible Chalk – I'm totally obsessed! If you're a baker, or know a baker, this book is a must!

Back to these meringues. Naturally I chose this recipe because they are low in fat. Two cookies are under 100 calories, so if you need a sweet treat to bring to a party that's not over-indulgent, this is a great option.

A note from the author: When making meringue, be sure that your mixer bowl and whisk are completely free from even a smidge of grease or other residue. For the most stable and voluminous meringue, I find it’s best to use fresh eggs, without a trace of yolk, and not pre-packaged egg whites. Egg whites tend to separate best when they are cold, but they whip up best when room temperature or warm.

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Asparagus Egg and Bacon Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

I love the combination of this simple salad of asparagus, hard boiled egg and bacon tossed with a Dijon vinaigrette – it has Spring written all over it!

I'm sharing this from the archives because asparagus is in season right now, and this is one of my go-to salads this time of year. Asparagus and eggs are a match made in heaven, but not just for breakfast, it's great for lunch too! I always keep hard boiled eggs on hand in my fridge to use throughout the week, therefore this salad came together in less than 10 minutes. It's perfect to pack for lunch, and you can easily double or multiply the recipe to feed more. It's also very inexpensive to make, low-carb, high in protein and fiber and perfect for gluten-free and Paleo diets.

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Quick Spiralized Zucchini and Grape Tomatoes

I think it was on an episode of MasterChef Junior that I heard the quote "what grows together, goes together" which makes so much sense. Zucchini, tomatoes and basil are just made for each other, you can serve as a side dish, as suggested, or even as a main dish topped with some grilled shrimp or chicken.

I've been using the thicker blade on my Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer to make my zoodles (zucchini noodles). I like the larger noodle because it has more of bite and I'm careful not to overcook them so they don't get soggy. Under two minutes is all they need, then I quickly remove them from the hot skillet or they will keep cooking.

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Shepherd's Pie, Lightened Up

Because St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, I thought sharing this oldie-but-goodie – my lightened up Shepherd's Pie, filled with lean ground beef, veggies, and topped with my skinny yukon gold mashed potatoes would be perfect for all you meat and potato lovers out there! This is so comforting and filling, it doesn't taste light!

I love remaking some of my older dishes, because as you may notice, I am always coming up with new recipes. This also gives me an opportunity to rephotograph some of my older stuff.

This is a great dish to make ahead and bake when you are ready to eat. You can also make this with chopped turkey in place of beef, or sweet potatoes in place of Yukon Gold. If you want to keep the carbs low, top it with cauliflower mash instead. Leftovers freeze well and can be reheated later.

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Skillet Sweet Potato Chicken Hash with Eggs

If you want a substantial breakfast, Sunday brunch or even lunch this is a great tasting dish! The sweet potatoes are savory, sauteed with onions and thyme and tossed with leftover diced chicken with eggs. Perfect for Sunday brunch or a light dinner.

Top it with a few dashes of Sriracha and it's over-the-top good!

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Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata

Egg frittatas are my answer to an easy, inexpensive meal solution whether I'm having it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For breakfast, I'll serve this with a side of berries or fruit. For dinner, I make a salad on the side and call it a meal!

You can literally throw anything into a frittata and call it a meal, but I thought it would be fun to make this one a St Patricks Day theme which of coarse MUST have yukon gold potatoes, and to create a shamrock design, I sliced my bell peppers into flower shapes – completely optional! This one's vegetarian, perfect if you need a meatless Monday dish idea, and it's naturally gluten-free.

I'm not sure if there's anything quite as beautiful as farm fresh eggs. A friend of mine is raising chickens in her yard and gave me some of her eggs and the colors were so beautiful I almost didn't want to crack them. The yolks are so orange, it's hard to believe I made this frittata with half egg whites.

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Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime

Easy weeknight dinner solution – grab some chicken, remove the skin, brush it with this Dijon-lime sauce and put it in the oven. I've been making this recipe for years using thighs until the USDA changed the calories and fat contact for thighs. Now I do this with drumsticks, you can use any parts you like.

While the chicken's cooking, grab a bag of lettuce, and top it with one of these delicious DeLallo SaladSavors® that make life so easy. These are the BEST, and come in 6 varieties with top quality ingredients. All you have to do is add some oil and vinegar, and you have an amazing salad in 5 minutes.  My favorite is the Zesty which has marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and Asiago cheese pictured below.

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Oven Roasted Cauliflower

Roasting cauliflower brings out its nuttiness flavor and caramelizes the edges. This is such an easy way to prepare it, I toss it with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil and top it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some lemon zest when it comes out of the oven.

I can eat a whole bowl of this for lunch, but I usually make this as a side for steaks, pork chops or chicken. An irresistible side dish, even to people who don't like cauliflower.

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Turkey Sausage Patties From Scratch

Making your own turkey sausage patties from scratch is easy –  and bonus, no processed ingredients! I'm so honored to have my friend Jackie share this recipe here on Skinnytaste as a guest post. Jackie is an incredible chef with Celiac, and has a blog called CAFE, Celiac and Allergy Friendly Epicurian where she shares her gluten-free recipes. I made these for breakfast today with my Red Pepper Egg-In-A-Hole and it was delish! Jackie will be guest posting once a month here on Skinnytaste, please welcome her...

I am excited to be here on Skinnytaste again. A lot has happened since my last guest post. This past summer I was offered the opportunity of a lifetime (or at least my lifetime) to work as a test kitchen contributor at Bon Appétit Magazine. I interned there after completing culinary school last year but it was quite a different and incredible experience to actually contribute to the magazine and website.

After working at Bon Appétit for 8 months I am happy to be back home with the kids and focus on developing recipes on a freelance professional basis as well as for my website. In addition to gaining a ton of experience while working in the test kitchen, I gained a few pounds. Occupational hazard, I suppose. I decided to re-join weight watchers and work on creating and maintaining healthy eating habits once again.

I used weight watchers after the last 2 of my 3 sons were born and it is my favorite weight loss program. The balanced approach is not only physically healthy but I’ve found it to be the best for my long-term success. Once I started calculating points for all of my recipes, I immediately thought of Gina and of course all of you here at Skinnytaste. I am looking forward to visiting here from time to time and sharing my healthy recipes with you. I hope you will stop by my page to say hi to me there as well.

Today’s recipe is for Turkey Sausage Patties. They are extremely flavorful and savory. You could serve them for breakfast with eggs or even for lunch and dinner. I soften the onion and garlic and then toast some fennel with the mix to add a depth of flavor you wouldn’t get by just adding everything raw It’s a short extra step that is definitely worth taking.



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Chicken Barley Soup

Warm up with a bowl of this Chicken and Barley Soup! My entire family loves this including my five year old, and the leftovers are better the next day!

This week's forecast – snow, snow and more snow! Making soup is my way of dealing with February and the cold. I like to use chicken on the bone when making soup because it adds more flavor. If you prefer to use water instead of broth, that is fine too, just add salt to taste.

Make a big pot of this, and freeze the leftovers if you wish! Enjoy and stay warm!

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Chicken Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

This hearty soup – loaded with chicken, kale, sweet potatoes and veggies, will warm your bones on this cold winter we are having! And the leftovers are perfect for heating up for lunch the next day and can also be frozen for another night.

I'm not a fan of sweet potatoes unless they are savory, so I loved them in this soup! There's no grains in here, but a large bowl is very satisfying. The jalapeño adds the perfect flavor, and just a trace of heat. Of course if you like your food spicy, you could add more! This is naturally gluten-free, Paleo and a great One-Pot meal – enjoy!

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Shrimp Scampi Zoodles for Two

Shrimp with lemon, lemon zest and garlic over zucchini noodles – this dish is EASY low-carb, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, very satisfying and took less than 20 minutes to make, start to finish and it was DELICIOUS!

2014 was certainly the year for the zoodles (zucchini noodles)! Ever since buying my FAVORITE cooking gadget, the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer I was hooked! I've been swapping pasta for zucchini noodles ever since. It's the easiest way to make zucchini noodles, cucumber noodles, sweet potato spirals, spiralized beets and more! Prior to owning one, I used my mandolin but it's so much quicker and easier (and safer) with this fun gadget – you NEED one!!

I took a break from zoodles for a few months because I may have over-did it this summer, but now that it's January I dusted off my Paderno and have been making them all week.

If you are new to zucchini noodles, a few tips: don't cook the zucchini longer than 2 minutes or it will become watery. I usually cook it 1-1/2 minutes so they stay firm yet warm. You can even eat it raw, like in this awesome Raw Spiralized Zucchini Salad with Avocado and Edamame.

Zucchini noodles are also great in Asian dishes, try this Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles, under 300 calories!

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Quick Mussels Fra Diavolo

Mussels in a spicy red marinara sauce – simple and elegant, best served with lots of whole wheat crusty bread for dipping into the delicious sauce.

Seafood on Christmas Eve is a holiday family tradition. This can be served as an appetizer with bread for dipping or over pasta as a main dish or even over zoodles to keep it low carb. I usually use my own homemade marinara sauce (I never use jarred sauce) when I make this, but I tried this with Delallo's Pomodoro Fresco and I have to say I was very impressed, and so was my husband! It tastes just like my homemade sauce and this dish came together in less than 15 minutes.

If you've never made mussels before, you'll be surprised how easy this dish is. The mussels should be alive when you purchase and cook them. Any mussels that are cracked should be discarded, and any mussels that don't open after cooking should also be tossed.

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Loaded Cauliflower "Mash" Bake

Creamy mashed cauliflower made with a touch of whipped butter, buttermilk, garlic and herbs and topped with cheese and bacon – you'll swear it's loaded with fat!

A few weeks ago I stopped to eat lunch with the family at Pizzeria Uno. I ordered a burger and somehow the waiter talked me into getting the loaded mashed potatoes – OMG! Yes, it was a moment of weakness but some of my best ideas come from those moments. This version is so so good, lower in carbs and makes the perfect side dish to any meal. Enjoy!

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Spaghetti Squash Primavera

Spaghetti squash and fresh vegetables simmered with a quick marinara sauce and topped with fresh mozzarella if you desire - easy, cheap, gluten-free and perfect for Meatless Mondays!

I'm reviving this from the archives for those of you who may have had a little too much stuffing this Thanksgiving (I swear I'm not judging)! This recipe was inspired after watching a marathon of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, but this time we actually decided to go to the nearest DDD restaurant, The Pit Stop which was featured on the show for their spaghetti squash primavera.

As a spaghetti squash lover myself, I ordered it and loved it and knew I wanted to re-make this at home. Super easy to make and you can use whatever vegetables you like – I used broccoli, carrots and zucchini but you can use asparagus, eggplant or bell peppers. To speed this up I made the spaghetti squash in the microwave which takes only about 8 minutes to cook, but if you have more time you can make it in the oven, the directions below are for both.

Of course, I had to top mine with fresh mozzarella which was just made and still warm when I bought it this morning! Leave the cheese out for vegan, dairy-free or paleo diets, nutritional info is provided below both ways. This dish comes together in less than 20 minutes, and you can easily double the recipe to make it 4 servings using a larger saute pan. You can also freeze this once cooked and reheat it in the oven for another day, enjoy!

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Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Frittata

Leftover turkey, sweet potatoes, spinach and Gruyere cheese – trust me, you'll want to save some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving because this breakfast frittata is SOO good!

When I had the idea of using leftover turkey and sweet potato in a fritatta, I had no idea just how good this would turn out! In fact, I would make turkey again, just to make this frittata. Frittatas are so versatile, you could of course use leftover chicken breast instead, or swap the Gruyere for another cheese, the spinach for kale, etc. This is naturally gluten-free, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a salad on the side. Hope you enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Slow Cooker Lemon Feta Chicken Drumsticks

EASY chicken dish – only 5 ingredients not counting s + p! Skinless chicken drumsticks are seasoned with lemon, oregano and spices then slow cooked in the crock pot. When done, they are topped with fresh grated feta – YUM!

Every now and then I like to take recipes I would normally make in the oven and try them out in my slow cooker. Some of you might recognize this Roasted Lemon Feta Chicken recipe from the archives. Often they convert great for the slow cooker with some slight modifications. These drumsticks were fall of the bone, with great flavor and the only difference was rather than adding the feta and broiling them in the oven, I served the chicken on a platter and added the fresh grated feta cheese after which melted from the heat of the drumsticks. I highly recommend buying a chunk of feta and grating it yourself, it's moister and tastes so much better. I served this with this massaged raw kale salad using feta instead of parmesan – an easy inexpensive meal.

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!

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