I can’t quite believe that this week it’s been one whole year since I started writing marrying tastes–a semi-regular brain dump and associated story of what’s being cooked up in both our kitchen and our lives. I started this crazy adventure because my then-new-husband encouraged me to find an outlet to do something my heart absolutely loved and (at the time) had absolutely no outlet for: writing. And as for me? When I sat down to write only two things came to mind: my sexy husband and the fact that I was hungry. Hence, a food/marriage blog was born!

And well, while the second part about why I chose to write about food may or may not be completely accurate, I have learned a heck of a lot over the past year–some of it related to food, some of it related to our marriage, and some of it related to the reality of sharing our lives over the interwebs.

Here’s the highlights:

• I use the word “deal” way too much. Both in real life and in my writing. You’re going to start to notice now…crap…I shouldn’t have said anything…
• I will never try to make a healthy ice cream. Why? Because I love it more than anything and I would never do that to my husband or to the multiple ice cream shops we frequent who have by now come to probably rely on our sales dollars.

• I steal the covers. All the time. I try really, really hard not to–but it’s just happens. I also carry a blanket around my Fortune 50 company to try and stay warm in meetings. This may or may not halt my ability to climb the corporate ladder. TBD on that.

• One year in, marriage doesn’t somehow get easier. It’s always a journey and I’m always striving to learn how to be better wife and a better partner-in-crime. This week it means trying to remember not to put tomatoes in the scrambled eggs since Tom hates the texture. Baby steps.

• The internet and social media can be a scary and wonderful thing. It makes connections, but it also opens the doors for people to say terrible things about you with absolutely no consequences. I don’t cry often, but in the past year I’ve shed multiple tears–both when people have used my writing to tear me down but also when people (like my amazing co-worker who works full-time AND goes to school full-time) tells me that she loves my recipes and it helps her discover healthy meals she can quickly prepare between class and work.

All this being said,  here’s the crux of it: I’m not perfect and sometimes my recipes aren’t either. That being said, they’ve worked for us and our family and I love being able to take some time every few weeks and share them with you. If you enjoy them, I’m so glad you’ve taken the time to read my blog. If you don’t, that’s okay too–I’m using it as an opportunity to work on what Tom Rath calls my “strength” of being a Woo. I’ll never make everyone happy or win everyone over (as much as my inner psyche is just begging to make this happen)–and this teeny little blog is helping me learn that.

One year in, I’ve still got a lot of recipes to share with you–both old favorites as well as new recipes that I tinker with as often as I can. This time? It’s an “old” favorite–a weeknight go-to burger (yes, burger!) for those of us who 1) don’t have a grill (darn you one-year long house-hunt!) and/or 2) want a “grilled” burger when it’s too cold to go outside and use the real grill.

The beautiful part? Tom will always want a burger. Seriously. I don’t care if he just had his regular order of one chicken AND one steak burrito from Chipotle–the man (like all of us) loves burgers. And while the typically toppings of BBQ sauce and bacon don’t always make it onto our homemade burgers (sorry, babe), I can use it as an opportunity to pack a bunch of flavor (and a bunch of veggies) into an easy weeknight meal.

So…where’s the compromise?

Here’s our answer:

• Swap the ground beef used in traditional burgers for the turkey–not because it’s necessarily better for you, but it’s a great way to ensure we’re getting a variety of lean proteins in our diet
• Use pre-frozen 1/3 lb patties…because it’s fast, inexpensive, and oh-so-easy
• Add all of the spices–because fat=flavor and turkey don’t have much flavor, people…it needs the spices…BIG TIME
• Keep the burger nice and moist and prevent it from getting dry by pairing it with juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and melty cheese 

| Tuesday Turkey Burgers |

Serves: 1.5 Tom’s or 3 Alaina’s (read: makes three burgers)

Ingredients Needed:

• 3 , 1/3 lb frozen turkey burger patties
  • We love the ease (and the price) of the Kirkland-brand frozen turkey patties from Costco–it’s $10.99 for twelve 1/3 lb. burgers…you really can’t go wrong.

• 3 tsp. Miracle Whip
  • Don’t hate. I swear the little oomph of flavor this gives the burgers absolutely makes them. If you absolutely won’t eat Miracle Whip, stir together 3 tsp. of plain greek yogurt with some salt and paprika.
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 3 slices of cheese–ideally colby jack or pepperjack
• 1 heart of romaine lettuce, leaves washed and separated
• Paprika, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Onion powder, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

First up, you gotta get them burgers on the grill (pan)

• Lightly spray your oven-safe grill pan with olive oil cooking spray (or any non-stick spray you have on-hand…although I will always recommend the Simply Balanced version!) and start heating on the stove over medium heat

• Grab three turkey burgers from the freezer, lay them on a plate, and set them in the sink (no, I’m not kidding…this is going to save you from having olive oil and spices go everywhere)

• Once the plate is in the sink, spray/rub both sides of your burgers with olive oil
• Once oiled, generously season with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper–remember, don’t hold back! Turkey burgers don’t have much flavor…this is your shot to make them uber-flavorful!

• Once seasoned and your pan is hot, add your burgers to the grill pan and set a timer for twelve minutes–ensuring you flip the burgers halfway (around six minutes)

Now that those burgers are on the grill, get working on those toppings (but remember to keep an eye on the burgers and occasionally use a spatula to get under the burgers to ensure they aren’t sticking)!

• Chop the tomatoes and the onions and mix together in a bowl
• Once your tomato mixture is ready, slice up your avocado
• Finally, get out your cheese slices and the Miracle Whip–just so you’re ready to start building your burger the second they’re ready!

You’ve gotten everything prepped…now you just need to make sure your burgers are cooked!

• After twelve minutes have passed, use a cooking thermometer to check to see if the burgers are at 165 degrees F.
  • Note: If they’re not yet done, flip the burgers and cook for two additional minutes. Continue flipping & cooking for as long as needed until the burgers hit 165 degrees F

Your burgers are cooked…YAHOO! You’re almost done! Just get the toppings on and get these babies under the broiler to melt that magnificent cheese!

• Once the burgers are cooked, add a tsp. of Miracle Whip to the center of each burgers and spread around gently (this is the “glue” to keep the tomatoes/onions on the burger)

• After this has been added, evenly distribute the tomato/onion mixture over the burgers
  • Note: It’s okay if some falls off the burger, it’s not the end of the world–just pile as much as you can on each burger!

• Next up, evenly distribute the slices of avocado over the burgers (this can be a bit of a balancing act…you can do it!)

• Finally, add a slice of cheese on top of each burger

• Once your burgers have all their toppings, pop them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned just slightly brown

• Once the cheese is melty and delicious, remove from the oven and serve immediately–either over lettuce or in a bun

Now, in all transparency, 99% of the time we eat these over lettuce. These are hearty burgers and since Tom is eating two of these bad boys he does not even miss the bun. That being said, we had eighteen hamburger buns leftover from Labor Day and I have no idea what we’re going to do with all of them…so if Tom wants buns I say “PLEASE EAT THEM BECAUSE THEY’RE TAKING UP ALL MY LIMITED FREEZER SPACE!”

Phew, I digress. I dream of a day where we have a deep freeze…until then, I will probably still have a freezer full of hamburger buns.

The beauty of this dish is that it’s that easy to compromise on something as simple as the bun. We both are getting a protein-packed dinner with lots of delicious (and nutritious) veggies and neither of us are sacrificing taste or “going without” if we choose to eat our dinner with or without a bun.

I also hope you picked up on how all the prep is done for this meal while the meal is cooking. In other words, this meal goes from “What should we have for dinner?” to “Dinner is served!” in TWENTY MINUTES. Hallelujah, people!

I think this calls for an AMEN, my friends. This dinner is a Tuesday night savior in-between me coaching Girls on the Run and Tom’s fall ball league. We don’t sacrifice the nutrition of our dinner in our need-for-speed–instead we just ensure we always have everything on-hand for this efficient-as-it-gets weeknight burger.

Most importantly, as promised, this burger is delectably juicy and flavorful--this ain’t your mama’s turkey burger. It’s got a kick from the all the spices (especially that ever-so-slightly smoky paprika), a tang from the Miracle Whip, and a perfect little bite from the raw onion. Add that smooth avocado and the cheesy goodness that marries it all together…mmm…it’s just too dang good.

And, as always, this dinner is a compromise–something we continue to learn more about in our marriage (and our meal plans) every day. I am so lucky I have a husband who’s willing to try all the items that come out of my test-kitchen (need I remind you all of the garbanzo bean cookie dough disaster?)… and even luckier that that you are willing to try out some of our recipes as well.

My recipes aren’t perfect and neither is our marriage, and I hope you see that in the stories I share. I burn cookies, don’t measure ingredients, and sometimes forget to assume positive intent with my wonderful husband (…sorry about that babe!)

At the end of the day, I am just so grateful for the opportunity to share our lives (and our appetite) with you over the past year and  I will continue to do so as long as you’ll let me.

Deal? Deal. 

{see? I told you I say “deal” a lot…}

Here’s to one year of making culinary compromises (and many more to come)…all in the name of love.

xoxo,

alaina