Herbed Turkey Sliders

Recipe ideas and inspirations can come from the weirdest places sometimes.  Take this one for instance...my husband was sitting in the waiting room at the Dr.'s office, browsing a mini magazine, when this recipe caught his eye.


Please understand, my husband is the furthest thing from a foodie I have ever seen.  The man eats rice and potatoes together in the same meal for goodness sakes!  haha  So maybe  a little of my passion is starting to rub off on him.  I am so proud of him, because like the foodie he is NOT, he took the magazine with him and proudly presented me with the recipe when he got home.

"Honey, don't these look good?" he asked.

(His way of subtly asking me to make them.)

They really did.  One glance at the ingredients, and I knew I'd be putting these on the menu ASAP.

I thanked him and explained to him, once again (as I have so many times in the past), menu planning can be difficult, so I am always open to suggestions.   I seem to fall into slumps, where I just don't know what to make.  On the flip side, there are other times when the ideas just pour out.  When he brought this recipe home, I was on the verge of a dinner slump. Mini Burgers to the rescue!

These little burgers are easy to make and packed with flavor, something turkey burgers often lack.  Slider buns of all sorts are easy to find in the stores these days too!  These tasty little burgers not only made a great meal for us, but I could definitely see myself serving these at a party.  Placed on a large tray, side-by-side, they look so cute with a pick inserted into the center to keep them together.

Since these burgers call for a TBS of tomato paste, I thought I'd take this time to share a nifty tip.  Since many recipes only call for 1 or 2 TBS of tomato paste, and it generally is packed in a 4 oz. can, I take a sheet of plastic wrap. lay it flat on the counter and portion out the remaining tomato paste into blobs that measure 1 TBS each.   I then cut around each blob, leaving enough extra wrap to enclose the blob in the wrap entirely. Put each plastic wrapped, perfectly portioned TBS of tomato paste into a freezer bag and freeze for later use.  When you need tomato paste, just reach in and grab the frozen blobs (how many TBS you might need) and pop them into the microwave for a few seconds to thaw.

Give this method a try the next time you need to open a can of tomato paste but don't use the entire contents in a recipe!   

One last note, I used dried herbs, but if you have them, substitute fresh herbs and adjust the amounts (more for fresh) for bigger herb flavor. 

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Herbed Turkey Sliders

Printable Recipe

Servings - 8  Serving Size - 1 sliders  *Points Plus per Serving -3 Points+

*nutrition information given is for turkey patties only.  I did not calculate the stats for the buns or any of the condiments on the buns (lettuce, tomato, avocado).

*Calories - 123.6,   Total Fat - 6g,   Carbs - 0.8g,   Protein - 16.6g,   Fiber - 0.2g

Ingredients:

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 tsp. dried basil (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh)

1 TBS dried parsley (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh)

1 TBS tomato paste

1 TBS minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red  pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 lbs. lean (93%) ground turkey

Optional and not included in nutrition calculations:

Slider buns

butter lettuce

sliced tomato

sliced avocado

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine all of the ingredients up to the ground turkey.  Mix in the ground turkey with your hands or a spatula until well combined.  
2. Heat a nonstick skillet or grill pan on med-high heat and spray with a little canola oil from your oil mister.  
3. Shape about 3oz. of meat into a patty (you should get about 8).  Put a little divot in the center of the patty.
4. Cook on prepared skillet or grill pan until done all the way through, flipping once. 
5. Serve with optional ingredients not included in nutritional information. 

Adapted from A Guide to Living Well with Diabetes

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I cooked these little guys indoors, but I think they would also be delicious grilled outdoors!  They are so flavorful.  The next time I make them, I may opt for full sized burgers, instead of minis...but the minis are so darn cute...and who doesn't love cute food?  lol 

These make a great appetizer or if you increase the serving size to two, a great dinner option.

Coming up next week, I have a great giveaway planned for you for a new gluten free snack product that I think is amazing and I'm excited to share it with all of you!