Happy Wednesday!  I am always looking for new burgers to try out and sitting in the kitchen last week at the office I overheard rumblings of this dream combination of mango and turkey.  I thought to myself… hmmmm that definitely sounds delicious and is worthy of a weeknight meal at Zesty’s.  Next step was to inquire about the ingredients… done!  Pick up the goods at the grocery store and put this burger to the test.  Too easy.

Overall my take on the burgers were positive and I will make them again.  One thing I would add to the mixture would be maybe diced onions or green peppers…. something for texture.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground turkey
• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
• 3 Tbsp. Mango Chutney
• 1 Tsp. Chili powder ( or red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 Cup Bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp veg oil for frying
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F



2. In a large bowl combine turkey and all remaining ingredients and mix together lightly ( you do not want to mash the mixture to an oblivion or the burgers will taste pureed)



3. Line out a piece of parchment or wax paper and prepare the patties
4. Let the burger rest for 10 minutes so they get to room temperature.  This will prevent them from tightening up and drying out when they hit the hot pan.



5. Place oil in the hot pan and gently add the burgers.  let cook about 3-4 minutes on the first side until golden brown.  ( Do not push the burger down in the pan with a spatula please)
6. Once golden brown, carefully flip the burger and cook on the other side. ( 3-4 mins)
7. Transfer to oven to finish cooking about 20 mins ( depending on the thickness)
8. Top with whatever you desire.  I chose tzatkiki and homemade basil pesto.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  These burgers are very loose ( as designed to keep them moist) so you have to be really careful when flipping them after the first sear.  Make sure you let them cook to a nice golden brown on the first side and then slowly flip and complete the other side before transporting to the oven to finsh.

Ok so now on Monday I mentioned I was dressing up for Halloween at the office.  To give you a little background on the costume, my boss purchase a pro basketball team and they are starting the regular season this week.  A few guys int he office thought it would be a great idea if we dressed up as the basketball team.  We made some jerseys with the logo and an iron and we were all set.  Now as most of you know… I do not look like a basketball player.  However a few accessories can at least make me look the part.

Have a good Wednesday and do not forget to enter the Candy Giveaway contest.  Submissions end today at 5:00pm EST.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Good morning and I thank you.  For all the nice emails regarding the thanksgiving feast and your request for certain recipes.  I will work on getting those for you and post them either Friday of this week or early next week.  Today I wanted to share with you a simple salad that can be put together in minutes and meet all the nutritional needs of your body.  Salads for lunch can get pretty boring, at least for me so every now and I again I switch them up and keep the flavors unique.

This combination of balsamic, mango with roasted chicken was a great combination.  Maybe because there is feta cheese on there as well with some crunch from slivered almonds and firm cucumber.  Whatever the flavors may be, try to match texture with sexiness and your salads will make your tummy happy both inside and out.  Wow, I just re read that line and it sounds like I am promoting healthy eating.  What I was really going for is that if you make foods that look good you are more apt to enjoy them and feel good after you eat them.

OK enough with the sensitive chatter let’s get going and build this salad.  I will not put the measurements as it totally doesn’t matter.

Ingredients

• Baby spinach
• Iceberg lettuce
• Cucumber
• Slivered almonds
• Fresh mango
• Roasted chicken
• Feta cheese
• Tomatoes, grape
• Balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Assemble all ingredients on a plate or bowl starting with the largest vegetables and continuing to chicken and cheese.
2. Drizzle with balsamic.
3. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For a new twist on salads, heat up the balsamic vinegar or whichever dressing you like and pour it over your salad.  The warmth of the dressing will start to wilt the spinach ever so slightly and give you a whole different texture and perspective on your salad.

I am just about ready to head into the office.  Middle of the week is upon us and the middle of October is approaching.  Before I sign off I have a BIG question for you.

What is your favorite SALAD DRESSING?

I am just curious because normally I am balsamic vinegar or a homemade version of olive oil, mustard, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Spill the beans and tell me yours via email or comments.  Have a great Wednesday and keep smiling.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Let’s pretend the weather is nice and sunny and you are craving fresh made juice as you sit on the porch and watch the sun beat down on you.  Can we?  Sure we can – despite reality of rain and miserable weather.

You know I love my juicer and making juice.  The other day I had a bag of carrots that were aching to get used up so I hauled out the juicer and cleaned out the fridge.  Great way to do such that!  The results were pretty good.  I have to say, I have not really had a bad juice.

What’s In The Juice

• 3 apples
• 2 pears
• 12 carrots
• 3 ripe mangos
• handful or baby spinach

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  So you make juice and you have a ton of pulp on the side of your juicer…. what do you do with it?  Well I take the cover off and biff it in the compost bin.  But if you are Gena from choosing raw, you use the pulp to make crackers!  I know… brilliant!

I was reading Gena’s post on making pulp crackers and I was floored.  I thought this was an amazing idea because i hate throwing out food and I love crackers!  All this time, I have been throwing out this pulp and now I will stop.

Alright, I better go get ready for work.  Have a super Wednesday and I will see you all to wrap up the week.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty