healthy dinner Archives - ¡HOLA! JALAPEÑO

Tapatio Turkey Burger Recipe with Spicy Mayo

December 18, 2020 by Kate Ramos 2 Comments

The BEST Turkey Burger recipe! This one is anything but boring, seasoned with Tapatio hot sauce, a simple spice blend, and Worcestershire with a little spicy mayo on top to boot. Serve the turkey burger with sweet potato fries and a simple Cilantro-Lime Slaw for an easy, healthy, and delicious dinner.

As we hunker down with family this holiday season it’s nice to have a simple dinner recipe for those nights when you feel like doing anything but cook dinner.

Burger recipes are always a hit at our house and I like to switch up the beef burgers every once in a while with something different. Chorizo burgers are amazing but sometimes I want something a bit healthier, lighter, and not so heavy.

A turkey burger sitting on a wood table with a jar of Tapatio spice mix sitting behind it along with some sweet potato fries.

That’s where this turkey burger recipe comes in.

Lean ground turkey makes excellent burgers if you season them right (that’s where the Tapatio comes in) and don’t overcook them. They’re also super fast and cook up in time for you to get back to your Christmas movie marathon. My favorite kind of holiday recipe!

Check out these recipes for more easy dinner ideas!

A turkey burger sitting on a bun with the other side of the bun slathered in spicy mayonnaise sitting next to it and a bowl of slaw in the corner.

turkey burger recipe ingredients

These are the basic ingredients to make the BEST (and a little spicy) turkey burgers. If you are sensitive to spice, you can either cut the amount of hot sauce in half or just leave it out. If you LOVE spicy stuff—increase it!

Ground turkey
Tapatio Hot Sauce. Tapatio has the perfect spicy-acidic balance for these burgers but feel free to substitute your favorite hot sauce or leave it out.
Onion powder
Salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Finely chopped cilantro

how to make the BEST turkey burgers

Making turkey burgers is really pretty easy but here are my tips for getting a flavorful, juicy burger every time.

The first step to making the turkey patties is to combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. You want to mix the ingredients together with wet hands to combine everything evenly but not over mix. If you work the turkey too much they will be tough.

Next, form each burger patty by gently patting into a round just so they hold their shape but not too tightly. Set each patty on a large plate or baking sheet until you are ready to cook them. You can make them in advance at this stage, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Finally, cook the patties by grilling or pan-frying. To pan fry the burgers heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add burgers and cook until browned and cooked through and the internal temperature is at 165 degrees, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Cooking turkey burgers on the grill is also delicious. Fire the grill up to medium high heat, clean and oil the grates then cook until the burgers are cooked all the way through, about 5-6 minutes.

*grilling tip

The Tapatio and Worcestershire make these burger patties a bit more wet than normal. If you’d like a firmer burger for grilling add 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs or unseasoned breadcrumbs.

A small glass bowl with spicy mayonnaise in it. The top is sprinkled with Tapatio Picante seasoning mix and there is a spoon in the bowl.

now for the extras

Get out the mixing bowls because there are a few things that make these burgers complete!

To go with these burgers I love to mix together a spicy mayo to slather on top. In addition to their famous hot sauce, Tapatio also makes a picante seasoning mix with the same zip. Combine a teaspoon or so of the seasoning mix with 1/2 cup of mayonnaise for a quick, easy burger sauce.

If you can’t find the Tapatio seasoning, use Tajín or a few glugs of the same Tapatio hot sauce you used for the burger patties.

Instead of the classic lettuce, tomato, pickle garnish I think these spicy burgers deserve a delicious, crunchy Cilantro-Lime Slaw.

Lastly, sweet potato fries are my jam with burgers. You can buy store-bought fries and season them with more of the spicy picante seasoning or cut peeled sweet potatoes into thin strips, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake at 425°F for about 20 minutes.

my favorite burger recipes:

A turkey burger and sweet potato fries sitting on a piece of parchment paper on a wood table with a bottle of Tapatio spice mix next to it.

show me your buns!

Ideally with burgers in them :). I hope you love this turkey burger recipe as much as we do. Please let me know if you make them by snapping a pic and tag me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) !

Tapatio Turkey Burger Recipe with Spicy Mayo

Yield: 4 burgers

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

The BEST Turkey Burger recipe! This one is anything but boring, seasoned with Tapatio hot sauce, a simple spice blend and spicy mayo on top.

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon Tapatio Hot Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Tapatio Picante Seasoning or Tajín
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 Burger buns, toasted
1 recipes Cilantro-Lime Slaw

Instructions

Mix the patty ingredients: In a large bowl combine ground turkey, cilantro, Tapatio hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Using wet hands mix ingredients until evenly combined but don't over mix.
Form into patties. Gently form mixture into 4 equal-sized patties. Don't press together too tightly. Lay on a large plate or baking sheet until you are ready to cook. You can cover and refrigerate the patties up to 2 days at this point.
Combine spicy mayo. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise with the Tapatio Picante Seasoning or Tajín.
Cook the burgers. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once shimmering add patties and cook, undisturbed until evenly browned on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking on the other side until burgers are cooked all the way through and the internal temperature reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer.
Assemble and serve. Slather mayo on both sides of the buns, top with burgers and slaw and serve immediately with sweet potato fries.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 513mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 33g

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Chicken and Leek Soup with Lemon-Carrot Top Pesto

May 22, 2019 by Kate Ramos 12 Comments

Spring isn’t exactly considered soup season but in my world, a bowl of chicken and leek soup is just the thing all year long. On its own, this is a delicate, soothing soup, great for those late-season colds. What it lacks in complexity is easily remedied with a good dollop of zesty lemon and carrot top pesto (a good use for the other end of the carrots in the soup).

How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth

This Chicken and Leek Soup recipe is incredibly simple to make. You just toss all the ingredients into the biggest pot you own and let it simmer away until the chicken is tender, falling off the bone, and the bones have had time to turn water into broth. You can use a whole chicken like I did here, or pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken. Either way, make sure to use chicken with bones. The bones are what gives the broth maximum flavor—don’t worry, you’ll take them out later.

This soup, however, is really about the leeks. Simmered slowly with the chicken, they become silky, and almost creamy, giving the soup an elegant quality that wouldn’t happen with the more humble onion. This soup was the first thing that came to mind when my friend Annie asked if I’d like to contribute a recipe to her quarterly blogger collaboration featuring seasonal produce.

For spring she picked leeks, and even though I’ve made this soup dozens of times, whenever leeks are plentiful at the farmer’s market, I’ve never actually written it down. But this gives me the perfect opportunity. Thanks Annie! (If you’d like to check out the other leek recipes, make sure to follow the hashtag #leeksonfleek on Instagram.

How to Clean Leeks

If you’ve never cooked with leeks, they look like really huge green onions, and rightly so, as they are part of the onion family. All those layers unfortunately are the perfect place for dirt to hide, so here’s the best way to get them super clean before cooking.

First step is to trim off most of the dark green stem. It is very tough and not that edible. The one on the left is trimmed, the one on the right is whole.

Next, cut them in half vertically. This will expose any dirt hiding between the layers. Give them a good rinse under cold, running water.

Slice leeks into thin half moons, and if they’re still really dirty…..

Give a good soak in cold water. Swish the leeks around until they are clean then lift them out, leaving the dirty water behind. Dry thoroughly in a clean kitchen towel if you are sautéing or frying them, otherwise you can add them wet to the pot.

Chicken and Leek Soup with Lemon-Carrot Top Pesto

Yield: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

This chicken and leek soup is light, but comforting with ginger and mint then topped with a bold pesto made from carrot tops, radish tops, and lemon zest.

Ingredients

For the Soup:

1 whole chicken or 4 pounds chicken pieces
3 large leeks, trimmed, washed, halved, and sliced (see post for the best method)
2 ounces fresh ginger (about a 5-inch piece), peeled and thinly sliced
12 ounces (about 5 small) carrots (with tops, if making pesto), peeled and cut into large slices
large handful fresh mint (about 12 sprigs)
8 cups water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Lemon-Carrot Top Pesto:

1 1/2 cups packed carrot top leaves (thin leaves removed from the stem)
1 1/2 cups packed radish tops (or same amount of more carrot tops)
1 cup packed Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

For the Soup:

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until chicken is tender and beginning to fall off the bone, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

Remove chicken to a large sheet pan or plate and let cool (keep pot covered and broth simmering). Once cool enough to handle, pick meat off chicken bones and return to pot, discard all skin and bones.

Taste and add more salt as needed.

For the Pesto:

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. With the processor running, slowly drizzle olive oil into the pesto. Keep blending until it forms a smooth paste.

To Serve:

Ladle soup into bowls and top with a dollop of pesto. Enjoy!

10 Recipes To Try This Week |1/20/19

January 20, 2019 by Kate Ramos 10 Comments

Hey There!

How’d last week treat you? I hope you are staying cozy and warm this Sunday.

We are finally drying out from a week of rain which is highly unusual here in Southern California. I’m not complaining though, it was a nice change of pace to hear the pitter patter of rain all week and now the hills are flush with green grass and everything looks perky and new.

We’re making headway on the new house. All the essentials are put away and everyone knows where their underwear goes. Armando just talked to me for a good twenty minutes about some problem with the toilet but I didn’t really understand what he was talking about so hopefully he’ll go ahead and fix that by himself.

In kitchen news, I made a lot of soup last week and from the looks of this list I’ll be making at least two more batches. I can’t help myself, it’s all I really want to eat. I also got a pressure cooker which, from my two minutes of research on the internets, I discovered is basically an Instant Pot but without all the other functions. What should I make in it? I was going to see if my experiments with rehydrating pozole would go faster in the pressure cooker. Anyone ever tried that?

I’m also preparing for the only football game I watch all year: Super Bowl!! I’ve pulled together 7 Tips to help you throw your own stress-free Super Bowl party.

Okay, well I hope everyone has a great week and you all take some time to cook something delicious for yourselves. Here’s 10 great ideas, let me know if you give any a try!

Spicy Miso Ramen with Chili Roasted Salmon and Bok Choy from Feasting at Home

Winter Greens and Citrus Salad from Crowded Kitchen

Green Chicken Enchilada Soup from The Modern Proper

Korean Ground Beef Bowls from Fox and Briar

Winter Citrus Tequila Smash from Half Baked Harvest

Tacos Arabes from Mexico in My Kitchen

Cashew Chicken from Averie Cooks

Cheesy Broccoli Loaded Baked Potatoes from Yes to Yolks

Sweet Meyer Lemon Wild Blueberry Cornbread from A Cozy Kitchen

Herby One Pan Chicken with Oranges from A Saucy Kitchen

10 Recipes To Make This Week | January 6, 2019

January 6, 2019 by Kate Ramos 6 Comments

Happy New Year!

It being the first Sunday of the year I wanted to bring back a favorite post that I abandoned last year but after a little reflection realized that you and I both loved it, so here’s my first 10 recipes to make of the year!

It’s rather silly really, that I stopped writing these posts, as I was still making them every week when I did my weekly meal planning—which, by the way, is my number one pro-tip on getting dinner on the table with any regularity. The biggest hurdle I jump every week is to take time to plan out my meals and make a grocery list. Once this is done, a healthy delicious dinner is much more likely to happen. It’s not knowing what I’m going to make at 6pm that leads to serving Trader Joe’s Pot Stickers for dinner.

So here goes 10 recipes I plan on making this week from some of my favorite food friends! I’ve included lots of healthy dinner ideas with sides and everything, a baking project that I’ve been excited to try and even a cocktail to celebrate making it though the first full week of the year. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for your table this week.

Gluten Free Enchilada Chicken Meatballs from Isabel Eats

Golden Lentil Curry Stew from Brewing Happiness

No Knead Ciabatta Bread from Girl Versus Dough

Meyer Lemon Roast Chicken from How Sweet Eats

Celery Salad with Parmesan and Walnuts from Sher Castellano for Salt and Wind

Roasted Chimichurri Parsnips from Always Order Dessert

Roasted Spatchcock Chicken, Smashed Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts from Brooklyn Supper

Creamy Jalapeño Salsa from Brown Sugar and Vanilla

Skirt Steak Fajitas Marinated in Whiskey and Lime from Smart in the Kitchen

Spiked Apple Cider Cocktail from This Mess is Ours