Gobble Patties.

Which is to say: Turkey Burgers!!

I love summer for reasons we don't have to get into. What's that? We can? There's summer camp!! Travelling!! Drinking on Tuesday afternoons!! I don't mind sweating, even though I do so excessively. Also, as a teacher, during the summer it is possible to remember my own name and think cohesive thoughts with or without copious amounts of terrible workroom coffee that will inevitably be spilled all over my fake grown-up clothes during wild gesticulations in response to dumbass eighth grade comments and/or my own enthusiastic interpretation of under-appreciated poetry.

These are all good things, people.

Summer is also for eating outdoors. Preferably in the company of people you love, or at least sorta like. Which brings us back to the issue at hand. 'Da burgs: I threw these together for one of our* first meals on the little patio furniture not long ago, and now I never need to eat turkey burgers any other way.

*"Our" meaning Marie, my domestic partner's. But they're iron, and I do the heavy lifting around here.

Turkey Burgers!

1 lb-ish ground turkey (I used 97/3)

little handful of chopped basil

little handful of chopped cilantro

1/3 medium red onion, chopped

1/4 c water (Sounds weird, but keeps it from being dry. Mix it right in.)

a dash or two of Mrs. Dash

Salt and Pepper to taste

A melt-able white cheese like provolone or swiss

Mix it all up with your hands, and make four patties. Grill until done outdoors or inside; a cast iron skillet with raised grill thingies worked well for me. When finished, move to a plate, put cheese on top, and cover to melt while you grab everything else.

I highly recommend topping with avocado, spinach, and wants-to-be-fancy-flavored-but-is-really-just-Kraft mayo.

And toasting the buns helps, too.

Woo-hoo!!

chicken parmesean with roasted garlic and broccoli

my goodness how the time has passed! as it turns out, my okc friends and i are similar in more ways than one...we get preoccupied! but do not worry, while our blog activity has been sparse, the activities in our lives are not! just to list a few:

-an engagement!! and a party to follow
-an oscars watch party potluck
-an italian themed potluck
-a trip to paris
-a trip to boston
-a trip to seattle (can you tell it's spring break?)

perhaps these events shall appear in blogs to come. but for you, tonight, i have a simple and flavorful dinner.

the ingredients are few:

chicken breast
italian dressing
parmesean cheese
olive oil
chicken broth
your favorite spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade, suite your style)
yellow squash

broccoli
minced garlic
grill seasoning








put the chicken in a large freezer bag and squeeze a considerable amount of italian dressing inside. squoosh it around while being mindful of salmonella (wash up people!) then sprinkle in as much grated parmesean cheese as you'd like. i don't measure much of anything for this meal. i went ahead and marinated my chicken overnight, at least 4 hours ahead of time should be sufficient. heat up a pan and coat it with olive oil. spinkle whatever additional seasonings you may like (i used thyme, oregano, and rosemary..plus some salt and pepper). place chicken in the pan and sear both sides of the chicken a bit. turn the heat down and add a little bit of chicken broth to keep it moist. cover and let simmer. heat up a separate pan and coat with pam. add the summer squash and saute until nearly cooked through. add the spaghetti sauce. once chicken is cooked through, add the squash mixture to the chicken.

for the broccoli...toss the broccoli florets with olive oil, minced garlic, and grill seasoning. spread out on a cookie sheet which has been covered with foil. bake at 425...for about 20 minutes. it will depend on the amount of broccoli.

high in protein. double the veggies...and low in carbohydrates! you can always add pasta if you need :) and now that grilling season is quickly approaching..the chicken and squash would be wonderful cooked on the grill!