Double Dinner Ideas

I do not think I would consider myself a "foodie," however, I do find myself at parties and other gatherings talking with people about food.  It is interesting to hear what people are cooking, baking, and trying in their kitchen.  Recently, I got to talking with another woman who was going through a vegetable phase like me, and she suggested making kale chips.  At first, I thought, kale?  The lettuce stuff?  How on earth could you turn that into a chip?  So I checked it out online, and, sure enough, kale chips are quite the rage.  So I bought myself some kale and tried them out.

Basically, you take a leaf of kale, rinse it off, pull the leafy parts away from the stem, tear them into "chips," spread them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Then bake them for about 10-15 minutes on 450.

I will admit, I'm not crazy about the texture, but the taste will definitely cure any craving you have for salt and green stuff.  They make a good side dish for dinner, and like I read online, they are a great conversation piece for parties.  I added them to a dinner of salad with hot veggies on top and sweet potato fries, which was a great combination.

Dinner #2! Turkey Burgers!

This recipe was donated by my friend Laura who left it in a comment on this blog (something I strongly encourage!).  I bought ground turkey ages ago and finally got it out of my freezer to try these out.  Here's what you need to do:

Ingredients
1 cup cold leftover white or brown rice
1 pound ground turkey
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)

Directions
Combine rice, meat and beans with spices and grill seasoning. Form 4 big patties from the meat and bean mixture then heat 1 tablespoon oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 7 to 8 minutes on each side.

As you can see, I topped mine with feta cheese, avocado, and a light spicy ranch, with a serving of mango on the side.  I browned the patties off in a hot skillet, then baked them at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  They were DELICIOUS.  Mr. PT ate 2 1/2, haha.  I guess he was hungry.