Healthy. Spicy. Fresh.

My father is a bit of a picky eater. He’s a very old school, meat-and-potatoes kinda guy. He often rejects food before even tasting it, especially if it’s healthy. So when he visited us last year, I thought it would be fun to cook him one of our favorite meals - something I knew he would like, but would never try on his own. The happy ending to this story is that my Jalapeno turkey burgers are now on constant rotation at my parents’ house. Domesticated nerd win.

These burgers have evolved over time, and I have no idea where I got the original recipe from, but here’s my version.





Jalepeno Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:
1 large beaten egg
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 to 3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped with most of the seeds removed
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 pound ground turkey
1 fresh Anaheim pepper, seeded and cut into rings
1 small onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
ground black pepper
Sliced pepper jack cheese (or cheese of your choice)
Turkey Bacon (optional), lettuce leaves, and sliced tomato for on top
4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl stir together egg, bread crumbs,jalapeno peppers, and steak seasoning. Add ground turkey and mix well. Shape meat into four 3/4-inch-thick patties. Generously sprinkle each side of the patty with ground black pepper.
2. Grill patties on a Foreman Grill for about 7 minutes, until firm and browned on each side.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook the Anaheim pepper and onion about 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Serve burgers on lettuce-lined buns. In another skilled cook the Turkey Bacon (if desired). Top burgers with cheese, pepper-onion mixture, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Makes 4 servings.

I like to serve these with a side of cottage cheese. It’s nice to have something mild and creamy to balance the spicy burgers.