Turkey Italian Sausage Sandwiches

Yikes. So, it's been a week since my last post. In my defense, I have been out of town for several days. And before I went out of town, I wanted to get my house cleaned and our laundry washed because no one likes coming home to a messy house! I cleaned this place from top to bottom, inside and out! I love when my house is clean! I'd much rather Mr. Z clean it than me, but you know, sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do!

Anyway, since I've been back in town, I haven't been cooking that much because we have had so much going on (two evening meetings this week so far and Mr. Z working late one night). So, that has left us with one home cooked meal for this week so far- last night.

I have been wanting to try to make Italian sausage for a while. I Googled a recipe and found this one, which I made with turkey instead of pork. I didn't feel like messing with the casings last night, so I decided to make them into patties and eat them like you would a burger. Mr. Z really liked these; I just thought they were okay. I thought it had way too much fennel. I will probably try these again, but next time I think I'll follow the recipe and use pork. Also, I'll play around with the spices a little.

Turkey Italian Sausage Sandwiches
from HubPages.com, written as I made it

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 tbsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. ground fennel seeds
3/4 tbsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tbsp. finely minced garlic
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients together well. Divide into four equal pieces and press into patties. Over medium-high heat, cook patties for about 7 minutes on each side, or until done in the middle. Serve on buns with cheese.

Mini Hawaiian Chicken Burgers

There's a restaurant down the street from our house that we love. They have the best wings in town, hands down. But more often than not, I opt for the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich. It's a grilled teriyaki chicken breast, provolone cheese, and a pineapple slice. It's pretty delicious, to say the least. I've always thought it'd be easy to make at home, but have just never made it for some reason.

I was craving one of those sandwiches tonight, but had ground chicken out, not chicken breasts. I figured I could try to make something similar, so I just improvised with what I had on hand. These were nothing short of amazing...seriously. And maybe, just maybe, better than the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich I set out to make in the first place!

Mini Hawaiian Chicken Burgers
Original Recipe, idea from local restaurant

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
pepper, seasoning salt, and garlic powder, to taste
2" slice of mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 equal pieces
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce
8 pineapple slices
8 slider buns
cooking spray

Mix ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, and seasonings in a bowl with hands, until well mixed. Divide mixture into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Add 1 piece of mozzarella to the middle of the disk, then wrap meat around to cover. Roll into a ball again, and flatten to form a patty.

Generously coat a large pan with cooking spray and turn to medium-high heat. After the pan is hot, place burgers into the pan. Cook for about 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Drizzle half of the teriyaki sauce over burgers, and continue to cook for another 2 minutes per side. In another pan, heat the other half of the teriyaki sauce over medium heat. Put pineapples in the pan, then turn to coat. Cook until pineapples are hot. Serve burger with a pineapple on top on a toasted bun.

Cheeseburger Bread

I've mentioned before that I have been trying to use more ground turkey and chicken rather than ground beef in an effort to eat healthier. I've also made lots of trips to Sam's Club lately, so I'm trying to be creative in making meals out of the 10 pounds of chicken breasts, 5 pounds of ground turkey, and 20 pizza dough balls that are in my freezer. This recipe I've had saved for a few weeks now, but forgot about it. Two nights ago, I was browsing through saved recipes in search of something to make out of my thawed ground turkey, and came across this. This recipe was excellent! I told my dad I was making this, he asked me to save him a piece, and he loved it too! Not too bad for a last minute dinner decision!

Cheeseburger Bread
from Telly's Tasty Tidbits, written as I made it

Ingredients:
1 lb. ball of pizza dough
1 lb. ground turkey
Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 kosher dill pickle, chopped into small pieces
ketchup and mustard, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook ground turkey with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Drain. Stir in cheese and pickles; stir until well mixed.

Roll dough ball into a big rectangle. Spread the dough with ketchup and mustard. Put meat mixture in the middle of it. Roll to make a loaf and pinch edges to make a seam. Bake for 15-20 or until dough starts to brown.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers

If you give me buffalo chicken anything, I'll be your friend. That has quickly become one of my favorite foods...or, rather, food groups. If I'm at a restaurant and something buffalo flavored is on the menu, 9 times out of 10, I'm getting it. I love all kinds of chicken wings, but the best is just plain ol' hot. As far as wings go, the spicier the better. And let's face it, bleu cheese makes anything better!

I took a package of ground chicken out of the freezer for dinner last night, and knowing that we wouldn't be home until pretty late, I decided we would have some type of chicken burger. Well, it didn't take long to decide what kind of chicken burger it would be. These were so good, but for my taste, I had to add extra sauce to the patty after it was done. Mr. Z thought it was perfect the way it was.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Original Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
2 oz. bleu cheese crumbles, plus extra for serving
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, plus extra for serving
pepper, to taste
Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning, to taste
4 hamburger buns

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, Wing Sauce, pepper, and seasoning in bowl with hands, until well mixed. If it is too wet, add extra bread crumbs. Divide mixture into four even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Add 1/4 of bleu cheese crumbles to the middle of the disk, then wrap meat around to cover. Roll into a ball again, and flatten into a patty. Place burgers on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for ~18 minutes, flipping halfway through. Top with extra bleu cheese, and serve on a bun.

Tip: I also like to toast the buns for a few minutes. Slice buns in half, spread a little butter on each side, and bake for about 5 minutes, or until buns start to brown.