The Munster Turkey Burger

With Memorial Day weekend right around the corner, it's definitely time to get those grills going if you haven't already. I mean, it is National Barbecue and Hamburger month. Over here, Mr. B grills year 'round. That's saying a lot considering we're in Ohio and most of the time the ground is covered in snow. If not snow, then barely above 40 degrees. But, of course, that has never stopped him from a burger or chicken breast grilled to perfection every month of the year.

I love this time of year because of the smells. I step outside my door in the early evening and BBQ smells greet my nose. It's welcoming. It's wonderful. It smells mighty tasty. Personally, I love almost anything on the grill, from steak to pizza, vegetables to peaches, salmon to ears of corn. Oh my goodness, corn. Grilled corn in the husk. YUM.

Here in Ohio, though, Memorial Day weekend is usually too early for our corn.

"Knee high by the Fourth of July" folks!

Occasionally, I may have some from last season still in the freezer. This is highly unlikely. We love our corn.

But one thing is a must this holiday. The grill. And anything and everything that can be grilled. Hot dogs, burgers, chicken breasts, black bean burgers, ribs, vegetable kebabs, sausage, and bratwurst. (You will never find me anywhere near a brat, by the way.) I could go on, but I'm going to stop with the burger.

This turkey burger stuffed with Munster cheese is one of my new on the grill must-haves. Of course, with all the fixin's. It's juicy, well-seasoned, and stacked.

It's something a little lighter for the summer, and will actually please your beef burger-eater of a husband. I promise.

The Munster Burger

Serves 4

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T lemon-pepper seasoning
4 (thin!) slices Munster cheese
All the fixin's: caramelized (or grilled) onions and mushrooms, tomato slices, dill pickles, Romaine lettuce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, black pepper, balsamic vinegar or your favorite BBQ sauce
4 buns, if you prefer your burger on a bun

In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey with both seasonings, working the spices well into the meat. You can use a big wooden spoon or your hands, whatever works best for you. Divide the meat into four sections. My tip for stuffing your burgers --> take the lid of a mayo jar (I always keep one on hand from a previous jar), and lay a piece of plastic wrap on top. Take one section of meat and divide it in half, stuffing one half into the mayo lid. Add a slice of cheese, folding it if necessary in order to fit. Add the other half of the met on top of the cheese and press down. Wrap the sides of the plastic over the meat and press until the cheese is encased in the meat, pinching the sides together so the cheese won't leak out. (If it does, no big deal, it's just extra delicious.) Unwrap the meat, pick up the mayo lid and flip out the burger onto a plate. Continue with the other three patties. Chill the burgers in the fridge a few hours or overnight.

Heat up the grill and cook your burgers until well done. Top with anything you like. WHile Mr. B figures the more the merrier, I prefer my Munster turkey burger on a big leaf of lettuce, topped with a couple slices of tomato, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and a dash of black pepper.

*Note: I forgot to take pictures of the burger-making process, so I'm adding a link for you to get a visual of what I'm talking about. Check out this blog for an example until I post my own photos. When I stumbled across this "how to" post, I was excited to see I wasn't the only one being resourceful in the kitchen! (Plus, I love the size it makes the burgers.)

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Grilled Chicken Pita Wraps

These chicken pitas are fit for a KING.

Better yet, the starving husband whose appetite can hold the entire contents of one's fridge.

Know anyone like that?

Any recipe approved by Mr. B is a sure win for my blog. Any recipe approved between mouthfuls of pita jumps to the head of the class.

But, truth be told? We've been eating this chicken pita wrap recipe for years. Like back when we were engaged years. Another truth? Every time I make it, Mr. B informs me I don't make it enough.

That puts a BIG smile on my face.

This chicken pita wrap usually graces our table about every other week throughout the summer (err...shall I say warmer...) months because I really like to keep my ingredients fresh and seasonal. With that being said, lately I've been craving lighter food fare. I think it's because Ohio is buried under three feet of snow on top of five feet of snow on top of three inches of solid ice. I'm pretty sure the grass is there somewhere. Clearly, my body and appetite are over winter. So when I came across the feta cheese hiding in my refrigerator drawer, I immediately salivated over the thought of my chicken pita wraps.

They're kind of my spin on a healthier Greek pita. Add some cucumbers, tomatoes, bacon, and plain Greek yogurt. Skip the olives. Mmmmm and olive oil.... Top with chopped walnuts and all on a bed of sprouts and greens. I promise this is killer delicious and will leave you full and satisfied.

Grilled Chicken Pita Wraps

Serves 6

Feta mixture:
5 oz crumbled feta cheese
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp oregano
2 drops lemon essential oil

Yogurt sauce:
8 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced

6 pitas (I like the whole wheat and flax seed ones from )
6 chicken tenders, thawed and patted dry
3 T soy sauce (LOVE marinating my chicken in soy sauce!)
juice & zest of 1 lemon
6 slices pre-cooked bacon
alfalfa sprouts
arugula or other type of leafy greens
2 cucumbers, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional toppings: 1 avocado, chopped; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped; raw walnuts, chopped

In a bag, marinate chicken in soy sauce and lemon oil mixture for 30 minutes to an hour on the counter (tossing once throughout to make sure all chicken is coated). Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together feta ingredients and leave out on the counter to "settle" for 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt sauce ingredients; cover and chill in fridge until ready to use.

When chicken is finished marinating, heat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Heat until cooked, about 4-6 minutes per side. Once chicken is finished and slightly cooled, slice or chop it up. Whatever fits your fancy. Now you're ready to build your pita. Start by layering on your greens and sprouts, topped with chicken and bacon. Add on chopped cucumbers, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, a spoonful of each the feta mixture and the yogurt sauce. Garnish with walnuts, eggs, onion, or avocado. Fold up what you can and devour!

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

My Beautiful Month

In case you aren't on Instagram, or don't follow me, here's a peek at my Insta-Life lately.
[*All photos are taken from my Instagram account.]

Some of my favorite things: Target, Starbucks, Vera Bradley, and plaid.

Breakfast parfait. So good I almost feel guilty!

First batch of apple butter of the season.

Mr. B let his birthday balloon go...into a beautiful sky.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

Recent Eats

I apologize. I haven't shared any recipes or eats with you lately. But no worries. Here's a post full of mouth-watering eye candy. And something I can't get enough of lately, homemade pizza. (But, glancing at this post overall, it seems to be some form of bread....hmmm.)

Just in case you're new to Sweet B's, I'm a fan of homemade pizza. ONLY. That greasy stuff that comes in a box or sits under heating lamps for hours ....ewwww. Yes, I will pass on that. But this stuff, my homemade is where it is, my friends. And I only use one pizza dough recipe (I don't buy the frozen; really it's not that hard to make it yourself). I use Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe, using a little less oil than called for. Each batch makes two pizza crusts. And then I throw on whatever toppings I happen to have. Like in the above photo, it was more of a rid-the fridge-of-produce-that-should-have-been-used-yesterday kind of pizza. It has bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese on top of drizzled olive oil and minced garlic. YUM.

But this one? Yes, this one was premeditated. And a few weeks later I'm still singing it's praises. It was that good. Mr. B was quite skeptical because it is topped with nectarines and blackberries. He was quite confused, but lately (at a complete surprise to me) has been trying everything and anything new I make. He didn't speak once as he polished off over half of this "weird" pizza.

So here are the STATS for this beauty:

1 homemade pizza crust. Sprinkle on olive oil, brown sugar and a little bit of minced garlic. Top that with pieces of cooked chicken (a great way to use up leftovers), caramelized onions, nectarine slices, and fresh blackberries. Then layer on fresh mozzarella and basil, and bake at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes. (After, I leave the pizza under the broiler for a few minutes to make the cheese extra tasty.) I came across this pizza idea--and slightly adapted--while perusing through one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is. Head over there for the full recipe.

*Note: I think this pizza would be an excellent addition to a brunch menu :)

Since there were no leftovers (thank you, Mr. B), I settled for a nectarine and fresh mozzarella grilled cheese for my lunch the next day. Yes, it too was just as delicious.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

A Tea Party

So my co-workers and I (well, at the time of our first party they were my co-workers. Now, they're my fabulous and brilliant friends) were sitting around one day and decided (since Cooking Club was no longer going strong) since we all like to get together and chat, we should make our "girl time" more extravagant. We decided to center our "outings" around beverage themes.

A few months ago donned our first glorious party. We came together to chit-chat over TEA.

And to say we had quite the variety is an understatement.

We proudly had 24 tea varieties and 6 teapots.

To say we are tea drinkers is also an understatement.

We're also huuuuge fans of Teavana.

All of these teapots were a beautiful sight.

We had so much fun sharing our favorite brews over tea sandwiches, cookies, nuts, fruit and any other goodies we could find.

OH! And the BEST part.....we all brought our favorite mugs! (This is a rule of our beverage parties....you must bring your favorite appropriate beverage mug/glass.)

Below is a snapshot of Emilia and Jenny with their favorite mugs for enjoying tea! (Also pictured are Kellie's and Jessica's mugs. Mine was in my hand.....not sure why I didn't think to set it down for the picture.)

And of course we couldn't have a Tea Party without tea sandwiches. I whipped up a batch, and yes, some crust is on and some is off. (It's a long story, but there was a chance some boys other co-workers were coming and eating crust-less sandwiches was a little too girly for them. But did they show up.....no. So us girls were stuck eating the crusty tea sandwiches which completely destroyed the point of tea sandwiches.)

These were so good I just have to share this simple recipe!


Cucumber and Goat Cheese Tea Sandwiches

Serves a crowd

your favorite bread, sliced
8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
10.5 oz goat cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp dried parsley
5-6 Tbsp almond milk
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cucumber, sliced

Beat cheeses, garlic, thyme parsley, milk, salt and pepper in bowl until well mixed. (Add more or less milk for desired consistency.) Spread cheese mixture on bread slices. Arrange cucumber slices on one slice of bread and top with another slice. Repeat. Press slightly, and trim crusts and cut into triangles.



So, the next time you and your gals are meeting up for some much needed girl time, center it around a beverage and have some fun. Make your next outing a Tea Party!

P.S. Of course, we've decided to make this a monthly recurrence.

With Love and God Bless,

Brindi