Mini Turkey Burger Sliders + Oven Baked Fries with Sea Salt

Originally, I had high hopes for this Saturday.  Actually, there are a lot of Saturdays that I have high hopes for, but not many live up to my expectations.  Whose fault is that?  Well, mine of course.  Sleeping in after a long week of teaching is always more tempting than getting up early to run errands.  Having said that, I had plans to go to Target, Khols, grocery shopping, and drop off dry cleaning.  Here it is 4:30pm Tulsa time and I'm still wearing sweats as a cheap black headband is trying its best to hold back my ever-growing frizzy hair out of my face.

Don't worry, we have plans tonight to see Exceptional Synergy at the Tulsa PAC at 8pm, so I'll have to get dressed eventually...

I did want to make something fun to eat, but having previously explained my comfy clothes and apartment kept me from going shopping.  Hence I thought for a bit about what I had in the apartment already...and came up with what turned out to be a really cute late lunch/early dinner.

Mini Turkey Sliders


You will need:

*Serves 4 for lunch*

• 1.2 lb - Ground Turkey (it usually comes in this weight)
• 2 TBS - Italian Bread Crumbs
• 1 - Egg
• 1 TBS - Cumin
• 1 TSP - Paprika
• 2 TSP - Minced Garlic
• 2 TBS - Parmesan Cheese (Freshly grated)
• 2 TBS - Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (freshly torn)
• 1 1/2 TBS - Soy Sauce
• 15 - Shakes of Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt and Pepper

• Cheese of your choice (I had left over slices of Mozzarella)

Steps

• Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl with your hands.  

Until this past Monday, I had always been a little freaked about about mixing meat with my hands and just didn't like it.  However, this  Monday I made meatball subs for dinner at Tony's mom's house and somehow it was an OK experience.  Even though I washed my hands several times after finishing, I think because the meatballs turned out so wonderful, I found the experience rewarding.  Therefore, this afternoon, I just rolled up my sleeves and let the meat have it :)

• Form little burgers, about the size of the inside of your palm and fry in a skillet on Medium/High heat that's been sprayed with cooking spray, or a little olive oil if you like.  Once you can see that the underside is cooked nicely and the meat starts to look "cooked" on the outside half way up the sides of the little burgers, you can flip them.

• Wait for a minute or two, then add the cheese of your choice to the done side of the burger.  I had left over Mozzarella slices from the meatball subs, so I used those.   One slice torn into fourths could cover four little burgers.

• Then top your skillet with the lid and allow the burger to finish cooking and the cheese to melt.  Usually once the cheese has really melted down the sides, the burger is finished.

I served mine in mini potato rolls with a dollop of sour cream and left over pico de gallo (chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, green pepper).  I'm sure they taste yummy with ketchup, mustard, and pickles as well :)

Over Baked Fries with Sea Salt


You Will Need
*Serves Four*

• 4-5 - Russet Potatoes
• 1/4 Cup - Oil (Can be Olive or Canola)
• 1 TBS - Oil
• Sea Salt 
• Black Pepper 

Steps

• Preheat Oven to 475˚F
• Cut Potatoes in half lengthwise, then lengthwise again, so it should now be in long quarters.  Cut each quarter into two or three pieces, depending on how thin you want your fries.
• Put all potato spears into a medium size bowl.
• Cover with hot water for 10 minutes.
• Drain potatoes and dry with a kitchen towel.  Also, dry the bowl they were just in and add the potatoes back into it.
• Add 1 TBS Oil to bowl with potatoes and freshly ground seal salt and black pepper, mix carefully (or just cover and shake up a bit).
• On a flat cookie sheet that has a slightly raised border, pour the 1/4 cup of oil.  Tilt the pan so that the oil is evenly dispersed. 
• Add freshly ground sea salt and black pepper evenly over the oil.
• Place each potato spear on one side, (not the skin side), in one layer on the sheet.  If your sheet is not big enough, do not overlap potatoes; you may need to use two cookie sheets--it's important that the can crisp up a bit on the outside.
• Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
• Take out and use tongs to flip over every fry.
• Replace in the over for another 10 minutes.
• Watch to make sure they do not brown too much.

Sprinkle with more sea salt if desired, or don't if you're trying to be healthier.  Honestly they're still pretty enjoyable without the added salt.  I did grate a bit of parmesan cheese I had in the fridge over some of them and they were pretty awesome :)

Hope your 

lazy Saturdays can be just as delicious.