Summer Chicken/Turkey Ideas?
 

Sooo... I'm getting sick of chicken breast and with the hot weather we've been having up here in MN, I certainly don't want to turn the oven on! Do any of you have some good poultry recipes (or other lean protein) for the dog days of summer? I'll start…

I've got a guy to cook for (he cooks too, but his skills are fairly limited to dishes that include tater tots (ew!), ground hamburger and cheese). He wants meat and I'm not a big meat eater, so I try to make lots of chicken and other poultry-related stuff and we’re both happy. I whipped up these turkey burgers last night and they turned out really, really good! Thought I'd share in hopes that other people have some ideas too...

one medium red onion, chopped
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (optional)
a dash of salt

1.25 lb package Jennie O extra lean ground turkey
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1/2 cup feta cheese (can be any kind: reduced fat, herb and garlic, etc.)
a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar
a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire sauce
a small handful of chopped parsley (optional)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and add onions and balsamic vinegar. Move them around and add the sugar (if you want) as they get soft, sprinkle in the sugar and salt. The onions should become a little bit sweet and begin to caramelize. Yum! When they are soft, browned a bit and seem just on the verge of sticking together, take them off the heat.

Mix all the other ingredients together and make sure to work the egg and oats evenly through the turkey. Add the cooked onions to the mixture once they’ve cooled a bit. Form into patties and cook on the stove (or grill). I scooped mine out by the 1/3 cupfull and it made 9 patties. Each was 145 calories and I used all the "options". The boyfriend had his on a "thin bun" (100 cal.) with greens and a little vinaigrette and I had mine on just the greens with some melon and cottage cheese on the side. Delicious!

Will he eat fish at all? I love salmon, or almost any fish, on the grill. You can toss some veggies with a little olive oil and some seasoning and throw those on the grill too for a light, quick meal.

I've also ventured into the lands of vegetarian dishes, which can usually be made with chicken or turkey so I'd say not to be afraid of a recipie that is labeled as vegatarian. I love quesadillas (which you can also throw on the grill), or even pizzas.

I love this website for recipies: Healthy Recipes and Recipe Calculator From SparkRecipes.com

I like to use the Jennie-O ground turkey, cook and mix with a little bit of hoisin sauce, green onions, garlic, ginger, and reduced sodium soy sauce; serve wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Alternatively, I take the same mixture and serve it in rice paper wraps...slice cucumber, carrots, green apple, starfruit, and lettuce and place them in the wraps with the meat before rolling up. Crushed nuts are tasty in this, too.

Grilled anything sounds tasty, especially this time of year! I'm going to have to give those grilled quesadillas a whirl. And those spring rolls sound great too! I love the idea of green apple and starfruit in there in addition to the veggies. Thanks you guys -- I'm starting to feel a bit more inspired.

On a side note, it got "down to" like 75 last night and it felt downright cold! Excuse me?!? But I thought I lived in frigid tundra here. Any plans involving the oven are offcially on hiatus until November the way this is going! Keep those summer meal ideas coming... :)