On Monday, I cooked burgers and fries for dinner. The kids enjoyed it, because they love burgers and fries. I was happy because it was a healthier version of the classic kid meal. The burgers were turkey burgers and the fries were oven-baked sweet potato fries. Enjoy these simple recipes that the pickiest of eaters will devour!
THE BURGER
Turkey meat is interesting. Without question, it is healthier than ground beef, so I try to use it instead of beef most of the time. For many things (chili, spaghetti meat sauce, lasagna, etc.) it works equally well and my guys happily eat it up. My kids – like most kids – love burgers. Fortunately, they love my homemade turkey burgers (inspired by a girlfriend’s burger prep) as much as beef burgers. “You make the BEST burgers ev-ah!” Sean likes to exclaim.
The Best Homemade Turkey Burgers
Yield: 5 -6 burgers
Ingredients:
•1 lb ground turkey meat
•1 tsp ketchup
•1 tsp mustard
•½ packet dry onion soup mix
•Seasoned salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat your grill or frying pan.
2. Thoroughly mix the meat, ketchup, mustard, onion soup mix, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
3. Form 5 – 6 burger patties with the mixture.The size of the patties will vary based on your diners. (I make larger burgers for my husband Reggie and smaller ones for my 5 year old Sean.)
4. Cook the burgers until they are cooked to your preference. (Personally, I like my burgers well done. It takes 5 minutes on my grill for them to be completely cooked.) Be certain that you cook the turkey meat until it is at least 165 degrees though for safety reasons.
THE FRENCH FRIES
While you can make the sweet potato fries without the ranch seasoning mix, I think that it gives the fries a special, tangy “kick”. I will admit that I had to test batches of the sweet potato fries several times before getting them to the point where Sean (our resident “picky eater”) commented “Oh, we need to have these again soon!” What can I say? “My guys” are tough critics.
Simple Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
•½ envelope Ranch Seasoning Mix
•2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch sticks
•Olive oil no-stick cooking spray
•Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Coat a baking sheet with the cooking spray. Place a layer of sweet potatoes on the sheet.
3. Coat the potatoes with the cooking spray. Sprinkle salt, pepper and half of the Hidden Valley seasoning mix on top of the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Turn the potatoes over. Repeat Step 3, but this time the potatoes will only need to bake for 10 minutes. (Coat the potatoes with the cooking spray. Sprinkle salt, pepper and the other half of the Hidden Valley seasoning mix on top of the potatoes. Bake for 10 minutes.) Remove the fries from the oven and enjoy.
{These recipes were cross-posted from Foodie City Mom.}
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