Blast from the past! Turkey Burgers on the Trinity Quad

Last year I found a teeny tiny Weber grill, never used and in its original packing at a yard sale for 5 bucks. A steal! Though that little guy hasn't seen the light of day since last summer, it was a trouper last summer. One of my favorite summer memories from last year was an amazing afternoon at my alma matter, Trinity College, with fellow alum (and now betrothed) Devin.

We took some lean, ground turkey meat, mixed it up with some delicious spices, fresh chopped herbs, onions and bell peppers, and formed them into little patties...complete with an extra sharp cheddar cheese center, of course!

We headed over to Trinity with blanket, cards, frisbee, grill and the rest of the burger fixings and let those little patties grill to perfection. We topped the burgers with grilled red onions and red peppers, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and of course more cheese. Served with Cape Cod chips and lemonade...what could be better?

The grill master at work!

The lovely mini burgers in all of their juicy glory

Lazy Dinner

One of my go-to dinners is Greek salad w/ garlic bread. It is easy, fast, delicious and always tastes indulgent. I like to make my Greek salads w/ chickpeas to add an extra dose of protein to make it a complete meal.

Ingredients:
Greek Salad
Thinly sliced red onions
Feta cheese cut into small blocks or crumbled
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (rinsed and drained to remove excess sodium)
Roasted red peppers (I pan sear fresh ones)
Mixed greens
Greek salad dressing (I use Tapas from Hartford, CT)

Garlic Bread
One baguette, split
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
Pinch fines herbes
3 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil
4 cloves finely minced garlic

Preheat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, melt butter with olive oil and add salt, pepper and herbs. Add in garlic. Spread mixture evenly over split baguette.


Place two slices of baguette together and wrap in foil. Place in over for approximately 10 minutes. After that, reduce heat to 250 degrees. Remove the foil and place, cut sides up, on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 more minutes.

While the garlic bread is in the over heat 1 TBSP olive oil in skillet. Chickpeas can be added to the salad from the can, but I like to sautee mine in oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for some extra flavor and crunch. Sautee until golden:

Toss salad greens with onions, feta, red peppers, sauteed chickpeas and salad dressing. For the most amazing Greek salad dressing in the world, try Tapas. While living in Hartford for 6 years, Tapas became my favorite Greek restaurant--their Greek salad w/ their own dressing is to die for!: tapasonline.com.



Enjoy!

Abbie