California Chicken Burgers with Cabbage Carrot Slaw

I know I have been slacking! Just realized my last post was the beginning of the month! Tomorrow I hope to post some cookie recipes I will be trying out.  I don't do much baking, so we will see how good they come out.

Here in New York it definitely doesn't feel like winter and if the BBQ wasn't all packed away I just might have broke it out.  So instead I got the trusty George Foreman grill going and made some of these tasty tasty burgers.  Chicken burgers are not the same as beef, because 1) they have no flavor on their own and 2) you MUST cook them all the way through.  Both reasons might make chicken burgers a bit tricky but with all these big flavors and my trusty meat thermometer we are ready to go.  I also have to add that these are pretty healthy- we ground boneless skinless chicken breasts ourselves, flavored with spices and low calorie items and used turkey bacon.  The slaw is good for you too- no mayo and we used heart healthy extra virgin olive oil. (I can only hate on the bread because of the carb count- but what the heck- it's the holidays right?)

A chicken burger is not exactly an original but I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted so obviously I just made up my own with all the flavors I liked the best.  This idea came from a wrap that was on the menu at one of our favorite diners, that unfortunately closed down :(  But now will live on in this recipe :)

For 6 burgers:

• 2 ½ boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons of McCormick Montreal Grill Seasoning
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 ½ carrots, shredded (shred 3 all together if making the slaw too)
• 2 chipolte in adobo, chopped

1. In a food processor (or a meat grinder) grind up the chicken.  If you want to buy already ground chicken, I would say this came out to about 2 pounds worth.

2. Then mix the meat and all the other ingredients in.  Then form the patties (I got about 6, it might vary on the size of your chicken breasts)
3. Get your grill or frying pan hot and cook until done- about 160 degrees, the carry over heat will cook it to the safe 165 degree mark.  About 6-8 minutes each side if in a frying pan.  The GF grill took about 6-8 mins all together (obviously because it cooks both sides at once)

For the Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw:

• ½ of a medium sized head of red cabbage, shredded
• 1 ½ carrots, shredded
• the other ½ of that red onion, sliced thin
• juice of one orange
• extra virgin olive oil to coat
• 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar would be good too)
• salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover and let marinate in the fridge while you make your burgers.

Toppings

Really they are whatever you want- BUT when people classify something as "Californian" for some reason it always has avocado. So this is what I topped mine with:

• Turkey bacon or regular bacon
• Avocado, sliced
• Tomato, sliced
• Cabbage and carrot slaw
• Baby spinach

If you needed a dressing of some sort I would go with a honey mustard or blue cheese.  OR instead of mixing the chipolte in with the meat- you could mix it up with some mayo and use that as a dressing.  I skipped the cheese but a spicy monteray jack cheese would be awesome (because it originates from CA!) or maybe a tangy provolone.

Pile it high on a crusty but soft bun and this is one burger you will be making again!