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!

Spicy Grilled Shrimp w/ Couscous

So this isn't just any grilled shrimp and couscous- its spicy garlic shrimp with feta, tomato, and red onion couscous all topped off with a kiss of olive oil and lemon juice.  Believe me this is a recipe you are going to want in your back pocket, especially on those REALLY hot days where even using the microwave makes you feel hot.  I'm sure everyone knows that this past week has been murder with temps reaching well over 100 degrees (well, in NY anyway where we aren't used to it being that hot). I love to break out my trusty George Foreman grill for things like this, but the shrimp can be cooked just as easily and quickly in a saute pan.

I actually went out and bought uncleaned shrimp, and yes you could say it was "rewarding" to stand there and clean about a pound of shrimp, but for the extra dollar a pound I should have bought the cleaned ones.  I would recommend buying the uncooked (or raw, grey colored), cleaned and deveined shrimp versus the pre-cooked ones (the pink ones) because I personally feel it is fresher and the shrimp wont be overcooked.  I left the tails on just for show really, but you can just pull them off if you want before cooking.

Oh and if you are curious, when you say "deveined" shrimp, it just means that the shrimp has had its digestive track removed (yea I know it's a little gross).  It's one little "vein" looking thing that runs along the inside of the shrimp and it's really no good to eat- so they remove it.  If you decide to clean your own shrimp make sure you remove the outer shell and the digestive track.

Another tip on shrimp: They come in a variety of sizes, I actually forgot what size I purchased specifically for this dish, but it was the one on sale.  The numbers usually found under the name of the shrimp signifiy the "count" or about how many shrimp there are per pound.  Obviously, there will be a higher count per pound of smaller shrimp, and fewer (like extra large or colossal) shrimp per pound once they get larger in size.  The count is a range that can look like 31-45 or 31/45. 

Ingredients

• about one pound of raw, cleaned and deveined shrimp
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, 1 tsp of salt, fresh black pepper
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• ½ red onion, diced (or you could use the whole onion- too much raw onion gives me agita)
• about ½ c. of feta cheese, add more if you like
• handful of chopped fresh parsley
• 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup of couscous (or your favorite box of couscous)

Directions

• Preheat your George Foreman grill, grill pan, or your saute pan.  If I was sauteing the shrimp in a pan I would use about a tablespoon of butter as well as oil.  Don't blast the heat with the oil in the pan until you are ready for the shrimp because the oil might start to smoke and the butter might burn before you are ready.  If the oil does smoke just remove from the heat.
• In a bowl, take the shrimp, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Cover with about 2-3 tablespoons of oil just to coat everything.  Mix well and set aside. 

• While we let that hang out for a few minutes, chop your tomatoes, onion and parsley.  Then put into a large boil.  Crumble in your feta cheese as well. 
• Follow the instructions on the box of couscous.  Usually you bowl water and salt, then when it comes to a boil you put the couscous in, stir, then cover and let sit for about 5 mins.  When the couscous is done it is important to fluff it before adding to the bowl with the tomatoes and onions.  Combine couscous and other ingredients in the bowl well.  Add about 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed- it probably will need some. Set aside.
• When your cooking vessel is hot- add the shrimp.  It should only take about 1-2 minutes on each side.  Cooking shrimp is probably one of the easiest foods to know when it's done- it goes from grey to pink/orange color.  Try not to overcook them though- otherwise they will taste rubbery.

• Family style and individual plating is basically the same.  Take your couscous and cover the bottom of the plate and then place the shrimp on top of that.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon on top and serve with an extra sprinkle of parsley if you want.

Grilled Chipolte Lime Pork Tenderloin w/ Mango Salsa

Personally I was skeptical about the mango in the salsa, at heart I am a tomato girl, but the taste is surprisingly amazing.  I was actually expecting this recipe to be an "in your face" bold flavor experience, but all the flavors came together more as a perfect melody than any one standing out.  Hot rice topped with cold crunchy salsa and the juicy pork makes this dish so delicious.  This meal is also very healthy, to make it even more healthy you can swap the white rice for a whole wheat, or other grain. 

The mango blends with the rest of the salsa flavors to balance it all out- salty, tangy and sweet.  It is just the "sugar" of the salsa, because a lot of salsas do have a little sugar added.  If you are still doubtful about the mango, try a bite of it with the mango, and if you don't like it, have a tomato standing by to substitute in.  But believe me it is worth trying- I bet you will be pleasantly surprised.

A little bit about pork tenderloin: it comes in cryovac and has two pieces- because there are two tenderloins in each pig.  It is a very lean cut with practically no fat, but when you get it you can clean it up a little bit if needed.  One thing you will need to do is remove the "silver skin" it will never break down and is tough and inedible.  Since I didn't take pics of this you can refer to this video to help with that How to Trim Fat from Pork Tenderloin


Salsa:

• 2 ears of grilled corn (or about 3/4 cup of frozen thawed)
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (color of your choice)
• ½ red onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 mango diced
• pinch of garlic powder
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp of cumin
• about 2 tablespoons of EVOO

Just mix all ingredients in a bowl and put in the fridge until you're ready to plate.


Rice:
Prepare any rice you like. I used jasmine rice- 3/4 cup of rice to 1 ½ cups of water with 2 chicken bullion cubes. Combine all in a pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for about 20 mins.

Pork tenderloin:

I marinated the pork for about 6 hours- in the morning I put it together and by dinner time it's good to go. 

Marinade:

• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• 2 small garlic cloves minced
• 3-4 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chipolte in adobo chopped
• 2 tsp of salt
• couple grinds of fresh black pepper

 In a ziplock bag mix all the ingredients together and then add the pork. Put in the fridge. Longer it sits the better, but even 15 minutes will be better than nothing.

When cooking time comes, preheat your grill or grill pan to high. Put the pork on the grill* and as for the leftover marinade (if you feel comfortable doing this, some people are a little sketchy with the bacteria- but as long as you marinated the pork in the fridge the bacteria did not become immune to heat so as long as you boil it you're fine) add a cup of water to the ziplock and then pour it all out into a sauce pan.  Boil this mixture for ten mins- it will reduce and that's what we want (if it is reducing too much just add more water).  When the pork is cooked through to 140 degrees, make a tinfoil pocket and pour in the reduced marinade, then add the pork and seal it up.  This is called a post marinade- it just adds even more flavor.  Let this sit for ten minutes.  Then slice and serve over the rice and salsa! Enjoy!

Tinfoil pocket

*grilling time can vary.  I would say at least 15 mins.  I had a pork tenderloin that was about 1½ lbs. I was always unable to really judge the doneness of meat, so if you are good with knowing cook time and internal temperatures then wonderful, but if you're like me- invest in a digital probe thermometer (or regular meat thermometer) and you can guaranteed yourself a good piece of meat every time.  There is nothing worse than overcooked dried out meat.  When you use the thermometer, just make sure it is inserted into the thickest part of the piece of meat.