Click here to pin this healthy Bison Burger recipe!

My husband has been on a health kick lately. I love it. He’s really making an effort to cut back on calories, make better food choices and squeezing in exercise throughout the day. He’s taking walks around his building during restroom breaks, and trying to get a two mile walk around the neighborhood in the evenings as well as getting to the gym to hit the elliptical or play basketball with our son on the weekends. It all adds up!

Him being on a health kick gives me more motivation to put together healthier meals for us to eat together. We are trying to lighten things up wherever we can and using bison in place of our regular ground beef is one way we can lighten up our burgers on the grill. Since bison is pricier than ground beef, this is a treat for us that we look forward to whenever we can.

Where to buy ground bison for this recipe?

I have been buying bison meat from Costco regularly, but have seen it at my local grocery store (although in much smaller packages) as well as Fresh Market and Whole Foods.

Healthy Bison Burger Ingredients

I like to keep my burger seasonings pretty simple so that you really enjoy the flavor of the beef you are cooking with.

• ground bison
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• your favorite barbecue sauce, for basting

The toppings though, that is where you can have fun. I love adding caramelized onions to my burgers and of course cheese!

How To Cook Bison Burgers On The Grill

1. In a large mixing bowl, gently combine ground bison with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Divide meat mixture into 5 even sections and form into patties. When forming, gently press down your thumb in center to help keep it’s shape and avoid turning into a meatball on the grill.
2. Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Place burgers on grill. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side (for medium well – well done burgers) or 4-5 minutes for juicier, medium burgers. After first flip, brush cooked side liberally with your favorite barbecue sauce. Once burger is cooked through, quickly flip and brush other side before taking off the grill. Transfer to top rack of grill (or plate) and place a slice of pepper jack cheese on each burger.
3. For serving: Place each burger with cheese on your hamburger bun. Top with extra barbecue sauce (if desired), caramelized onions and shredded lettuce. Dig in.

Along with the extra exercise, packed lunches and a little extra involvement with meal planning and creating recipes are part of this health kick too. That’s where this burger comes in. I know ground buffalo (bison) has been around for a while, but it’s not something I’ve ever cooked with at home. My husband has enjoyed a healthy bison burger at a local restaurant a few times and asked if we could grill some up at home. Buffalo is a leaner type of ground beef and a great alternative when looking to indulge in a hamburger.

Burger Recipes To Try:

Smoky BBQ Turkey Burger Sliders

Bruschetta Patty Melts

East Meets West Burger

Sanford Burgers

Love cooking with bison like I do? Try these recipes using bison:

Sweet Potato Bison Shepherd’s Pie

Bison Black Bean Chili

Bison and Brown Rice Stuffed Peppers

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Yield: 4-5 burgers
• Category: Burger
• Method: Grill
• Cuisine: American

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Try a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger – they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lb ground bison (or buffalo) meat
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• good pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• your favorite barbecue sauce, for basting

For serving:

• 5 slices of pepper jack cheese
• hamburger buns
• shredded lettuce
• caramelized onions (see this post for instructions on how to caramelize onions)
• barbecue sauce

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Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, gently combine ground bison with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Divide meat mixture into 5 even sections and form into patties. When forming, gently press down your thumb in center to help keep it’s shape and avoid turning into a meatball on the grill.
2. Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Place burgers on grill. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side (for medium well – well done burgers). After first flip, brush cooked side liberally with your favorite barbecue sauce. Once burger is cooked through, quickly flip and brush other side before taking off the grill. Transfer to top rack of grill (or plate) and place a slice of pepper jack cheese on each burger.
3. For serving: Place each burger with cheese on your hamburger bun. Top with extra barbecue sauce (if desired), caramelized onions and shredded lettuce. Dig in.

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Baby Bella Philly Sandwiches

Doughnut Love…

Baked Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Black Bean Quesadillas

Creamy White Bean and Artichoke Spread

Sesame Tofu Noodle Bowl with Peanut Sauce

Pesto, Pasta and Peas with Cherry Tomatoes

Bruschetta Patty Melts

Sweet and Sour Peppers

And in addition to the recipes…I’m hosting a cookbook giveaway for Real Housewives of NJ Teresa’s Fabulicious!

Also read about Mominations…Babble’s way of recognizing the amazing women in our lives!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

The post What’s Cooking at Family Kitchen {Roundup} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Earlier this summer I was contacted by the editor of CBSNews.com asking me to contribute a healthy recipe to their Health section.  Of course I was totally flattered and thrilled by this request considering how much I love to talk about food and share healthy recipes with just about anyone and everyone who crosses my path…and let’s be real, it’s CBS!!  My first assignment was “sliders” and I decided to recreate a tried and true turkey burger I’ve been making for some time now.

To me, a slider is basically a mini burger.  I think sliders are genius because if you are really trying to watch your portions, it really forces you to eat less.  That is, if you stick to the one slider…which I really try to do.  That’s the whole point in my opinion…you get a “taste” of the good stuff and then fill up on the actual “good for you” stuff on the side.  But that’s just me…

What makes these BBQ Turkey Burger Sliders awesome is the sauteed green onion and celery along with the smoky Chipotle Tabasco and paprika that is added into the ground turkey mixture before being shaped into patties.  The combination of all those ingredients really adds flavor to the normally pretty bland turkey.  Also, adding shredded cheese directly to the mixture adds a little fat to the lean meat and keeps them juicy.

Visit the Health Section of CBS.com to read the article for this recipe along with a newer one featuring Summer Vegetable Gratin and Baked Zucchini Fries.

Smoky BBQ Turkey Burger Sliders

Ingredients:

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large Vidalia (or sweet) onion, thinly sliced
• Pinch salt and pepper

BASTING SAUCE

• 1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 2 TB mango chutney

CHIPOTLE SAUCE

• 1-2 TB Chipotle Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt or reduced-fat mayonnaise

PATTIES

• 1.25 lb extra-lean ground turkey
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 TB Chipotle Tabasco sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• good pinch salt and pepper
• 8 whole wheat potato rolls

Directions:

1. Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or pre-heat a gas grill to medium-high. For best results, use a non-stick grill which helps to avoid adding oil.
2. On the stove, heat 2 tsp olive oil in a non stick skillet. When oil is hot, place celery and green onion in pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool. We are going to add these to our burger mixture later.
3. In the same nonstick skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil in . When oil is hot, place sliced onion in pan. Season with good pinch of salt and pepper and cook. Saute onions until browned and caramelized, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. While onions are caramelizing, prepare basting sauce and Chipotle Sauce.
5. Combine Greek yogurt (or mayo) and Chipotle Tabasco in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Combine barbecue sauce and mango chutney in small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make patties:

1. Combine ground turkey, Chipotle Tabasco, smoked paprika, low-fat cheese and cooked and cooled green onions and celery in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Gently combine and mix using hands or large spoon. Form into 8 even sized patties, do this by scoring meat mixture in half, then quarters, then eighths.
2. Use a non-stick canola oil spray, to prevent patties from sticking to grill.  Spray patties directly with spray before placing on grill.
3. Place patties on grill rack, cover and cook until bottoms are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Using spatula, flip patties and cook additional 4-5 minutes. After flipping, use brush to baste turkey burgers with mango BBQ sauce. After cooking for 4-5 minutes, flip and baste other side.

To assemble burgers:

1. Spread chipotle sauce on both sides of open potato rolls. Place patty in bun and top with caramelized onions. Take a big bite and enjoy!
2. For those sauce lovers (like my hubby!), can be served with additional Mango BBQ sauce on side!

The post Smoky BBQ Turkey Burger Sliders appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I know a lot of you will be entertaining over the upcoming July 4th weekend holiday so I really wanted to share this great recipe with you.  I originally came across it sometime last year here and then recently saw it again where it was originally created on Big Red Kitchen.  Robin Sue shows a great step by step that I always love to see on recipe sites (and secretly wish I could provide you all…but my kiddos and dogs just are not for it!)…

So here’s the deal with these sliders…they are awesome.  And part of the awesomeness is that they are super easy to prepare.  They are a little tedious in the plating department but if you set yourself up a little assembly line (pre-sliced rolls, plate of pickles and serving plate is all you really need) you will breeze through it.  The recipe makes 24 little sandwiches, so alongside some grilled hot dogs and some summery side salads then you are set to feed your family and friends without too much trouble!

Enjoy!

White Castle-like Sliders

Recipe from Big Red Kitchen

(printable recipe)

1/2 cup dried onion flakes
2 pounds ground chuck- 80/20 ground beef
1/2 t. seasoned salt (I used Montreal Steak seasoning)
6 slices cheddar cheese
24 small party rolls- (recommended:  Martin’s Potato Bread Party Rolls)
24 dill pickle slices

Evenly spread the onions on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Gently press the ground beef on top of the onion flakes. Press evenly making one giant pattie. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Using a paper towel, pat the excess grease from the top of the pattie. Top with cheddar cheese, return to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven, let set 5 minutes then cut into 24 patties. Slice open and separate each party roll. Place bottom of rolls on a large platter. Using a spatula lift patty with onion layer onto each bun bottom. Top each slider with a pickle slice then the bun lid. Serve immediately. Makes 24 Sliders.

Note- Store these upside-down in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will prevent the bottom bun from getting soggy from the onion layer. To reheat, place a few on a microwave safe plate and heat in the mircowave for 20 seconds then 5 second increments after that until warm through.

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So, our nephew Ryan has been staying with us while his new apartment is getting ready for him.  You may have heard me mention Ryan before, he was the mastermind behind this delicious Tropical Fruit Salsa we served over grilled salmon last summer.  What’s fun about Ryan staying with us is that he likes to cook so it definitely adds to the creativity going on in the kitchen.

This meal was a collaborative effort between us.  I told him what I had on hand and wanted to use up…he sparked the idea of using a bruschetta topping and broiling the patties with cheese and serving open faced on an English muffin.  The result was amazing and enjoyed by the adults in the home.  And although I’ve cut down on eating meat considerably over the last few months, I couldn’t resist taking a bite of this one.  What struck out the most was the juiciness of the burger, adding sauteed vegetables to the meat will do that.  And the freshness of the basil in the patties definitely made your taste buds jump up and down as well.  This one is a keeper.  Thanks Ryan for the inspiration! 🙂

Bruschetta Patty Melts

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/2 green pepper, minced
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 mushrooms, minced
• small handful of basil, chopped finely
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• couple of splashes of wine
• salt and pepper

Topping:

• Bruschetta
• Cheese (we used shredded mozzarella and Parmesan shavings)
• English Muffins, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Saute pepper, mushrooms, onions and garlic and let cool. Combine basil, egg, Parmesan cheese and wine in a bowl. Add cooked vegetables and ground pork to bowl and gently combine. Form into patties. Place on broiler pan and cook for about 15 minutes.
3. Take cooked patties out of oven and top each one with a spoonful of bruschetta, Parmesan and cheese. Turn broiler on and place burgers back into oven. Cook until cheese is completely melted and slightly browned. Serve open-faced style on toasted English Muffin.

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I’m not excited about the pictures I took of these burgers. These little guys were just not very photogenic. I guess that happens sometimes. But, good pictures or not, these burgers were awesome.Stuffed Turkey Burgers were this week’s pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly. Thank you to Peggy at Pantry Revisited for choosing this recipe, my husband raved about them!

I love the method used in this recipe, you make two smaller patties first, put the “stuffing” in the center of one of them, then top it with the other patty and seal the edges. It’s honestly so easy and you can really turn these babies into any kind of burger you want! Ellie’s recipe calls for stuffing with roasted red peppers. Being the unorganized cook that I proudly am, I had used up all of my roasted red peppers for other meals early in the week, leaving none for this recipe. Oh well…time to improvise. I had some sun dried tomatoes and fresh spinach in the fridge so that’s what I went with, along with the shredded mozzarella. As I was reaching for the salt and pepper, I picked up Greek seasoning instead. And a new recipe was born.

To keep things really healthy, I served the burgers on Arnold’s Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, my new favorite sandwich bread. Since all the toppings were stuffed inside, all I needed was a little ketchup and I was happy!

So sure…I might have over grilled the burgers a bit, I get paranoid with ground turkey…but I promise you…they were good! Enjoy!

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Greek seasoning

Directions:

1. Divide turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round so you have 8 patties total. Season both patties with Greek seasoning. Sprinkle 4 of the patties with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and cheese, top with remaining patties, working the turkey around the edges to seal burgers closed. Grill or broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
2. Edited: I wanted to mention a trick I learned years ago...when dealing with turkey burgers, its good to refrigerate the patties for about an hour before grilling, it helps keep them from falling apart when handling them on the grill.

Adapted from Stuffed Turkey Burgers, Ellie Krieger

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Are there any Cooking Light fans out there? Well, you are in store for a treat. My sister in law Jamie and I are hosting a week of Cooking Light recipes this week! Jamie just started her very own food blog this month, Mom’s Cooking Club, and I am so excited for her! She’s been reading my blog since I started it almost a year ago and has been one of my most supportive and avid readers. She loves to cook like I do so we share lots of emails and conversations talking food. What’s extra special about her blog is that her two young twin daughters are going to be helping her in the kitchen, learning along the way!!Go give Jamie a visit over at Mom’s Cooking Cluband say hello!

Now back to the food…Jamie and I are both subscribers and huge fans of Cooking Light. We thought it would be fun to share with you a week full of recipes that we’ve chosen to cook found in magazines, cookbooks and online. Aggie’s Kitchen will feature a CL recipe on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of this week. You will also find recipes at Mom’s Cooking Club on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

I came across this recipe in The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook that I checked out from the library. This cookbook is great, it’s huge and has so many tasty looking recipes in it. The original recipe called for chicken, but since I had ground turkey on hand I decided to make the burgers into Turkey Burgers instead. They turned out really juicy and full of great flavor. We are always eating turkey burgers at our house so these were a nice alternative to our classic version. The sauce was delicious too, if you like peanut butter, you will love this!

Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce

Yield: Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Burgers:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
• 1 heaping tablespoon chile paste with garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• good pinch salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Cooking spray
• 4  Arnold's Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts

 

Directions:

 

1. To prepare sauce, combine first 6 ingredients, stirring with a whisk until smooth.
2. Prepare grill or preheat your grill pan.
3. To prepare burgers, gently combine onions, chile paste, ginger, soy sauce, salt and ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
4. Place patties on a grill rack or a preheated grill pan coated with cooking spray. Grill the patties for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack or grill pan for about 30 second or until lightly toasted and warmed. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with 1/4 cup sprouts, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and top half of roll.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Follow AggiesKitchen on Instagram and show us what recipes you are making from the blog! Use the hashtag #aggieskitchen - I'd love to see what you are cooking up!

Cooking Light Week Day 2 recipe can be found Tuesday at Mom’s Cooking Club…

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Sandwiches on Pinterest.

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(Cubanelles roasting on the grill…)

Look for them where you find jalapenos, hopefully they will be there. Cubanelles are a light bright green color and are very mild peppers. Poblanos are darker green in color and have some kick to them. I originally started making these burgers with just cubanelles, but over time added the poblanos for a little heat, so you can decide how you want them.

Roasted Cubanelles and Poblanos
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

6-8 Cubanelle and Pobano peppers
Salt and pepper, to taste
drizzle of olive oil

Throw peppers on a hot grill and close the lid. Keep an eye on them as they start to char, keep turning them so that the entire pepper cooks evenly. If you do not have access to a grill, place peppers on rack in 450 degree oven. Make sure to place a large piece of aluminum foil on rack below peppers to catch any juices that may come out of peppers while cooking.

Once they are almost entirely black (it’s okay, really), place them in a glass bowl and seal them with a lid or plastic wrap. If you’ve ever made roasted red peppers, you will know what to do. Let them sit in a sealed glass bowl for about 20 minutes or until the charred skin starts to peel off easily. Once the charred skin has been peeled and the seeds and stems have been taken out, shred the peppers into little strips and place in bowl. Season with salt and pepper and a couple of drops of olive oil if you desire.

(for a printable version of all these recipes click here)

(these burgers were topped with a 2% Mexican cheese blend because that is what I had on hand…I prefer regular cheddar though)

The post Sanford Burgers with Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds… appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

On to dinner…tonight I made an alternative to the typical turkey burger. Really, this is nothing like a turkey burger. It actually reminded me of a huge meatball on a bun. It was delicious. To keep it moist and flavorful (since ground turkey is known for being pretty bland), I added sauteed vegetables to the meat mixture before making the patties. You get the added bonus of extra veggies, while keeping the meat seasoned perfectly. My husband loved it, and I think you will too.

Turkey Bolognese Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1.25 lean ground turkey (I used Jennie-O)
• 8oz (1 package) baby portabella mushrooms, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• about 1 tsp garlic powder
• about 1 tsp dried oregano
• about 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (or more if you want a kick!)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 TB egg whites (or 1 egg, beaten)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• tomato sauce, (homemade or jarred - I used Newman's Own Tomato Basil for sake of time)
• mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced
• French Hamburger Buns or Prudy's Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Directions:

1. Turn broiler on.
2. In large hot non-stick skillet, add mushrooms, onions and seasonings to about 2 tsps of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes till vegetables are cooked down. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl combine turkey, cooked vegetable mixture, egg whites and Parmesan. Mix gently but thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Form into 5 patties.
4. Place on broiler rack about 8 inches from heat. Cook for about 20 minutes until browned. Add tomato sauce liberally on each patty. Add mozzarella cheese over sauce and place back under broiler. Cook for about another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Serve on Toasted Garlic Buns.

To make Toasted Garlic Buns – Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over both sides of buns. Sprinkle with garlic powder and oregano. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Keep an eye on them!

(Shown here on Prudy’s Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns…)

Enjoy!

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