Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and I always like to buy something nice for myself. I'm not your typical girl. I don't need shoes or clothes or jewelry or anything like that. What I want is a nice bottle of cognac. That's all it takes to make me happy.

Turkey Burger with HorseMayo

I love a good burger, but every now and then I want something a little leaner and healthier. So one day I decided to try making a turkey burger. When I looked online for ideas, I saw a lot of mixed opinions. Because turkey is so lean, people often complain that turkey burgers get really dry. So to compensate, they tend to stuff the burger with all kinds of things—onions, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, eggs, breadcrumbs—but that just seemed like it was too much. Every now and then I like a little something extra on my burger, but not necessarily in my burger, and for the most part I like to make burgers that are simple and straightforward. When I make my own turkey burgers, I don't add a lot of ingredients and so far I haven't had a problem with dry burgers.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound ground turkey (lean is OK, but stay away from extra lean)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
freshly ground black pepper
splash of soy sauce (this will give it some moisture and a bit of salt)
hamburger buns
toppings and condiments of your choice

Directions:
1. Lightly oil a grill pan and set on medium heat.

2. Mix all ingredients together so that everything is combined. There is no need to overwork the turkey. Shape into a patty and toss it on the grill pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Put patty on bun and top with your favorite toppings.

"HorseMayo"
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons mayo
1 teaspoon horseradish sauce

Directions:
1. Mix mayo and horseradish sauce together. That's it!

Dijon Mustard Marinade

When I make this marinade I typically use it for grilled chicken breasts. If you let it marinade for a few hours or even overnight, the chicken really soaks up the flavor. When I make this I usually just eyeball the amounts of the ingredients and have never officially measured anything. But I've provided some rough measurements here.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt
pepper

Marinade Directions:
1. Put the mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil in a medium bowl and mix well with a fork or whisk. Add garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and mix again.

For grilled chicken breasts:
1. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss the chicken in the marinade so that it is evenly coated. I poke the chicken breasts with a fork a few times so that some of the marinade can penetrate the inside of the chicken breasts. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook. I usually take the chicken and marinade out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before I begin cooking. I like to bring it closer to room temperature before putting it on a hot grill pan.

2. Lightly oil a grill pan with olive oil and set on medium heat. Grill chicken breasts for 5-6 minutes on each side. Adjust the cooking time depending on how thick the chicken is.