Recipe: Chili- Spiced Turkey- Bean Burgers With Guacamole

Hey hey peeps!

I'm here today with a super yummy and pretty healthy recipe that I had sitting in my email for the longest time... i did a little googling to find where i had found the original recipe and lo and behold, it says "Men's Health"... so... uh, not sure why i was reading Men's Health, but let's just go with it.

Chili- Spiced Turkey- Bean Burgers With Guacamole

Serves: 4   Prep:  20min |Cook: 20min |Total: 40min
 
 What You'll Need: 

GUACAMOLE:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 tablespoons chopped sweet white onion (i used a red onion cuz that's what i had)
• 1 tablespoon salsa (i used just a plum tomato and chopped it)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• salt

 
BURGERS:

• 2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound lean ground turkey breast
• 4 small whole grain hamburger buns, split
• 4 slices tomato

Directions

• To make the guacamole: In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a fork until fairly smooth. Mix in the onion, salsa, lime juice, and salt. Cover tightly and set aside. 

Like i said, i skipped the salsa and just chopped a tomato up instead... and used red onion instead of white. i also skipped the salt since G has high blood pressure and salt is a no-no for him...

 

• To make the burgers: Preheat the broiler. Coat the broiler pan rack with olive oil cooking spray. 

 

• In a medium bowl, mash the beans to a chunky texture. Stir in the egg, chili powder, cumin, and salt until well blended. Add the ground turkey and mix first with a spoon, then gently with your hands, until well blended (mix lightly so burgers don't get tough). With moistened hands, shape mixture into 4 equal-sized patties. Place on the prepared broiler-pan rack. 

i felt like these patties were definitely a generous size... depending on your taste, you could definitely probably make 5 or 6 smaller burgers out of what you have in the bowl.

 

• Broil the patties 4" to 6" from the heat for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until lightly browned, firm, and cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Place the buns on the broiler pan and toast. 

 

• Place toasted buns on 4 plates. On the bun bottom, place a tomato slice and a burger. Spoon 2 tablespoons guacamole over each, cover with the bun top, and serve.

I made my burger with a nice arugala salad and some sweet potato fries... so delish! I highly recommend if you want a turkey burger with a little extra flavor and a kick!

PS. i finally used the new camera for something other than pictures of scooter and i'm loving the way these shots are coming out!

Insta Lately

Linking up here today to show you what's on my Instagram as of late...

Wow... do you guys think i'm like, an animal lover or something? ;P

Top row:

Clean bill of health from the vet and the car ride home

Post-stroke, his tongue sticks out 

Hanging at grandma's, lookin' like a hot (but cute) mess

Bottom row:

Kadeeeeeee girl! I told her to pose and that's what i got...

Rio, contemplating life.

Visiting Scooter in the doggie hospital... he was well on the way to recovery here

Top row:

Little sad man in the ICU... 

Waiting area at the animal hospital. EVERYTHING is animal themed, even the upholstry

Jesus Calling... daily devotional. Love the few minutes I spend reading this everyday

Bottom row:

Semi-Smoky eye using my UD Naked Basics palette

Love's Ruff when you're a dog

Valentine's day DIY Mani

Follow me on Instagram at shay611

 and 

Happy Hump Day!

Friday Friday Friday!

Teeeeee-geeeeee-eye-EFF my friends!

Oh how I LIVE for the weekends. 

Hubby's working a double tonight so we'll have 3 days together!

How awesome sauce is that?

Anyway, let's hit up some Friday Letters

Dear Scooter, You scared mama half to death this week, but I am glad you are on the mend. So what if you're tongue now permanently hangs out of your mouth? You're still totes adorable and I'm so glad you're feeling better.  Dear NorthStar Vets, Thank you for your amazing (though expensive) team of doctors & nurses that helped to not only care for my sick buddy, but to put my mind at ease every step of the way. You are an amazing facility and we're so lucky you're not far from our house.  Dear Jenn, I can't WAIT to try your recipe tonight. 4 words - Get.In.My.Belly. Dear Wawa, Thank you for opening around the corner from my house. I have a feeling you and I will be fast friends.  Dear Hautelook, Stop tempting me with your wonderful sales on beauty products. I gave them up for Lent and you're making it super challenging for me. Speaking of Lent... Dear Jesus Calling, You know just the right words to say every morning. Can't wait for the next 365 days of inspiration and prayer #dailydevotional. 

And lastly, Dear Readers, Thank you for following along and for all your kind words about Scooter. You guys ROCK!

I'm the Kinda Girl Who....

Thought this would be a fun link up for today (missed it yesterday)...

I'm the Kinda Girl who...

tries (in vain) to stay on a budget every month

always puts the shopping cart back in the shopping cart return,
no matter how far away my car is parked

has entire conversations... with my dog

secretly loves when my hubby plays practical jokes on me

always smiles and is polite to the cashiers at the grocery store

makes a shopping list, and forgets to take it

has Hello Kitty stuff all over her office at work

wears stilettos one day, and chucks the next

has a really strong faith in God

cries over stories about love, compassion, and anything animal-related

has lip balm/chapstick at all times

chews a piece of gum everyday on the way home from work

has a car seat for her dog

still wants mom when she's sick

will go out of her way to help a friend

has lofty ideas, but almost always gets lazy about them

What kinda girl are you?

When Bad Things Happen to Good Dogs...

So, Friday night I came home from work all set to head out.
I had plans for a dinner with two of my girlfriends and I was in the kitchen putting a few things away and getting ready to change and go.
Scooter was in the living room, in his usual perch, the couch.
All of a sudden I heard a horrifically loud crash. I ran into the living room to find him lying in between the couch and the ottoman, LIFELESS.

This was one of THE scariest moments of my life.

What proceeded to happen the next 72 hours was just a huge nightmare. Totally could have been worse, and I'm thankful he's now "ok" -- just wanted to preface this story with the fact that HE IS ALIVE.

When I got to him, he was lying on the ground, and I couldn't tell if he was breathing. I proceeded to try to get him to "come to" and was rubbing his chest and even attempted doggie CPR (even though, i wasn't sure what i was really doing). I then realized I could feel a heart beat, and maybe he just got the wind knocked out of him when he was knocked unconscious. I felt him take a few shallow breaths, but he didn't come to, and his tongue was still hanging out of his mouth and eyes not moving. I would say he was unconscious for at least 10-15 minutes. SO SCARY.

I called my mom immediately screaming for her to get over to my house. She raced over and we ran him up to our local vet. By this time, he was sort of making these little noises, but still barely moving. They rushed him into Triage and after about a half hour came out and told me that he seemed stable but they recommended that we get him over to the 24-hr trauma hospital. Fortunately I take him there normally to see a dermatology specialist there, so we were familiar with the place.

Once we got there, they admitted him right away and decided he definitely needed to stay. They started him on meds so his brain wouldn't swell and put him in the ICU where he stayed for the next 3 days.

Day 1 - chillaxin in the padded crate in ICU

So happy Mommy came to visit

He hit a few bumps in the road with these "episodes" of, i guess for lack of a better word, fainting. Though, i'm not sure that's exactly accurate. He'd walk a few steps and just go down. As he gained his strength, they happened less and less, thank God. We haven't had an episode since Sunday morning. His blood pressure was on the high side over the weekend, so they started him on meds for that too. We go back next week to see if he needs to stay on this medication.

We were able to pick him up yesterday (monday) and boy was i ONE HAPPY GIRL! i pretty much spent the weekend in tears and barely ate anything because i was just so worried. I know there are animal lovers out there and people that consider their dogs their family. And that's totally me. This guy is my best friend in the world. And yes, my hubby is my best human friend. But this dog has been with me through marriages, a divorce, moving 7 times, good times, bad times, he keeps me company every night when my husband is at work. Just me and him, hanging out. And if he hadn't made it, well, let's just not talk about that.

Recovering at home

He was sooooo happy to come home yesterday and is sitting by my side as I type this. He's not 100% back to normal... he has this weird thing where his tongue now sticks out of his mouth, and i'm not sure if something happened with his vision/peripheral vision. So for now, this fur mommy is keeping a close close eye on my little guy and hopefully he will make a full recovery soon! Those of you who sent me well wishes on FB and Instagram, thank you and please continue to keep Scoots in your prayers! We appreciate it!

Dance Party Pink!

happy friday bishes!

and a fabulous 3-day weekend ahead of us makes this girl happy!

Linking up today to show off my Valentine's nails...

I used Confetti's Dance Party Pink for the overall color and then Zoya Kimber for the heart.

I almost messed them up by trying to add some extra glitter on the heart, but it wasn't working out. that's why the heart looks a tiny bit busted. LOL

I probably won't keep this on past the weekend, but it was definitely cute, fun and girly!

Happy Weekend Loves!

Friday Funnies & Furries (and Flurries!)

Happy Friday peeps! This week SERIOUSLY dragged, but we're finally here.
Well, you're there, and i'm on my couch. Working from home.
Its already raining and "flurry-ing" over here in the dirty Jerz.

Sweet Brown, i agree. Ain't nobody got time for this weather! And who knows if it will be "Snowmageddon" as our weather men are predicting, but in case it is, i'll be heading out at lunch to fill the car with gas and get some essentials.

In more serious news, i've been going a little nuts on facebook sharing "animal-related" posts. I follow a special needs rescue group in North Jersey that really specializes in taking animals that are going to be euthanized because of their breed. They also set up special needs dogs with doggie wheelchairs. (hee hee...) Obviously being a dog lover, their cause is close to my heart. And while i can't rescue any of the dogs they put up, i share all their posts and try to donate when i can. Here was their post yesterday...

(and you can see to the right where i "liked" and commented).... but doesn't this just BREAK YOUR HEART?! it seriously makes me want to cry. so if you're on fb and have a few spare dollars, PLEASE donate to help this boy out! here's their link... http://specialneedsk9.org/

And lastly, my husband thinks i'm obsessed with taking pics of my dog. Nonsense. You can never have too many photos of this cute face!

Plus, how else am i supposed to practice with my camera?
TGIF! Catch ya on the flip side!

5 Things

Hi friends!

One more day til the weekend...

and here in Jerz we're either getting dumped with snow or just rain.

Hoping for the latter...

 

I saw this on Dana's blog and it looked like fun, so here goes!

5 Things About Me ... 

... you'll find in my purse

1. my Hobo wallet

2. about 5 different lip products

3. gum

4. Tide to go pen

5. and these...

 

 yes, toilet drops. to eliminate poo stankiness. cuz let's face it. sometimes emergencies happen and if you don't want everyone knowing you were the one to stank up, you just drop in a few drops of these magical toilet drops and it smells like flowers. no lie.

... you'll find in my bedroom

1. sleep mask (since hubby watches tv all hours of the night)

2. My iPad

3. lip balm (do we see a trend here?)

4. exercise equipment aka the tour de france cycling bike

5. my hubby. and no this is not meant to be dirty. that guy loves hanging out in our bedroom, watching tv, see above. apparently the "bachelor pad" living room couch that he picked out is not comfy nor is the tv big enough for his liking.

... I've always wanted to

1. be part of a flash mob

2. do a vlog (but worry that no one would watch it)

3. have a big family, like 4 kids (crazy i know)

4.  have my own house

5.  see the eiffel tower and eat crepes in a french cafe

... I'm currently loving

1. Revlon Photo Finish foundation

2. Candy Crush (iphone/FB game... addicted!)

3.  my Canon T4i camera i got for Christmas

4.  that scooter hasn't been itchy in days!

5. my new Nivea Lip Butter

... quirks I have 

1. i hate static-y radio stations and need to change them immediately

2. i have a jewish first name, an italian last name, and i look asian

3.  no one can ever say my name right the first (and sometimes forever) time

4. i have full (one-sided) conversations with scooter when no one is home and in the car. i may or may not also sing to him... for his entertainment surely!

5. i keep a pink snuggie in my office for super cold days

What are 5 things about YOU that i don't know?

Share them below!