Our Favorite New Burger: Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers

In the rush to put something together for an impromptu Mother’s day grill out with my in-laws, I thought through the food I had on hand and inspiration struck. Since then we have been enjoying these turkey burgers REGULARLY this summer. We have been devouring these yummies a couple times a month.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground turkey

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and excess water removed (see tip below)

1/2 onion chopped (optional)

1/2 cup feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

dash of nutmeg (optional)

How To:                                                                                                                                                           Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Eyeball the spinach, I usually add about 3/4 of the spinach otherwise the consistency isn’t as good but your preference might be more or less.

Separate meat mixture into patties.

Grill outdoors or cook indoors in a cast iron skillet or grill pan until cooked through. Enjoy on a bun with your favorite burger toppings.

Spinach Tip: For the longest time I dreaded using frozen spinach due to the difficulty in draining it, I’ve tried Rachel Ray’s tip of squeezing the excess liquid out by placing the spinach in a dish towel and squeezing. I didn’t like the mess or how HOT the water was on my hands. So I started using my potato masher! (see photo below). In the same bowl you defrosted the spinach in, press your potato masher into the spinach to hold it back and to push out the liquid, carefully pour out the excess liquid. Move your way around the edge of the bowl until all the water is removed from the spinach.

I really LOVE this burger because it’s turkey, the extra delicious flavor the feta cheese adds, the health and veggie factor and my kids love it too! Hey and not to mention if momma needs a break this all in one burger and veggie combo can make dinner super simple, throw a bag of multi-grain tortilla chips on the table and you’ve got a healthy dinner!

Have you stumbled into any new recipes that you are loving this summer??

That’s my Shiny ~

J

A Tardy Recap of a Great Road Trip

In April our family went on a two week long hiatus, sabbatical and respite. All four of us needed some time to relax  and take a break for our daily duties and just have some fun as a family making memories.

We had about the best time you could think of! First the kids and I took off for Kentucky and spent a week there with my sister and family. Then the Hubs meet us in Lexington for the Easter weekend and from there we kept the mini-van moving and headed on to Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Our time in Lexington, Kentucky was wonderful. We did lots of family things. We went to a zoo wildlife place, celebrated a birthday, helped my sister register for baby gear, went to horse races, learned the C-A-T-S, Cats, Cats Cats cheer, watched UK win the championship in Lexington, Kentucky (we avoided being involved in the couch burning), ate lots of yummy food, celebrated Easter and just had a wonderful time together.

 

The trip to Gulf Shores was incredible! AHHH Gulf Shores, it was like a big deep breath of fresh air. We couldn’t have had a better time, it was a beautiful, relaxing, kid friendly, rejuvenating, romantic and couldn’t have been more of a perfect trip. We’ve only done the family vacation / road trip thing one other time and this time we really got the hang of it. We not only ensured the kids had fun and were entertained but WE THE PARENTS actually let ourselves relax and kick back too! Including taking naps, eating at places WE enjoyed and doing activities that were fun for all four of us! It was the perfect balance of kid and adult fun! We all agreed that our favorite activity was the dolphin cruise but honestly the BEST part about our vacation was the 30 foot balcony over looking the ocean, nap time and early bed times have never been more enjoyed!

The kiddos loved the balcony too!

The kids enjoying the beautiful white sandy beach.

At the Gulf Shores Zoo checking out a lioness, she even roared for us!

Strolling on the beach.

Enjoying their surroundings. We stopped and had a picnic lunch at a pavilion located between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach

An evening of fun on the beach. 

I couldn’t love these guys or these moments more! Ready-Set-Go!!!

Wading in the water at “The Pass”. We found hermit crabs, jelly bellies and saw a ton of cranes and pelicans!

The Dolphin Cruise. The boat ride alone was incredible but seeing those dolphins that close jumping through the air was just unreal! We didn’t even zoom for these pictures!

More balcony time, we lived out there.

At Fort Morgan beach.

Our signature vacation sign off photo.

This family highly recommends Gulf Shoes, Alabama!

What are some of your favorite road trip destinations? 

That’s my Shiny ~ J

Speed Bump

Hi friends. I’m back. After a too long break. I didn’t want to take a break but life got the best of me the last couple months. After an amazingly wonderful vacation (I did write a post on but never published, I will do that shortly) the wheels of life got shaky for me. ALL of these bumps were honestly nothing major but everything hit at the same time. I struggled. It felt like in ALMOST all parts of life I would make two strides forward and immediately fall one step back if not two. It was just a big jumble of the flu, ear infections and allergic reactions. Which resulted in me being so distracted I was regularly forgetting something or totally bombing something else. Most of my missteps were so minuscule the only person that realized I messed it up was me, but I beat myself up. I wasn’t giving myself a break about anything I was even blaming myself for things out of my control like the bunnies eating all of the flowers I had just planted or UPS losing our newly purchased patio table. 

There are worse things in the world than hives, ear infections and hungry bunnies. I know that I am blessed. I am so VERY grateful for my wonderful husband who on my WORST days always tells me that I am the BEST and for my beautiful kids who know just when Momma’s about to break and give me a sweet snuggle. These last few months weren’t so much about my circumstances but more about my pride in managing the circumstances MYSELF and not with God. I learned my lesson, I can’t do this alone! These overwhelming moments can be times in life when we grow the most. It shows us our faults our weaknesses and gives us the opportunity to do better, to be better. These last few months have done that for me. I feel stronger because of it. Sometimes true strength can only be found in vulnerability by admitting our weaknesses and imperfections.    

The unfortunate part is that my break from blogging started as a choice because I was managing my family and that came first but the further I got from it the more I let fear creep in. You know “you are FAILING at everything why would anyone want to read what you have to say”. Yea, that guy, that guy who wants me to feel like junk, who hopes I never feel another positive day or thought in my life. That guy can go right back from where he came from, SEE YOU LATER DUDE!!

My pride is stripped my strength renewed and I am thankful that I am starting to feel like my optimistic self again.

That’s my Shiny ~ J